Ispanakli Pide (Turkish Spinach Pizza)

Turkish pida is a boat shaped bread very similar to Italian pizza. It is made with dough that is leavened with yeast. The recipe I liked used commercial yeast. To enhance the flavor of the dough I converted it to use my homemade wild yeast starter. The pide did not disappoint. Spinach, feta and caramelized onion on slow fermented dough was delicious.

I found fresh baby spinach leaves in a bunch at Whole Foods. I used Whole Foods brand feta cheese and King Arthur flour. To make the red pepper paste, roast a red bell pepper, cover in aluminum foil for 15 minutes, peel the skin off and remove the seeds. Puree the pulp without adding any water.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
For the dough for 4 pide
90 gm water
115 gm starter (80% hydration)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
125 gm whole wheat white flour
100 gm all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

For the topping
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 tbsp. red pepper paste
salt to taste

To make the dough mix the water with the starter. Add the sugar and olive oil. Sift in the flours and salt. Mix just enough to form a ball of dough with no visible dry flour. Let it rest for half an hour. During the next hour and a half fold the dough every half hour. Folding is a technique where you pull the dough on the bottom with wet hands and place it over the top. Turn 90 degrees and repeat until you have gone all round the bowl. Cover and let it rest for an additional 3 hours.

The dough should have risen considerably. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into 4 portions (I made a double batch). Shape each portion into a round ball and place on a floured baking sheet. Cover the sheet and place in the refrigerator to proof overnight.

The next day prepare the topping. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. When it is tender and translucent add the garlic and saute for a couple minutes. Turn off heat. Julienne the spinach and add it to the cooled onion mixture along with the crumbled feta cheese and red pepper paste. Season with salt and keep aside.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. Place a parchment paper in a baking sheet and keep aside. Place a couple portions of dough from the refrigerator on a floured work surface. There will not be much difference in the size overnight. Roll each portion into an oval using a rolling pin.

Place a fourth of the prepared topping on the rolled portion of dough.

Now fold in the edges long the long sides. Squeeze the edges together at the end and twist to seal.

Bake on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes.

Cool for a few minutes on a cooling rack.

The pide tastes great when it is hot but it also tastes really good when cold.

Kuru Fasulye (White Bean Stew)

Bean stews make great side dishes when served with rice, poli or bread. This one is made with white beans. It has the classic flavors of the red pepper paste along with the tomato paste. The combination makes a very flavorful gravy.

This dish would work very well with rice or roti all by itself.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1 cup dry or 1 can white beans (I used great northern beans)
1/2 cup onions, diced
1 tbsp. butter (salted or unsalted)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. red pepper paste
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes (I used paprika)
salt to taste

If using dry beans soak in water overnight and pressure cook for 10 minutes the next day. I used canned beans. If using canned drain out all the juice and use the beans.

Heat oil and butter in a pan. Add the onion and saute until tender and translucent. Add the red pepper, tomato paste and the beans. Cook until combined.

Add 1/2 a cup of water and bring to a boil.

Let it simmer on medium low for 15 minutes.

Turn off heat.

Cacik (Turkish Cucumber Salad)

This is the Turkish version of the cucumber salad flavored with dill. The eastern countries use cilantro, as you move west they use mint and further west all the way into Europe they use dill. The salad is a great side irrespective of how it is flavored.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1/2 cucumber, diced fine
1 clove garlic, minced (I left it out)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
dill to garnish

Whisk together the yogurt and the water to form a creamy liquid. Add in the cucumber and salt to taste. Serve with rice or pilaf.

Bulgur Pilav (Pilaf)

I love the taste of bulgur and this pilav is no exception. It is flavored with red pepper paste and banana pepper along with other known flavoring ingredients. The pilav has a lovely taste and this is one of the more flavorful dishes I have made.

