Ali Nazik Kebap

This a kind of kebab which is common in South East Part of Turkey.

Note: This recipe is for two people.

Ingredients

• 1 big eggplant
• 1 1/2 cups of Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 lb ground beef (93% lean)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation

Place aluminium foil on an oven pan and bake eggplant on it at broil about 20 minutes. Stab eggplant in different places with a knife before you bake it. If you do not do that, it may explode.

Peel the eggplant after you take it from the oven. Be careful, it will be really hot!

Blend eggplant and chopped garlic in a food processor. Then take the mixture in a large bowl add yogurt and mix them together.

Add garlic salt and mix again.

Take a service plate and put the eggplant mixture on it.

Take a frying pan and cook ground beef with some oil. Then add tomato paste and cook couple of minutes more. Place ground beef on the eggplant mixture. Enjoy!

Marble Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of cacao 
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable/canola oil
• 1 dessertspoon baking powder
• 1 dessertspoon baking soda
• 1 dessertspoon powder vanilla or vanilla extract
• 1 drop of lemon juice

Preparation

Take a large glass bowl and beat eggs and sugar with a mixer. They should be in room temperature. 

Then add milk and oil, beat again with a mixer. 

Mix lemon juice and baking soda and add to the mixture. 

Put flour, baking powder and powder vanilla in a strainer, and add to the mixture through it. Mix it with a wood spoon. 

Take a cake pan and put some oil or butter on the surface and pour half of the mixture.

Add cacao on the other half and mix again. Add the cacao mixture on the cake pan. Bake in 350 F preheated oven about 40 minutes, lower the temperature to 300 F and bake another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

Note: This recipe is two people

Ingredients

• 2 large onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of wine (optional)
• 2 cups of meat broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 slices of French bread
• 1 teaspoon flour
• Swiss Gruyere cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

Slice onions thin. 

Take a medium pot and melt butter in it, then add sliced onions. Cook them on medium heat until they got caramelized about 30-40 minutes. If you want to speed up the process add one teaspoon sugar into it.

Then add minced garlic and cook couple of minutes more and add thyme, pepper and bay leaf. Then add wine and cook 5-10 minutes until wine evaporates. After that add flour and cook couple of minutes more. Lastly add beef broth and salt and cook 30 minutes more on low heat. See the picture.

Roast sliced breads in a toaster or in the oven. Take soup in a small bowl, put roasted bread on it and sprinkle grated Swiss cheese and Parmesan and broil in a 350 F preheated oven about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Puffy Pizza with Beef

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 3 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Salt

For the Fill

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 little onion
• 1 tablespoon red pepper paste
• 2 tablespoons of pomegranate sauce (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red flare pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Parsley

Preparation

Mix dry yeast with warm milk and sugar and wait until it rises. Take a large bowl and put the yeast mixture, canola/vegetable oil, salt and vinegar. Add flour slowly and knead it until it becomes a soft dough.

Keep the dough in a warm place couple of hours. In the meantime to prepare the fill take a large bowl put ground beef, chopped onion and parsley, red pepper paste, pomegranate sauce (you can find it in Middle East Shops), olive oil, black and red pepper and salt and then mix them together.

When the dough is ready take small pieces from it and with the help of olive oil, make thin square shape and then wind up all edges.

Put square shaped pieces on a glass pan and put some fill on top of it. 

Bake it in 375 F preheated oven about 40 minutes, until it gets red. Enjoy!

Cheese Dessert

This dessert was invented in a small town in Turkey during Ottoman Empire era. It is still only produced in that little town. 

Note: You will have 30 of them with these ingredients. That could be served for 10 people.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of semolina
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 dessertspoon baking powder
• 4 cups of water
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1/4 lemon juice
• Coconut (optional)

Preparation

Take a large bowl mix semolina, flour,salt and baking powder in it, then add eggs and mozzarella. 

Knead it until it becomes a soft dough. 

Take very small pieces from the dough and make small balls. as they will rise when you cook them. 

Bake them at 400 F preheated oven about 30-40 minutes, until they are roasted. 

In the mean time to prepare syrup put water and sugar in a big pot and boil. When it boils add lemon juice and put cookies in it. Boil them about 5-10 minutes.

Your dessert is ready. You can serve them with coconut or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Leeks

Most people do not like leeks, but if you cook correctly it will turn into a delicious food.

Note: This recipe is for two people.

Ingredients

• 2 leeks
• 1 carrot
• 1/4 cup of rice
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Olive oil
• 1 cup of water

Preparation

Cut leaks and carrot in small round shape and put them in water about 5 minutes.

Then take them into a large pot add some olive oil and cook until they get smaller in size. See the picture.

Wash the rice and add it to the pot. Wait couple of minutes and add hot water and tomato paste. Cook about 20 minutes, and add a teaspoon of salt. Serve with lemon and keep it in a glass pan. Enjoy!

Puffy Pizza

Ingredients

For the dough

• 4-5 cups of flour 
• 4 tablespoon sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 dessertspoon instant yeast
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of canola/vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• Sesame/black seeds

For the topping

• 1 tomato
• 1 green pepper or jalapeno
• Mozzarella and feta cheese

Preparation

Take a small bowl and add sugar and instant yeast in it. Add warm milk and water and wait until it rises. Remember milk should be not cold, but not too hot either. 

After it rises take it to a larger bowl and add oil, salt and egg white. If you do not know how to separate egg yolk and white, check it out from here http://foodrecipesaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2013/06/cheese-bread.html. Add flour to the mixture slowly and knead it until you have a very soft dough. It takes about 4-5 cups of flour.

Keep the dough in a warm place couple of hours until it doubles its size.

Then take small pieces from the dough and make small pizza base. 

Put cheese, pepper and tomato in the middle of it and apply egg yolk at the edges, then sprinkle some sesame and black seeds.

You can use any ingredients, such as pepperoni, mushroom, olives and even cook it plain as well, it will still taste good! Cover the oven grill with aluminium foil and put all pizzas on top of it. 

Bake 40 minutes in 375 F preheated oven. Your pizza is ready, enjoy!