Recipe #11: Garlic-scented Lentils

This is so yummy!  Great autumn dish that is nutritious and full of flavor.  Today I'm posting the recipe for the lentils and tomorrow I'll also post the recipe for the chicken that you see in the picture.

Garlic-scented Lentils with Carrots
(Printable Version)

• 1 cup green lentils
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, slice in half and then sliced across the grain
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, bruised and roughly chopped
• 1½ tsp coriander seeds
• handful of fresh sage leaves
• 1½ cups chicken broth
• sage leaves to garnish

Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot.  Once boiling, add the lentils and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse well with cold water.  In another pot, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and add the onions, garlic, sage and coriander seeds.

Once the onions have begun to soften, add the carrots.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes and add the lentils. 

Pour in chicken broth.  If necessary add enough water so that the lentils and carrots are covered in liquid.  Cook at a gentle simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.  You want to maintain a gentle simmer because you don't want the carrots to break apart and the lentils to turn mushy.  The dish is done with the lentils are fully cooked and the carrots still have a little bite.  Garnish with fresh sage.  If desired, serve with lemon wedges.

Recipe #9: Gypsy Salad

This salad is so fresh, healthy, and flavorful.  I think that traditional recipes only have green peppers and I've added a few other things so I'm not sure how authentic this is but it's yummy.

Gypsy Salad
(Printable Version)
Serves 4-6

• 2 small red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 each yellow, red, and green bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2-4 chillies - I like using a mix of hot red, medium orange, and mild green
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/3-1/2 block feta
• 1 lemon, juiced
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

After thinly slicing the onions, spread on a plate and salt.

Let weep while you slice the peppers, about 10 minutes.  Rinse the onions, pat dry and mix with the peppers.

Finely chop the hot peppers.  I used a mix to temper the spice.  The red chili was really hot, the yellow medium and the green was mild.

Mix together all vegetables and parsley and garlic.

Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  You probably will not need to add a lot of salt as the feta is usually pretty salty.  Crumble the feta over salad and serve.

©2009, Rebecca Manor

Recipe #8: Köfte or Turkish Meatballs

This meal was delicious!  Of course I didn't take pictures of it all put together before serving it so the "final" pictures aren't that great - but this is a fun recipe and everyone enjoyed it.  I served the meatballs in warm pittas with yoghurt sauce and Gypsy salad.  The flavor combinations were perfect - the cool salad cutting through the garlic in the yoghurt sauce and bringing out the herb flavors of the meatballs.  This was accompanied by Gypsy Salad and I'll be posting that recipe tomorrow.

Köfte or Turkish Meatballs
(Printable Version)
Adapted from Turkish Cooking  by Ghillie Bas̹an

Serves 4

• 1 cup lean ground lamb
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 hot chillis, finely chopped
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 slices of day-old wheat bread, mashed into crumbs (large pieces removed)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
• oil for frying
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• pitta bread, warmed before serving
• lemon wedges

Yoghurt Sauce

• 1 1∕2 cups plain Greek style yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic
• salt

In a bowl mix the lamb with the onion, garlic, and cinnamon.  Mix thoroughly to ensure that all the flavors blend well.  Knead with your hands and then add in the chillis, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, breadcrumbs, egg, ketchup and chopped herbs.  Mix well with your hands.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form into small meatballs, about the size of a plum.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil and add the meatballs and cook for 8-12 minutes.  Meatballs should be browned on all sides and cooked through.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, prepare the yoghurt sauce.  Smash clove of garlic and add a pinch of salt.  Smash into a fine paste.  Stir into yoghurt.

Serve the meatballs in warmed pittas, with the yoghurt sauce, and lemon wedges.  We added the forthcoming Gypsy salad to our pittas and it was perfect.

© 2009 Rebecca Manor

Inspiration

My sweet husband has been so supportive of this cooking experiment and purchased the above book for me.  It's fantastic and one I would highly recommend.  I've used several of the recipes and have been thrilled with the results.  D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s-n-e-s-s!

Another thing that I like about it is the amount of information and history that Ms. Baʂan has included.  For instance due to the fact that Turkey serves as a land bridge between Europe and Asia its cuisine features the best elements of many distinct cultures.  I was so fascinated by the fact that Turkish cuisine also assimilated elements of Chinese cooking!  Specifically the idea of Yin & Yang - the balance between sweet and savory, hot and cold.  That is one of the reasons that you'll find spices usually reserved for sweet dishes (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) in the West paired with savory flavors.  That specific aspect of Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine is what first drew me to it and I've enjoyed learning more about it.

If you're interested in purchasing this cookbook, just click here to be taken to an Amazon.com page that I set up with a few more of my personal favorite selections.