Mercimek Koftesi

1 cup red lentils, washed
1 cup fine bulgur, washed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon red chili flake
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
juice of one lemon
lettuce leaves to serve (butter lettuce, for example)

Cook the lentils in 2 1/2 cups water until soft. Add the bulgur. Cover and set aside until the bulgur absorbs the rest of the water.

In a skillet, heat the oil and cook the onion until soft. Stir in the chili flake, tomato paste and cumin.

Place all ingredients in large bowl. Mix well to combine. Allow the mixture to cool.

Make small torpedoes out of the mixture 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time. Chill. Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves with extra lemon.

This is my take on a favorite Turkish appetizer. I am taking this to the goddess day celebration I am attending tomorrow.


Lentils

Planet: Moon
Element: Water
Energies: Peace

I was watching "Spice Goddess" today, and the host, Bal Arneson, said that lentils were a sign of prosperity in India. I would add prosperity to the energies of the lentil as well, especially when combined with parsley, as in this recipe.

source: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

Summer Ingredients - Eggplant

Do you love eggplant, or do you hate it? I love it, personally. The Turks have about a bazillion different ways to prepare eggplant, most of which I love. Today I'm recreating one of my favorites, soslu patlican. Yes, I'm actually in the kitchen and cooking something for once! I have friends coming over to eat Turkish food later.

Let's look at the eggplant, courtesy of Scott Cunningham:

Planet: Jupiter
Element: Earth
Energies: Spirituality, Money

The eggplant is a native of China. The first eggplants were small, egg-shaped and white, hence the name. You can eat cooked eggplant to increase spirituality or for increased money.

If you're one of the people who can't stand eggplant, you can still use the vegetable to increase money. Simply cut an eggplant in half, place a one-dollar bill between the pieces, tie them together, and bury them. Don't dig up anything. Money will come to you.


Soslu Patlican (According to moi)

1 large eggplant, cubed, salted, patted dry
2-3 banana peppers, seeded and sliced into rings
oil for deep frying

For the tomato sauce:
1 1/2 cups tomato puree or sauce
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1-2 teaspoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste
water to thin, if needed

Deep fry the pepper rings and eggplant cubes until the eggplant is brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

Cook the garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce or puree. If using puree, you may need some water to thin, about 1/4 cup. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and simmer the sauce for 5-10 minutes. Pour over the eggplant and peppers. Cool to room temperature or chill in the fridge.


Sources: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

These are a few of my favorite things...

Recently a friend of mine asked me about the best thing I've had to eat so far in Turkey. I couldn't choose just one thing! The culinary traditions here are so rich and varied, not to mention old, and each region has at least one specialty. Last year I posted a Turkish menu for Mabon, complete with recipes. I thought today I could share with you all a few of the dishes that I particularly enjoy.

Iskender (Bursa) Kebap




Iskender kebap is a kind of döner kebab prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb or beef basted with tomato sauce over pieces of pide bread and generously slathered with melted butter and yogurt. It originated in Bursa. "Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa, which I have visited. It's a rather hefty meal, but perfect on a cold day.


İmam bayıldı (The Imam Fainted)




This is one of the better-known zeytinyağlı (olive oil) dishes. It is braised eggplant stuffed with parsley, tomatoes, onion and garlic. It is simmered in olive oil and served cold. This is NOT a low-cal dish, but boy is it good!

As for the name, there are several stories. One version is that the imam fainted with pleasure because the dish is so tasty. Another version says he fainted because of the amount of costly olive oil that went into preparing the dish. Whatever the story, I always close my eyes and savor this yummy meze when it's served in the cafeteria. The cafeteria cooks add currants too.


Zeytinyağlı biber dolması




This is another cold olive oil dish. It's also the only dish out of the three that I have prepared at home. I was tempted to make the eggplant meze over the weekend, but I just can't consciously consume that much olive oil in one recipe. I'm happy to remain ignorant of the fat content and eat it the 2-3 time I see it in the cafeteria a month. I use less olive oil in the pepper recipe.

These peppers are stuffed with rice, pine nuts, currants and spices, and usually topped with a slice of tomato before cooking. I use cinnamon instead of allspice in my recipe. The filling also includes fresh parsley, dill, mint, garlic and onion. *drool* I can never pass this up. I like the stuffed peppers better than the more popular vine leaves.

There you have it. Those are some of my favorite Turkish dishes. There are a few others that I enjoy, and fortunately the internet is full of English translations of the recipes. One of my favorite Turkish food sites is Almost Turkish. The link for this site can be found on the lefthand side of this blog.

As they say here, Afiyet olsun!