MY TURKISH RECIPES FOR MY ITALIAN FRIENDS AY Ş E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E Naonis Edizioni MY TURKISH RECIPES FOR MY ITALIAN FRIENDS AY Ş E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E Naonis Edizioni 2 MY TURKISH RECIPES FOR MY ITALIAN FRIENDS B Y AY Ş E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E 2013 Naonis Edizioni © All rights reserved ISBN 978-88-904073-4-5 www.naonisedizioni.com 3 To my father, who brought us up with so much love and intelligence. 4 AY Ş E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E Ayşegül Türker was born in 1965. After receiving a degree in Economics at the University of Istanbul she worked as an interpreter of Japanese and Italian, accompanying thousands of tourists around Turkey. In 2008 she published her first novel, “La leggenda del borgo”, for Naonis Editions. She has lived in Italy for the past ten years. She now lives in Pordenone with her husband and her daughter Lara. photo: Gianluca Minuzzi MY TURKISH RECIPES FOR MY ITALIAN FRIENDS AY S E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E INTRODUCTION Cooking is an act of love! Cooking is relationships! Inviting someone to dinner, sharing what you’ve got without fuss and worry about being the perfect cook – that’s the real way to spend time with someone, something that’s becoming more and more difficult. This book was born from my experience of exchanging quick and easy recipes with other mothers while we were waiting for our children outside school. Gradually, not only my daughter’s friends, but their parents as well, began to be interested in my “Turkish” recipes, so I decided to put together the ones that have had the most success. They’re all easy to prepare, but in each one you can breathe the scentof the markets of Istanbul and appreciate the delicacy of the Ottoman cuisine which inspired me. H AV E F U N index STARTERS AND SAUCES Turkish bruschetta ....... 9 Fried zucchini balls ....... 10 Potato croquettes ....... 11 Red lentil balls ....... 12 Fried roulade with cheese ....... 13 Roulade with lentils ....... 14 Roulade with spinach ....... 15 Eggplant with tomato ....... 16 Cheese with walnuts ....... 17 Yogurt with cucumber ....... 18 Yogurt with mint ....... 19 Yogurt with carrots ....... 20 Spicy yogurt ....... 21 Humus ....... 22 SOUPS Soup with bulgur balls ....... 24 Soup with meatballs ....... 25 Red lentil soup ....... 26 Vegetable soup ....... 27 RICE DISHES Rice with tomato ....... 29 Rice with angel hair ....... 30 Rice with pine nuts and raisins ....... 31 Rice with eggplant ....... 32 Traditional rice ....... 33 MAIN DISHES Spicy chicken wings ....... 35 Parchment baked bream ....... 36 Breaded anchovies ....... 37 Tartar pastry ....... 38 Stuffed peppers ....... 39 Turkish flat bread ....... 40 Turkish meatballs ....... 41 Chicken stew with pine nuts ....... 42 VEGETABLES Cauliflower with yogurt ....... 44 Borlotti beans in oil ....... 45 Cannellini beans in oil ....... 46 Bulgur salad ....... 47 Red cabbage salad ....... 48 Eggplant salad ....... 49 Okra with tomato ....... 50 Stuffed tomatoes ....... 51 Radicchio salterello ....... 52 Celeriac in oil ....... 53 Spadoni in oil ....... 54 DESSERTS Rice pudding ....... 56 Apricots with cream ....... 57 Caramelized pumpkin ....... 58 Chocolate cake ....... 59 BEVANDE Ayran ....... 61 Lemonade ....... 62 Traditional tea ....... 63 Infusion for a cold ....... 64 STARTERS AND SAUCES MEZELER In Turkish cuisine, starters are known as “meze”, and are considered a prelude to the main course. They are served in small quantities, to calm the appetite, to avoid a voracious jump at food. The most common starters consist of plates of vegetables under oil, like green beans in oil, fava beans, artichokes, eggplant, but also the traditional roulades of puff pastry filled with white cheese and different sauces of yogurt, chickpeas, or tomatoes. If you’re having a fish menu, there will also be fried squid, salted Atlantic bonito, marinated anchovies and grilled crawfish. In traditional restaurants you can see all these “meze” carefully placed on large trays that will be served to you according to your taste. On those trays you find a mosaic of flavors that bear witness to the cultural wealth of Turkey that has been handed down over the centuries. TURKISH BRUSCHETTA PEYNİRLİ EKMEK Ask a Turk who lives abroad what he or she most misses from home; they will probably answer “Breakfast!” In Turkey, breakfast is rich and abundant, a mix of salty and sweet. You can’t even think of a table without olives, and there must absolutely be white salted cheese, butter, jam, honey, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, small salami, fresh bread and a glass of Turkish tea. If you add whipped cream – “kayak” – to this list, breakfast is perfect! These simple bruschette (toasted slices of bread with topping) which for a Turk are a variation of breakfast, can become a lifesaver for hungry children, or something tasty to offer to friends as an aperitif. INGREDIENTS (4 People) 200 gr of cheese (Feta type) bread for bruschette, sliced 1 heaping tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine dried oregano 1 egg PREPARATION With a fork, work the cheese well in a bowl. Add the egg and the chopped parsley and mix until creamy. Spread on slices of bread and garnish with a pinch of oregano. Bake in oven at 180° for about 15 minutes, or until surface is golden. Serve with sliced tomatoes to lend color to the plate. 10 MY TURKISH RECIPES FOR MY ITALIAN FRIENDS AY S E G Ü L T Ü R K E R Z A N E T T E PUBLISHING HOUSE: Naonis Edizioni YEAR: Anno 2013 CONTENT: Collection of 50 original gourmet recipes PAGES: 132 (hard copy italian version only) - 70 (e-book) Soon available on: For any enquires contact us: [email protected] © 2013 Naonis Edizioni All Rights Reserved www.naonisedizioni.com