Post by yenilira on Nov 2, 2011 19:43:26 GMT 1
For those who are not travelling and are waiting (im)patiently for the game to come on-line, just a little something to calm your nerves/keep you otherwise occupied.......
After all, it's only Simon Greyson's mob......
Eating in Turkey is always a really pleasant affair. That's because Turkish cuisine is so extremely versatile and there's always a favourite dish to suit all tastes.
Turkish people have good reason to be proud of their cuisine. They consider it to be ranked alongside French and Chinese as the third great cuisine of the world. The fact is that the majority of people who are eat Turkish food for the very first time get a pleasant surprise!
In Turkey food and drink is an integral part of the culture and it's interesting to experience how food plays an important role in many daily rituals. It's the same whether you're talking about making a nice cup of coffee for the future 'in-laws', the mezze’s that go with a good glass of rakι, or the special sweet drink made from lime juice, water, sugar and rose-essence (şerbet) that sweethearts drink on their wedding day (so that they'll carry on saying sweet things to each other for the rest of their lives together ………)
The fact that Turkish cuisine is so versatile has got a lot to do with Turkey being such an enormous country and just about every product imaginable is grown here. It's also the result of the multitude of cultures which have made their mark on this part of the world.
Turkey is at a crossroads between the Far East and the Mediterranean Sea region, where the variety of tastes and styles of cooking have been blended together and perfected through the ages. Add to this the fact that the country was ruled for centuries by 'spoilt' sultans, for whom hundreds of cooks tried every day to perfect their cooking skills: knowing that a good meal can cheer up even the biggest misery-guts! There are enough ingredients, therefore, for an infinite variety of dishes.
Many Turkish dishes have got names which appear to originate from Sherazade's Arabian Nights tales. I'll introduce you to a few of them. Afiyet Olsun!
To make it easy, I have put the Turkish word behind certain ingredients. Then you will know what to look for in the shop.
Bülbül Yuvasι .. (The nightingales nest)
Ingredients
12 slices flake pastry (yufka)
200 gr. Butter (preferably unsalted)
Whipped cream (krema)
For the filling
200 gr. Peeled walnuts
1 soupspoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon (tarçin)
For the syrup
250 gr. Sugar
1 ¼ cups water
Juice from half a lemon.
To the Preparation:
Mix the ingredients for the filling and set on the side. Take a slice of pastry and spread it with butter. Sprinkle a soupspoon of filling over the pastry and fold the edges to make a packet.
Warm oven beforehand to 180 ˚C. Sit the ‘nests’ on an oven plate and bake until golden brown.
Now boil the sugar and water 15 minutes and two minutes before you remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice. Pour the syrup once it has cooled a bit on the ‘nightingale nests’.
Decorate with walnuts or pistache nuts and eventually whipped cream.
Imam Bayildι .. (The imam fainted)
The explanation of the name of this very popular Turkish dish has many versions. The most simple is that the Imam (Islamic holy leader) found the food so tasty that he fainted from it. An another reason being that when the Imam heard how much expensive olive oil was used for the food, he fainted from .
Ingredients
4 aubergines (patlican)
Salt
10 soupspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium sized unions (suan)
6 garlic toes chopped
Parsley leaves (maydanoz) finely cut
2 soupspoons freshly chopped dill
1 teaspoon sugar
2 soupspoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup water
250 gr. Ripe tomatoes, skinned and small cut
Eventually: 1 cinnamon stick (tarçin)
The Preparation -
Cut the skin in slices from the aubergine vertically, in such a manner that here and there pieces of the skin are left on. Cut the aubergines down the middle lengthwise. Make in the middle on both sides a reasonable deep cut, but take care that you don’t cut through the skin. Sprinkle some salt on the aubergine and leave them on a kitchen paper about 30 minutes to drain out the bitter juices.
Warm in a large pan ¼ of the olive oil and as it begins to smoke bake the aubergines with the insides underneath until this side is golden brown.
Take the aubergines out of the pan and let them to leak out on kitchen paper. Now cook in the same pan, in the remaining oil, on a medium heat, the union and the garlic about 5 minutes until golden while at the same time stir so the garlic does not burn.
