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!

Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 5 cups of wheat flour
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon yogurt
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 dessertspoon dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 teaspoons salt
• Water
• Walnuts

Preparation

Take a small bowl and put dry yeast and sugar in it.Add warm milk and wait until it rises. In a large bowl mix  wheat and white flour and salt, then add yeast mix and yogurt. Knead it by adding water, until it becomes a soft dough. 

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

Cut walnuts into small pieces with a knife. If you want smaller pieces you can use a food processor. 

Add walnuts to the dough and knead it again. Then give it a long shape. Actually you can give it any shape you want.

Cut the dough in small pieces. After you cut it, scratch parallel lines on the surface of the bread with a knife.

Bake it in 400 F oven about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Date Cookies

The recipe of this cookie belongs to one of my friend's grandmother. She used to make this cookie during New year. Date cookies which is called 'Ma'amoul' in Muslim countries, are consumed during religious festivals. There are different versions in each country. Thanks to Nazli for this recipe.

Note: You will have 40-50 cookies, depending on size with these ingredients.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 8 cups of flour
• 3 cups of butter
• 1/2 cups of canola/vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
• 1 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of water

For the fill

Date fill

• 1/2 table spoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mahlab
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground anise
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 2 tablespoon canola/vegetable oil

Walnut fill

• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
• 1 desert spoon cinnamon

For decoration

• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

To prepare the dough first take a sauce pan and put sugar, powdered sugar and water in it and boil them together. You should wait couple of minutes after it boils and then take it from the heat. Then, take another sauce pan and put butter in it and melt all the butter.

Then take a large bowl and add flour and yeast in it. Add oil into the melted butter and slowly add it to the flour while kneading it. The butter should be neither too cold not too hot, it should be warm to help the yeast work.

After you are done with butter and oil, add syrup slowly and go on kneading. The same thing for syrup, it should be neither cold nor hot.

Knead the dough until it looks like this.

Then put it into freezer about ten minutes.
In the meantime to prepare the fills, put all spices into a small bowl and mix them together.

We will have two types of fill, one with dates and the other is with walnuts. For the fill with dates put chopped dates and 1 1/2 teaspoon spice mix.

For the fill with walnuts, put crushed walnuts, honey and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix them.

Take the dough from freezer. Make small and medium balls from it.Then take medium ball and make a bowl shape out of it. Put some fill into it. Take small ball and cover the fill with that.

After you give the cookie its shape with your hand, put some holes on it with a fork. Actually we did this to differentiate two types of cookies. You do not need to do that.

Bake it about 25 minutes in preheated oven to 375 F. To understand if it is baked, look at the bottom, if it is darker and cookies are not too soft it is baked.

After you take them from the oven, wait until it gets cold and decorate with powdered sugar. 

Turkish Dumpling

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• Warm water

For the Fill

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of black pepper

For the Sauce

• Greek yogurt
• Minced garlic
• Cannola/vegetable oil
• Red flare pepper
• Dry mint, oregano

Preparation

To prepare the dough take a large bowl and put flour, egg and salt into it. Knead it by adding little amount of warm water until it becomes a soft dough.

Cut the dough into 6, 7 pieces, take one piece and start rolling. You can use a regular rolling pin, but it is better to use a slimmer one to make the base thin.

To prepare the fill, take a large bowl put ground beef, chopped onions, salt and pepper and knead them.

Place small pieces of beef on the half part of the base with equal distances. 

Then cover them with the other half of the base.

With the help of a shot glass, cut them into small pieces. You can also cut it with knife and cover with your hands, but it will take longer.

You can either fry or boil them. I preferred to boil which is a more common method. To boil them, take a large pot and add boiling water and a little salt in it. Put dumplings in the water and boil about 20 minutes, they will rise after 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce mix minced garlic with yogurt and put it on the dumplings. Then take a small pan, add some oil and put it on medium heat. When it fries add red peppers and wait about 30 seconds and take it from the heat.

Put this sauce over the dumpling mixed with yoghurt. Decorate with mind and oregano. Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup of red lentil
• 1 small potato
• 1 small onion
• 2 tablespoons vegetable/sunflower/canola oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 1/2 cup of hot water
• Red flare pepper
• Salt
• Dry mint

Preparation

Chop onions and roast them with one tablespoon oil. 

Then add washed lentil and tomato paste and cook about one minute. 

Cut potato in small cubes and add them to the soup together with the boiling water and boil about 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes put the soup in a strainer and strain it through. You can use food processor as well, but I prefer traditional methods.After you strain all of them, boil it another ten minutes and add salt.

When the soup is ready to serve, to prepare the sauce take a pan and put one tablespoon oil on it. Wait until it gets hot, and add dry mint and red flare pepper and cook just 30 seconds and take it from heat.
Put this sauce on the soup. Your soup is ready. Enjoy!

Cheese balls

I took this recipe from a lovely American lady who lives in Netherlands. It is quite easy and fancy appetizer for your guests.

Ingredients

• 1 pack (8 oz) of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup of blue cheese
• 1/2 cup of crushed walnuts
• Parsley

Preparation

Put all cheese in a large bowl and start kneading until you have a dough.

Add 1/3 of crushed walnuts and knead again. 

Make small balls from the dough. 

Roll balls on chopped parsley first and then crushed walnuts. They are ready to serve. 

Enjoy!