cook-food

One of my favorite snacks/appetizers is the bulgur balls with spinach and garlic. These bulgur balls have numerous names. The funny thing is that I did not know the name until I started to write the recipe and begin to think about its name. I grew up with this food, no question about it, but I had no idea what it was called. In my internet search, I found out that it can be called ‘Fellah Köftesi’ , ‘Sarımsaklı Köfte’ and some other names. I have to emphasize the spinach and garlic in it, hence I am calling it ‘Sarımsaklı ve Ispanaklı Bulgur Köftesi’ meaning ‘Bulgur Balls with Spinach and Garlic’ . To me, that is the most reasonable way of describing it. This dish is mainly known in Southern provinces of Turkey such as Hatay, Adana and Mersin. I would not be surprised if it is also known in Gaziantep and other Southeastern provinces where a very rich variety of food exists. Instead of spinach, you may also use green beans with red pepper paste sauce. Bulgur balls with tomato sauce an...

As we all know, fried foods are always delicious, but not very healthy as fried foods contain excessive oil. As a substitute, I have turned to broiling foods that are conventionally fried. I seldom fry anything as I try to minimize the oil intake into our bodies. In fact, for the longest time, I turned away from frying completely as I was probably influenced by my uncle who to my knowledge has never ever fried anything. In the past couple years, I realized that I was longing for some of the traditional foods that I grew up with (such as İçli Köfte and Fried Potatoes) that taste best when fried. Now, once in a blue moon, I do fry either potatoes or chicken and of course İçli Köfte. One day, I felt like having some comfort food and decided to allow us to eat something unhealthy (chicken wings)! The oil I used is incomparable to what most restaurants use. In my house, canola or olive oil is used for frying and for regular cooking only olive oil is used. The chicken wings used in this reci...

Bread, (“ekmek” in Turkish) is the main staple food in Turkish cuisine. Varieties include: pide ekmeği (flat bread), somun ekmeği (bread loaf which is very soft inside and crispy on the outside), sac ekmeği or yufka ekmeği (paper thin bread made on a large iron convex griddle), tandır ekmeği (thin bread made in a clay oven that is comprised of a hole in the ground and covered with clay inside), lavaş ekmeği which is also a thin type of bread baked in a clay oven and many more regional specialties. Different regions have different breads, hence I am not even able to mention all of them. In Turkey, in almost every corner, you will run into a bakery where the aroma of bread is filling the whole street. Bakeries bake breads at least twice a day; in the early morning and in the afternoon. Fresh bread is purchased daily in Turkey. In the morning, just before breakfast, one of the family members takes a short trip to the closest bakery and picks up fresh bread. The bread is usually warm when ...

Have you ever had Turkish breakfast? Those of you who have visited Turkey or have close Turkish friends or family members, probably have had a taste of what Turkish breakfast entails. Breakfast in Turkey is not only about food, but also about family time and gathering. In Turkish, breakfast is called “kahvaltı” which is derived from “kahve altı” which literally means “under coffee” or “before coffee”. As you may guess, traditionally Turkish coffee (kahve) is not drunk during breakfast, rather after breakfast or in the afternoon. A traditionally brewed black tea is an indispensable part of breakfast. Along with hot black tea, white cheese (analogous to feta), boiled eggs, green or black olives, çökelek (spicy cheese), Turkish sausage, helva, pekmez (grape or mulberry molasses), tomatoes, cucumbers, honey, jam, fresh butter, an omelet called “ menemen ” and fresh warm bread complete Turkish breakfast. Occasionally, böreks, pides, fried potatoes and various types of pastries are also ser...