Now add the tomatoes, parsley, dill, sugar, salt and eventually a cinnamon stick and shimmer a few minutes. Then remove the cinnamon.
Lay the aubergines in a pan or oven dish with the cut side up. Open carefully the slit as far as possible and fill with the onion mix. Sprinkle the lemon juice all over. Next put the water in the pan/oven dish and warm the meal about 50 minutes until the aubergines are soft and mushy. Let them cool off. The meal can be eaten warm or cold. Serve with rice (pilav) and yoghurt with chopped mint (nane) or dill in it.
Hanim Göbeği .. (Ladies Naval)
Ingredients
150 gr. Butter
1250 gr. Sugar
½ liter olive oil
2 soupspoons lemon juice
450 gr. Flour (un)
8 eggs
5-6 glasses water
Salt
Preparation
For the syrup we put 2,5 glasses water, the lemon juice and the sugar in a pan and bring to the boil about 2 minutes until it thickens. Put on the side and leave to cool.
Melt the butter in a pan and add three glasses of water. When the mixture boils stir slowly the flour into it and add a little salt. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes constantly stirring. Leave to cool, then stir in the eggs one by one. Make balls from the dough about the size of a walnut. Flatten every ball a little and make a hole in the middle with your finger: the Ladies Navel. Then bake them in the olive oil. After add the balls to the cold syrup. After 15 minutes serve.
Kadin Budu Köfte .. (Women’s Thighs)
Ingredients
500 gr. Minced meat (Kyma)
1 grated onion
100 gr. Cooked rice
100 gr. Soft white cheese (beyaz peynir)
2 eggs
4 soupspoons flour (un)
Olive oil
Freshly grained black pepper (kara biber)
Salt
1 soupspoon chopped parsley (maydanoz)
Preparation
Kneed the grated onion, the rice, the cheese, parsley, one egg, pepper and salt in the minced meat. Make balls about the size of an egg and roll them through the flour and a second whished egg. Bake these ‘thighs’ in the olive oil until crispy golden brown. Serve with rice and salad.
So there you have it - anyone know of any others with unusual names?
YL.
After all, it's only Simon Greyson's mob......
Eating in Turkey is always a really pleasant affair. That's because Turkish cuisine is so extremely versatile and there's always a favourite dish to suit all tastes.
Turkish people have good reason to be proud of their cuisine. They consider it to be ranked alongside French and Chinese as the third great cuisine of the world. The fact is that the majority of people who are eat Turkish food for the very first time get a pleasant surprise!
In Turkey food and drink is an integral part of the culture and it's interesting to experience how food plays an important role in many daily rituals. It's the same whether you're talking about making a nice cup of coffee for the future 'in-laws', the mezze’s that go with a good glass of rakι, or the special sweet drink made from lime juice, water, sugar and rose-essence (şerbet) that sweethearts drink on their wedding day (so that they'll carry on saying sweet things to each other for the rest of their lives together ………)
The fact that Turkish cuisine is so versatile has got a lot to do with Turkey being such an enormous country and just about every product imaginable is grown here. It's also the result of the multitude of cultures which have made their mark on this part of the world.
Turkey is at a crossroads between the Far East and the Mediterranean Sea region, where the variety of tastes and styles of cooking have been blended together and perfected through the ages. Add to this the fact that the country was ruled for centuries by 'spoilt' sultans, for whom hundreds of cooks tried every day to perfect their cooking skills: knowing that a good meal can cheer up even the biggest misery-guts! There are enough ingredients, therefore, for an infinite variety of dishes.
Many Turkish dishes have got names which appear to originate from Sherazade's Arabian Nights tales. I'll introduce you to a few of them. Afiyet Olsun!
To make it easy, I have put the Turkish word behind certain ingredients. Then you will know what to look for in the shop.
Bülbül Yuvasι .. (The nightingales nest)
Ingredients
12 slices flake pastry (yufka)
200 gr. Butter (preferably unsalted)
Whipped cream (krema)
For the filling
200 gr. Peeled walnuts
1 soupspoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon (tarçin)
For the syrup
250 gr. Sugar
1 ¼ cups water
Juice from half a lemon.