I made this dish as part of a Turkish meal. It was supposed to be a side dish in a meal dominated by Turkish pizza or pida. But the flavor of this dish won us over. It could easily work as a weekday lunch all by itself.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1 cup coarse bulgur
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion
1 green bell pepper
1 banana pepper
2 tbsp. red pepper paste
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 medium tomatoes
1 tsp. paprika (adjust to taste)
1 tsp. black pepper
2-3 mint leaves
salt to taste
1 1/2 cup water

Wash the bulgur, drain the water and keep aside. Dice the onion, green bell pepper and banana pepper separately. Chop the tomatoes. Julienne the mint leaves.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion. When tender add the red pepper paste and tomato paste. Saute for a couple of minutes and add the tomatoes. When they are cooked through add the green bell pepper, banana pepper, black pepper, paprika, mint leaves, bulgur and water. Add salt to taste and adjust seasoning with paprika and black pepper.

Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the bulgur is completely cooked through. At this stage all the water should be absorbed. Turn off heat. Cover with a kitchen towel and place lid over the towel. Leave it aside for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Sutlac (Turkish Rice Pudding)

Rice pudding or what we call kheer is a pretty simple and quick dessert. What I found interesting about this one is the addition of cornstarch to thicken it. It sets beautifully when refrigerated overnight, thick enough to decorate with nuts and cinnamon over the top.

It is a rich dessert with the use of whole milk or cream so I decided to make it in a very small quantity. My newly acquired glazed earthen pot worked perfectly.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1/4 cup rice
1 cup water
3 cups whole milk or cream or use half of each
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp. mastic (edible gum)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder for garnish
chopped nuts for garnish (optional)

In a pan cook the rice with the water. The rice should be soft and moist. Keep aside.
In another pan bring milk to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add sugar and honey, whisking continuously to prevent lumps from forming.

When the sugar dissolves completely add the rice and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove a fourth of a cup of milk in a small bowl and combine with the corn starch. Add the mixture to the pan and whisk to prevent lumps. Add the mastic. Continue to thicken the pudding for another 20-25 minutes whisking frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Turn off heat and cool completely. Chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and chopped nuts.

Swiss Meal

Two things prompted me to make this meal. One was the Swiss macaroni and cheese and the second was the soft two strand braided bread zopf. The loaves were so delicious they were all gone before we sat down to have this meal. I just about managed to get pictures.

Once I finalized the bread and pasta I needed something simple for a side. If I find something with potato in it I include it in the menu. Rosti or potato pancake seemed to fit the bill perfectly and was much loved by my daughter. What is a Swiss meal without a fondue? I culd not make a cheese fondue as that would mean too much food. Instead I made a chocolate fondue and we used apples to dip into the chocolate. I used my chocolate fondue pot to serve the fondue. I had to prepare it after the meal when we were ready to have dessert so as to not thicken the chocolate. So in the picture you see some chopped up chocolate and a whole apple. Overall a very enjoyable meal instead.

No new ingredients in this meal. I did use a new braiding technique for the Zopf. I do believe that I messed up somewhere while making this two strand braid. It was a little lop sided. The macaroni and cheese was very interesting. First the recipe called for potatoes to be used with the pasta. And second it was eaten with a side of apple slices and applesauce. I had never eaten pasta with apple before but it tasted really good.

As they say in Switzerland, En Guete!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Älplermagronen (Swiss Macaroni and Cheese) 
• Rosti (Potato Pancake) 
• Zopf (2-Strand Braided Bread)

And for dessert

• Chocolate Fondue

Zopf (Swiss 2-Strand Braided Bread)

Zopf is a soft bread that tastes delicious hot out of the oven. It is usually eaten with honey or jam. But when freshly baked it tastes great by itself.

It is braided with just two strands in a simple repetitive pattern. I think I may have rushed things a little and allowed the braids to cross over. That broke the even weave pattern but of course it did not affect the taste. They were so good we finished one of them right out of the oven.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
480 gm bread flour
8 gm yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/3 cup milk
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp. water

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the yeast to it. Now add the egg yolk, butter and milk to the flour and form into a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and keep aside until doubled in volume or about an hour.

