I’m writing this blog post in my sick bed right now. Or ok, more like recovering bed because the peak of flu passed and I am indeed on the path of recovery. And I can breathe again. And I feel like eating again, dreaming of pastries like this one.
I admit. I haven’t felt inspired to write for a while. I’ve been baking & cooking as usual, so it’s not about food. But I just felt like doing other things, like reading – I purchased many books lately about food justice, feminism and seed sovereignty. So I’ve been reading them. And I also went to a 2-weeks holiday in Istanbul during new year so yes, excuses excuses, but this blog post was long overdue..
This is one of my all time favourite dishes. It is also one of the easiest dishes to make with very cheap and easy to find ingredients. One of the most traditional dishes in Turkish cuisine, my version is cooked without meat, while many others cook it with beef or lamb. Its best companion is rice pilaf and you can find the recipe for that here.
Yes it is! For Finnish readers, the only problem may be to find it because I only know 2 shops in Itäkeskus which sell kadayif (I will write about them below). But once you get a hold of it, you’ll be more than happy to make this delicious and easiest dessert.
I love eggplant so much that I could perhaps even eat it raw (though, it may be an exaggerated move!). I also love anything with phyllo. Therefore, naturally, the combination in this börek satisfied me a lot!
I love phyllo dough. Whatever you make with it comes out delicious (ok, yes, most of the time, depending on you too..). It is a very commonly used ingredient in Turkish cuisine and I grew up with all sorts of fillings and types of phyllo dough. This one has meat – not my favourite ingredient as I am not much of a fan of meat, but it reminds me of home so I like this little pastry. About 3 years ago, I posted a Turkish dish with many memories: manti, aka dumplings. This recipe is one other version of it, some call it “high society dumplings” and I absolutely have no idea why they call it that. There are several differences between this pastry and the other, more traditional dumplings: this one is made with phyllo dough while the other one has different dough, this one is baked and the filling is greasier and spicier. Also, these are individual, big pastries and one pastry can fill a person quite good. …
Here is a salad that has always been one of the staple food in my mother’s feasts. Or how I remember it. Because apparently she also puts tomatoes, but this very much green and yellow colours were always the only version I remembered, so I made it like that, providing a little hint of red with chili pepper flakes.
I think my first encounter with haydari was in one of those raki-mezze places in the back alleys of Beyoglu/Istanbul.
If you want to have a dessert that is quite sweet but not with tons of sugar, I recommend you this extremely easy recipe!
When I was a kid, I used to think that some dishes could only be made by certain family members. For example, there was a black tea cake that I believed only my mother could bake. Turkish dumplings, I thought only my mother and aunt could make so delicious. And then there was this pastry which I believed could only be baked by my aunt, my father’s sister, as if there was something magical or that the trick was in her oven or something. Turns out, I was wrong. You just need to learn.
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