To the Preparation:
Mix the ingredients for the filling and set on the side. Take a slice of pastry and spread it with butter. Sprinkle a soupspoon of filling over the pastry and fold the edges to make a packet.
Warm oven beforehand to 180 ˚C. Sit the ‘nests’ on an oven plate and bake until golden brown.
Now boil the sugar and water 15 minutes and two minutes before you remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice. Pour the syrup once it has cooled a bit on the ‘nightingale nests’.
Decorate with walnuts or pistache nuts and eventually whipped cream.
Imam Bayildι .. (The imam fainted)
The explanation of the name of this very popular Turkish dish has many versions. The most simple is that the Imam (Islamic holy leader) found the food so tasty that he fainted from it. An another reason being that when the Imam heard how much expensive olive oil was used for the food, he fainted from .
Ingredients
4 aubergines (patlican)
Salt
10 soupspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium sized unions (suan)
6 garlic toes chopped
Parsley leaves (maydanoz) finely cut
2 soupspoons freshly chopped dill
1 teaspoon sugar
2 soupspoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup water
250 gr. Ripe tomatoes, skinned and small cut
Eventually: 1 cinnamon stick (tarçin)
The Preparation -
Cut the skin in slices from the aubergine vertically, in such a manner that here and there pieces of the skin are left on. Cut the aubergines down the middle lengthwise. Make in the middle on both sides a reasonable deep cut, but take care that you don’t cut through the skin. Sprinkle some salt on the aubergine and leave them on a kitchen paper about 30 minutes to drain out the bitter juices.
Warm in a large pan ¼ of the olive oil and as it begins to smoke bake the aubergines with the insides underneath until this side is golden brown.
Take the aubergines out of the pan and let them to leak out on kitchen paper. Now cook in the same pan, in the remaining oil, on a medium heat, the union and the garlic about 5 minutes until golden while at the same time stir so the garlic does not burn.
Now add the tomatoes, parsley, dill, sugar, salt and eventually a cinnamon stick and shimmer a few minutes. Then remove the cinnamon.
Lay the aubergines in a pan or oven dish with the cut side up. Open carefully the slit as far as possible and fill with the onion mix. Sprinkle the lemon juice all over. Next put the water in the pan/oven dish and warm the meal about 50 minutes until the aubergines are soft and mushy. Let them cool off. The meal can be eaten warm or cold. Serve with rice (pilav) and yoghurt with chopped mint (nane) or dill in it.
Hanim Göbeği .. (Ladies Naval)
Ingredients
150 gr. Butter
1250 gr. Sugar
½ liter olive oil
2 soupspoons lemon juice
450 gr. Flour (un)
8 eggs
5-6 glasses water
Salt
Preparation
For the syrup we put 2,5 glasses water, the lemon juice and the sugar in a pan and bring to the boil about 2 minutes until it thickens. Put on the side and leave to cool.
Melt the butter in a pan and add three glasses of water. When the mixture boils stir slowly the flour into it and add a little salt. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes constantly stirring. Leave to cool, then stir in the eggs one by one. Make balls from the dough about the size of a walnut. Flatten every ball a little and make a hole in the middle with your finger: the Ladies Navel. Then bake them in the olive oil. After add the balls to the cold syrup. After 15 minutes serve.
Kadin Budu Köfte .. (Women’s Thighs)
Ingredients
500 gr. Minced meat (Kyma)
1 grated onion
100 gr. Cooked rice
100 gr. Soft white cheese (beyaz peynir)
2 eggs
4 soupspoons flour (un)
Olive oil
Freshly grained black pepper (kara biber)
Salt
1 soupspoon chopped parsley (maydanoz)
Preparation
Kneed the grated onion, the rice, the cheese, parsley, one egg, pepper and salt in the minced meat. Make balls about the size of an egg and roll them through the flour and a second whished egg. Bake these ‘thighs’ in the olive oil until crispy golden brown. Serve with rice and salad.
So there you have it - anyone know of any others with unusual names?
YL.