by Selin Kiazim
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TOMATO-POMEGRANATE SALSA
2 tomatoes, diced
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, shredded
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Start by making the spicy tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the garlic, red chilli, chilli flakes and hot pepper paste and cook gently. Once completely soft, add the passata and water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over a low heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you can cook it for 1 hour, all the better, as it will intensify in flavour. Finish by adding the thyme, sugar and vinegar. Set aside and keep warm.
Combine all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Slice each pastirma into about 6 pieces. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the pastirma and cook gently until nicely browned; there should be enough oil in the sausage, but if the pan seems a little dry, add a touch of olive oil. Crack in the eggs and use a spatula to scramble them into the pastirma. Season with a little salt. I like to cook the eggs so they are still soft, but you can cook them to your liking.
To assemble, stir the diced bread into the sauce and divide it between 4 bowls. Spoon the pastirma and eggs on top. Finish by putting a big spoonful of salsa in each bowl (making sure you get plenty of the juices), a dollop of yogurt, a final sprinkling of chilli flakes and some parsley to garnish. I like to serve this with toasted Turkish bread on the side and lashings of butter.
SMOKED STREAKY BACON & MEDJOOL DATE BUTTER TOASTED SANDWICH
In my opinion, this sandwich at the very least equals a good old-fashioned British bacon sandwich, if not tops it.
SERVES 2
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
4 slices white crusty bread or sourdough
4 tablespoons Medjool Date Butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Cook the bacon to your liking in a frying pan or under the grill. Spread all 4 slices of bread with the date butter. Divide the bacon between 2 slices and top with the remaining 2 slices, butter side down. Spread the ordinary butter on the outside of both sandwiches.
Cook them in a toasted sandwich maker until golden and crisp. Alternatively, heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add the sandwiches, cover with a piece of baking parchment and place a weight on top (this ensures a lovely even colour). Cook until golden brown, then serve.
BROWN SHRIMP KAYGANA WITH PRESERVED LEMON HOLLANDAISE, ÇEMEN CRUMBS, CHIVES & SHEEP’S CHEESE
A kaygana is essentially a cross between an omelette and a crêpe. You could add some herbs and spring onions to the batter and make a stack of them, or create sweet ones with nuts and syrup. But do try this recipe; I think it’s a perfect marriage of flavours. Serve it with a big pile of toasted Turkish bread and plenty of butter.
SERVES 4
sunflower oil, for cooking
100g (3½oz) peeled brown shrimps
small bunch of chives, sliced
100g (3½oz) hard sheep’s cheese (such as pecorino), finely grated
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE ÇEMEN CRUMBS
125g (4½oz) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Çemen
250g (9oz) dried (preferably panko) breadcrumbs
FOR THE BATTER
2 tablespoons plain flour
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
FOR THE PRESERVED LEMON HOLLANDAISE
1 small preserved lemon
250g (9oz) unsalted butter
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
fine salt
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. First make the çemen crumbs: melt the butter with the çemen. Whisk well and stir in the breadcrumbs, ensuring they all get an even coating of butter and çemen; they should turn orange. Spread over the prepared tray. Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring them halfway through. Remove and leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 110°C (225°F), Gas Mark ¼.
For the batter, put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add to the flour a little at a time, whisking continuously to form a smooth batter.
To make the hollandaise, cut the preserved lemon into quarters. Remove the flesh and squeeze the juice into a heatproof bowl. Dice the skin as finely as you can and set aside. Melt the butter in a pan and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk the egg and egg yolks into the lemon juice. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk until the mixture leaves a trail that holds its shape when the whisk is lifted. Remove from the heat immediately and keep whisking until the eggs have cooled slightly.
Put the bowl on a tea towel or non-slip mat on the work surface. Whisking continuously with one hand, slowly pour in the melted butter with the other. If your hands get tired, pour in the butter a little at a time and whisk it all in before adding more. Once all the butter is incorporated, add the lemon juice and diced preserved lemon skin. Season with a little fine salt. Place a piece of clingfilm or parchment directly on top to stop a skin from forming.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over a medium heat in a frying pan about 20cm (8in) in diameter. Scatter a quarter of the shrimps around the pan, then pour in a quarter of the batter and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the top is lightly golden and the underside is set. Fold in half to make a semicircle and continue to cook for about 20 seconds, then flip it over and cook for another 20 seconds, until both sides are golden. Transfer to a baking tray and keep warm. Repeat this step to make 3 more. Put them all in the oven to warm up for 2–3 minutes.