Roll the risen dough into a rectangle and cut into four strips. Work with one strip at a time. Fold it over lengthwise and roll to form a smooth strand.

Repeat with the other portions. Place the strands at 90 degrees as in the picture below.

Fold the left arm of the lower arm over the strand above it. Repeat for the right arm.

Do the same for the vertical arms.

Continue to work the braid until you reach the end. Tuck the ends together and seal. Repeat for the second braid.

Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes or until the braid doubles in size. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 425 F. Combine the egg white and water and brush the top of the braid.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the bread sounds hollow and is brown on the top.

Best eaten fresh out of the oven.

Rosti (Swiss Potato Pancake)

Rosti is the Swiss version of potato pancakes. This is the potato dish I added to the menu because my daughter loves potatoes. It is super simple and makes a filling side to any menu. Alternately, you can have it for breakfast.

You will need
1 potato
1 tbsp. butter
salt to taste

Place potato in a pan of water and bring to a boil. When the potato is fork tender drain the water. Wrap the potato in foil and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Remove the potato from the refrigerator and peel off the foil. Peel the potato and shred it using a large holed grater.

Melt butter in a pan and add the shredded potato. Add salt to taste and using a spatula combine the potato with the salt and butter. Pat it down into shape and let it cook on medium heat until the bottom is brown.

Rosti does not have flour in it, so it is not easy to flip it over. Place a dish over the top and flip the pan over so that the pancake drops on to the dish. Slide the pancake brown side up on the pan and cook the underside until brown.

When done take off heat and enjoy.

Älplermagronen (Swiss Macaroni and Cheese)

Everyone knows macaroni and cheese. Potatoes are added to the casserole in this Swiss version and it is served with apple sauce and cooked apple slices. Hence the name Älplermagronen.

The idea of eating noodles with apples was totally new to us. The flavors do go well together. As for the casserole itself the potato and macaroni was one of the most flavorful macaroni and cheese I have ever made.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need for 5 servings
1 large yukon potato
~ 3 handful of penne pasta
1 cup Gruyere cheese
100 ml milk
100 ml cream
salt and pepper to taste

For the onion topping
1/2 onion
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. olive oil

For the applesauce
1 cooking apple
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup water

For the apple slices
1 apple (I used Gala)
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. sugar
a pinch cinnamon powder
2 tbsp apple cider or apple juice

To make the applesauce wash, peel and core the apple. Cut it into pieces and cook in a pan with the sugar and water until mushy. Mash to prepare the applesauce.

To make the apple slices Wash and core the apple. Slice with the peel into thin slices. Cook with the sugar and butter until tender. Sprinkle cinnamon powder and add the cider or juice. Mix and cook another couple minutes. Turn off heat and keep aside.

To make the onion topping slice the onions and caramelize with the butter and olive oil in a pan on medium heat. When tender and brown turn off heat and keep aside.

Shred the cheese and preheat oven to 400 F. To prepare the potato put it in a pan of salted water and bring the water to a boil. Let it simmer until the potato is almost cooked but not completely tender. Drain the water. Peel the potato and dice into cubes. Bring another pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and diced potatoes. Cook until pasta is done. Drain the water.

Add half the potatoes and pasta to a casserole dish. Sprinkle half the cheese over it and then add the remaining potatoes and pasta. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Finally top with the onion topping.

Put it in the oven until the cheese melts. Meanwhile heat the milk and cream, do not boil. Remove the casserole from the oven and pour the heated milk mixture over the top. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the pasta is heated through. Warm the apple slices.

Enjoy the macaroni and cheese with apple slices and applesauce.

This is one of those dishes that has to be eaten hot out of the oven.


This is my entry for week 48 to the 2014 52 week challenge for the theme Unexpected combinations.

