Notes about Recipes in this book

• Red lentil soup with chile and mint (Mercimek çorbasi)

  • metacritic on October 10, 2021

    Absolutely delicious and incredibly easy. It is hard to overstate how simple this dish is, even as it brings out warming depths of flavor. By grating potato, onion, and carrot as the first step, one effectively makes the base for a very good vegetable broth without having the prior need of making the broth. The lentils go in and the whole thing is pureed. Then comes in the Aleppo pepper and dried mint. That this dish is made in butter, rather than olive oil, gives in a nice mouthfeel though you could sub olive oil with ease, I would think.

• Green lentil & beef soup (Yesil mercimek yemegi)

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 28, 2018

    The ingredients seem basic; but I think this is one of those "whole being greater than the sum of the parts" recipes. For only having 6 oz of ground beef, it adds a lot flavor along with the chiles, onions etc. It's a good version of lentil soup and different enough that I added it to my keepers.

• Istanbul-style grilled cheese sandwich (En guzel tost)

  • Yildiz100 on March 02, 2018

    Very tasty and satisfying griddled sandwich. I used canned roasted poblano strips for the roasted green chiles and they worked very well. It was difficult to get the sandwich heated through since this uses a thicker bread, even with the author's suggestion to put a lid on the pan at the end of cooking. Next time around I will try to make the sandwich thinner by pressing and flattening the bread a bit before assembly as well as during cooking.

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 28, 2018

    I used some sourdough bread I had. It was a little difficult to keep together while eating. The extra layers of pickle & peppers kept things sliding. Maybe a roll, flattened like Yildiz100 suggested... And I might try a sharper cheese next time. But the flavors are good together and I loved the red pepper paste. Overall, this is really good riff on toasted cheese.

• Tomato & white bean stew (Kuru fasulye)

  • Stephenn31 on February 23, 2025

    Great winter stew. Nice flavours.

• Sweet corn & bean soup with collard greens (Karalahana çorbasi)

  • kari500 on August 02, 2021

    I made this with canned beans and fresh corn. I used beef stock. This is a very pleasant, filling soup. Would be good on a chilly night.

• Fish baked in tomato sauce with green chiles (Selimye 'nin buglama)

  • lkgrover on February 23, 2021

    Excellent fish with a stewed vegetable sauce. I used trout, and added the optional butter.

• Herbed cheese-filled hand pies (Otlu peynirli pogaça)

  • Yildiz100 on March 03, 2018

    The dough was crumbly and almost shortbread like. Not quite the soft tender crumb I was hoping for. It also needed a bit more salt. I used the feta parsley filling option and two cups was too much. I only needed 1.25 cups. We enjoy these but probably won't repeat. Would rather try other recipes and find that perfect tender crumb.

• Peppery greens & tomato spoon salad (Dere salatasi)

  • Yildiz100 on March 06, 2018

    Really delicious and every bit as refreshing as she says. Be aware that the quality of the pomegranate molasses and pepper pastes are going to make a huge difference in this recipe since it is raw and the dressing is meant to be almost a soup. (If your pepper paste is salted you will need much less salt, but imo it is better to avoid salted pepper paste.) The portion size is rather large for two but I managed to eat all of mine! However I would say that serving this as a side the recipe makes enough for four. Reduced the pom molasses as the one I have on hand is pretty sweet.

• Tomato & pomegranate relish (Nar eksili ezme)

  • Yildiz100 on May 15, 2018

    Delicious! Had this with red lentil kofte lettuce wraps. So good exactly as written.

• Syriac spice bread (Ikliçe)

  • Yildiz100 on April 28, 2018

    Maybe I just don't like mahlab, or maybe something was off with mine-perhaps because it was pre-ground? (I didnt think it smelled like almonds, marzipan, or cherry by any stretch of the imagination. Not a sweet smell at all) but in any case I think two tablespoons was too much. I could try this again but with something more like a teaspoon or a tablespoon of mahlab.

• Spicy egg salad (Biberli yumurta salatasi)

  • lina on August 07, 2023

    So simple, so delicious. I make this all the time when I have too many eggs on hand.

• Spicy walnut & red pepper dip (Cevizli biber)

  • Yildiz100 on April 16, 2020

    I am always trying different versions of this dip from around the regions and this is one of my favorites. The fact that it doesn't contain any garlic or souring agents like lemon or pomegranate molasses does not detract from it at all, and in fact makes it last a bit longer in the fridge. (Garlicky versions can be delicious but taste distinctly less fresh as they sit.) It is thick, and will thicken more in the fridge, so be prepared to add more olive oil if making ahead.

• Bulgur & herb salad with pomegranate molasses (Kisir)

  • michalow on April 10, 2018

    I loved this version of kisir. No cooking necessary, just squish everything together with your hands! Tangy, herby, with just a bit of heat. Yield is smallish, so I will double next time to ensure plenty of leftovers.

• Rice & orzo pilaf (Pirinç pilavi)

  • Stephenn31 on February 23, 2025

    Really easy and a nice change from plain rice. Served with the bean/tomato/beef dish, and it went well. Will definitely make again.

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