To serve, put one kaygana in the centre of each serving plate, drizzle over some hollandaise and scatter over the chives, çemen crumbs and grated cheese.
MENEMEN
I make my menemen a little differently from most recipes, although everyone has their own version – you can even add feta, sujuk or Kayseri pastirma, if you like. Traditionally, you would just sauté the vegetables quite quickly and then scramble the eggs in; if you find good enough produce, you can make it just like that. I prefer to make a ragout first and get the best I can out of all the flavours. You can make the ragout ahead of time and chill it in the fridge. To cook the dish, simply pour more olive oil into a frying pan, add the ragout to heat up gently, then crack in the eggs and cook as described. Long green Turkish peppers (known as Charleston peppers) and hot green sivri peppers are distinctive flavours in Turkish cooking, and are available in most Turkish supermarkets. If you can’t get hold of them, just use ordinary green peppers and green chillies respectively.
SERVES 4
150ml (5fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 long green Turkish peppers (Charleston peppers; use ordinary peppers if you can’t find them), sliced
4 hot Turkish peppers (sivri biber; use any hot chillies if you can’t find them), sliced
½ teaspoon tomato purée
1 teaspoon Turkish hot pepper paste (açi biber salçasi)
4 plum tomatoes, roughly blitzed in a food processor or grated
½ teaspoon caster sugar
½ teaspoon sherry or red wine vinegar
8 large eggs
flat leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and peppers and cook gently over a low heat for about 30 minutes, or until completely soft. Add the tomato purée, hot pepper paste and tomatoes and cook gently for another 30 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper at this point. Finish the sauce base by adding the sugar and vinegar.
Crack the eggs into the pan and, using a spatula, gently cook t
hem, stirring, to a soft scrambled consistency. Season with salt and pepper and then garnish with parsley. Serve with lots of freshly baked bread.
PISTACHIO-CRUSTED BANANA & TAHINI FRENCH TOAST WITH ORANGE BLOSSOM SYRUP & SMOKED STREAKY BACON
I first came across stuffed French toast when I started working at The Providores. The restaurant’s famous version is stuffed with banana and pecans and served with bacon and verjus syrup. I created this version one day when I needed to use up a pile of small baguettes that had gone stale, so feel free to try it with a baguette too – it will just need longer soaking.
SERVES 2
2 large eggs
200ml (7fl oz) double cream
150g (5½oz) peeled pistachios
1 large or 2 small bananas
2 tablespoons tahini
3 heaped tablespoons mascarpone
4 slices white crusty bread
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 heaped tablespoons unsalted butter
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
½ quantity Orange Blossom Syrup
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5. Whisk the eggs and double cream together in a shallow bowl and set aside. Put the pistachios on a baking tray and and bake for about 6 minutes, or until lightly toasted and smelling nutty. Leave them to cool, then crush to a coarse powder in a food processor or with a pestle and mortar and spread them out on a plate.
Peel and roughly crush the bananas in a bowl. Using a spatula, mix the tahini and mascarpone together in a separate bowl, then mix it through the bananas. Spread this mixture over 2 slices of bread. Top with the remaining slices and press down gently to stick the whole sandwich together.
Dip the sandwiches in the egg and cream mixture, turning to coat well, then leave them to soak up the mixture for 10 minutes, turning halfway through to make sure both sides get soaked.
Set a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the sandwiches and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Meanwhile, in another frying pan or under the grill, cook the bacon to your liking (for me it has to be crispy!).
Remove the sandwiches from the pan and put them on a baking tray. Brush each side with some orange blossom syrup, then dip them straight into the pistachio crumbs, coating well on both sides. Cut in half and serve topped with the bacon and more syrup.
Baharat-spiced bread
Pilavuna
Black olive, hellim, onion & mint loaf
Cheese, spring onion, baharat & garlic böreks
Spiced beef & cheese sauce poğaças
Baharat & chilli-spiced fish böreks
Spinach & feta börek
Pides
Chicken & garlic köfte pide with chilli yoghurt, smoked salsa, walnuts & feta
Braised octopus pide with ricotta, green olives, honey, pickled caper shoots & thyme
Cheese sauce pide with charred leeks & crispy potatoes
BAHARAT-SPICED BREAD
This recipe is adapted slightly from the village bread my nene makes. I have fond memories of eating it fresh from the clay oven with lashings of butter. She perfumes the bread with just a little baharat, which she mixes in after the dough has proved once so that it ripples throughout the bread. Baharat is a blend of spices that usually includes allspice, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, although everyone has their own recipe which sometimes includes other spices. My nene would also break some of the bread into chunks as soon as it was baked, then dry them out in the residual heat of the oven. This is known as peksimet, or dried bread, and is usually doused in water just before serving.
