Pumpkin Dessert

I wanted to share a pumpkin dessert recipe before the pumpkin period over. It is a traditional dessert from a small city in South-East part of Turkey.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs pumpkin
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1-2 cups of crushed walnuts

Preparation

Peel and slice pumpkins in any way you like, then lay them over a glass pan. Scatter all the sugar over the pumpkin slices. 

Wait 5-6 hours until all sugar melts and bake in a preheated oven at 375 F about 45 minutes. Check if they are cooked with the help of a fork, if they are soft enough you can take them from oven. Serve with crushed walnuts. You can add as much as walnut you want, I actually like with a lot of them.

Enjoy!

Lentil Balls

Today's recipe is an appetizer consumed usually during the afternoon tea in Turkey. There are also different variations in Indian cuisine.

Note: This recipe is for 5-6 people 

Ingredients

• 2 cups of red lentil
• 1 cup of Bulgar wheat
• 1 tablespoon tomato/red pepper paste (I used both)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable/canola oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon red flare pepper
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• Parsley
• 1 small onion
• 3 green onions 

Preparation

Take a pot and put lentils in it, add water and boil them on medium heat. After they boil, lower the heat. After lentils absorb almost all water add Bulgar wheat, turn off the heat, close the lid and wait about 15 minutes, until they are combined.

In the mean time chop onions in small pieces, take a pan, put butter or oil on it and add onions. Roast them until they cooked well, add tomato/red pepper paste and cook couple of minutes more. 

Take a large bowl put lentil and wheat mixture in it, add onion mixture and smash it with your hand. Be careful it will be very hot. After all the mixture become red, add salt, pepper and cumin and knead. Lastly add chopped parsley and green onion and knead one more time (I did not add green onion, cause I did not have, but it will taste better if you add).

Give them and oval shape with your hand.

You can serve them with lemon and lettuce. Enjoy!

Tortilla Pizza

To make pizza out of tortilla is super easy, and the taste is still good. If you do not have much time you should definitely try this recipe.

Ingredients

• 10-12 tortilla breads

For the fill

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup olive/canola/vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon red pepper paste (optional)
• 2 sweet peppers 
• 1 small onion 
• 2 tomatoes 
• 1 piece of garlic
• Parsley
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Red flare pepper

Preparation

First chop tomatoes, onion and peppers in small pieces, mince garlic and then put all the ingredients for the fill a large bowl and knead until all of them mixed together. 

Lay tortilla breads on aluminium foil and spread the mixture on top tortillas. 

Preheat oven to 400F and bake them about 15 minutes. After you take them from oven put in a pan on top of each other and cover the pan with aluminium foil or a tablecloth. In this way they will be softer. 

If you want them to be crispy, put them on the service plate after taking it from the oven and do not cover. 

Potato Balls

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 2 cups of Greek or plain yogurt (it is better with Greek)
• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• 3-4 garlic
• Salt
• Red flare pepper
• Dry mint
• Oregano

Preparation

Boil potatoes and take them to a large bowl after peeling. Crush them with a potato musher or with your hand. Add some salt and oregano and make little balls from this mixture. Put balls into a glass pan.

Put yogurt in a bowl and add minced garlic. If you use Greek yogurt, add some water, but not too much. Pour yogurt mixture on top of the potatoes. 

Lastly, place a pan on a medium heat and put olive oil on it. When oil is heated add dry mint and red flare pepper and take it from heat immediately. 

Pour oil on top of yogurt.