MAKES 1 LOAF
15g (½oz) fresh yeast or 1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
½ teaspoon caster sugar
450g (1lb) strong bread flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon baharat (available in Turkish supermarkets)
3 tablespoons mixed white and black sesame seeds
If using fresh yeast, dissolve it in about 150ml (5fl oz) lukewarm water with the sugar.
If using dried yeast, mix it with the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil, baharat and 150ml (5fl oz) lukewarm water. If using fresh yeast, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the frothy yeast mixture along with the olive oil and baharat.
Using your hands, begin to incorporate the flour into the liquid. Slowly add more lukewarm water a little at a time, mixing with your hands to form a dough. (You’ll probably need around another 150ml (5fl oz), but don’t add it all at once; you’ll only need extra if it feels dry). Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth.
Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover it with a clean, damp tea towel. Place somewhere slightly warm to speed up the rising process; the dough should double in size, within 45–60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F), Gas Mark 9. Punch the dough down in the bowl, then tip it onto a very lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for around 30 seconds. Roll the bread into a cylinder about 8cm (3¼in) in diameter. Cut it into 3 equal pieces, then push them together lightly. Place the sesame seeds on a large plate. Brush the dough all over with a little water and press it lightly into the sesame seeds, turning so it is covered on all sides. Place on a lightly floured nonstick baking tray and set aside to prove. It should double in size within about 45 minutes.
Half-fill a glass with cold water. Put the dough in the oven, tip the water directly onto the bottom of your oven and immediately close the door. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6 and continue to bake for another 10–20 minutes, or until golden brown. To check if it is cooked, tap on the bottom and listen for a hollow sound. If it doesn’t sound hollow, return it to the oven for a little longer. Remove and leave to cool down considerably before cutting it.
PILAVUNA
Pilavuna are very traditional Cypriot pastries, perfect as a teatime treat or for breakfast. My mum and her friends often gather of an evening to knock up a massive batch of these, along with other pastries. They have a coffee and gossip, and then each person takes home their share of baked goods.
MAKES 12
about 750g (1lb 10oz) hellim cheese, finely grated
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 heaped tablespoons fine semolina
100g (3½oz) sultanas (optional)
4–6 large eggs
FOR THE DOUGH
750g (1lb 10oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
about 450ml (16fl oz) lukewarm water
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
TO FINISH
100g (3½oz) sesame seeds, moistened with 1 tablespoon water (optional)
1–2 large eggs, lightly beaten
First make the dough: put the flour in a large bowl and add the salt on one side and the yeast and the sugar on the other. Gradually add the water, incorporating the flour with your hands as you go. Once a dough has formed, turn it onto a clean work surface and knead until smooth. Clean any crumbs out of the bowl, grease it with the olive oil, then add the dough. Cover it with clingfilm or a damp cloth and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the hellim in a bowl with the mint, baking powder, semolina and sultanas, if using and mix well. Work in the eggs one at a time until a dough forms. You might need a little extra semolina to achieve this. Divide the mixture into 12 equal pieces. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F), Gas Mark 7. Line 2–3 baking trays (depending on size) with baking parchment.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly for a minute or so. Roll it into a large sausage shape, then divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough
into a 10 x 8cm (4 x 3in) rectangle, about 3mm (⅛in) thick. Press one side of the dough into the moistened sesame seeds so that they stick to it. Return it to the work surface and place 1 portion of the filling in the centre. Fold up the edges of the dough to make a rectangular shape, leaving some of the filling exposed in the centre. Place on the baking sheet and repeat the process for the remaining filling and dough.
Brush the top of the pastries with beaten egg to glaze and sprinkle over a few extra sesame seeds if you wish. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown all over.
BLACK OLIVE, HELLIM, ONION & MINT LOAF
This is one of my favourites of my Mum’s recipes. It features quite a bit of olive oil, which gives a lovely, almost focaccia-like texture – perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon. Make sure you use the best olives you can find, as these are key to the flavour.
SERVES 14 – 16
1kg (2lb 4oz) plain flour
2 x 7g sachets fast-action dried yeast
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
800ml (1⅓ pints) water
1 onion, finely chopped
250g (9oz) hellim cheese, cut into 1cm (½in) dice
500g (1lb 2oz) good-quality pitted black olives, roughly chopped
250ml (9fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
2 tablespoons dried mint