Toblerone Chocolate Fondue

In Switzerland fondue usually refers to cheese fondue. But a few decades back in an attempt to popularize Toblerone chocolates a restaurant owner introduced the chocolate fondue made with Toblerone. This is an attempt to recreate that recipe.

Chocolate is very much loved in my family. When we were kids my father used to bring home these huge bars of Toblerones from his Europe trips. They would last for days. Though it is pretty rich I sometimes bring home a small tobler from the checkout area. I made made chocolate fondue before but this is the first time I used a tobler. I usually use chocolate chips. This version was simply delicious. It had the rich taste of the toblerone.

The chocolate is melted in a double boiler and mixed with melted butter and cream. The resultant gooey chocolate is served in a fondue pot. Apples or cake are used to as dippers.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need for a small batch
2 Toblerones 1.7 oz. each
2 tbsp. or a splash of cream or half and half
1/4 tbsp. of butter

Dippers
apple chunks
pound cake cubes

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Add the melted butter and cream (or half and half). Cook for a couple minutes until it thickens. Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm. Serve with chunks of fruit or cake.

Enjoy!

ROK Korean Meal

This meal comes from South Korea officially called the Republic of Korea. Rice is the Korean staple, the rest of the meal is built around it. Korean meals are usually served with a lot of side dishes.

The main dish today is bibimbap which could be called a complete meal in itself. A bed of rice is laid in a stone bowl and topped with a variety of flavored toppings like, spinach, mushrooms, sprouts, carrots and squash. In the center is placed a fried egg (I skipped that). All the flavors are mixed together when eaten.  I decided to make a few side dishes to go along with the meal. Buchu namul or garlic chives is a salad. Dubu Buchim Yangnyeom jang is pan fried tofu topped with spices. Gamja Jorim or braised potato is a soy sauce and garlic flavored pan fried potato. Korean meals do not include desserts. Sweet dishes are served on their own or with tea. I made dan pat bbang or bread stuffed with the sweet paste of red azuki beans. All the dishes tasted great but I have a confession. We enjoy meals without gravy or dal but we found this meal too dry. So we mixed in some plain yogurt with the rice.

The new ingredients I used for this meal were Chinese chives and azuki beans. I had never heard of azuki beans before I found the stuffed bread recipe. They are red beans and taste great in sweet dishes. We liked it a lot. The other ingredient Chinese chives did not go down too well. I have used chives before but they are the small ones used as garnish not as the main ingredient. The dish failed miserably. We simply could not eat it. It may have been the recipe or it may have been the way I prepared them. Unfortunately, I had already clicked pictures of the meal with it so I am posting those. But I will not post the failed recipe.

As they say in Korea, mat`ike`deseyo!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Bibimbap (Rice with Carrots, Spinach, Zucchini and Mushrooms) 
• Dubu Buchim Yangnyeom Jang (Spiced Pan Fried Tofu) 
• Gamja Jorim (Braised Potatoes) 
• Buchu Namul (Garlic Chives) (Failed - no recipe)

And for dessert

• Dan Pat Bbang (Bread Stuffed with Red Bean Paste)

Dan Pat Bbang (Bread Stuffed with Red Bean Paste)

Dan Pat Bbang is a sweet Korean stuffed bread. The filling is made from sweetened Azuki beans. This sweet bread was on my wishlist for a very long time. The pinwheel shape of this bread was what I found very attractive so I had to try my hand at making it.

I decided to make it as a dessert with this meal even though Korean meals traditionally do not include desserts. Sweet dishes are served with tea or on their own in between meals.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup red bean paste
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Sesame seeds to garnish
Butter to brush on

To make the bean paste soak half a cup of Azuki beans overnight. The next day pressure cook the bean until tender. I pressure cook for 10 minutes, if your pressure cooker has a whistle then cook for 3 whistles. Grind the cooked beans to mash them completely. Combine with a quarter cup of sugar in a pan. Cook the mixture in the pan until it comes together and is almost dry. At this time you should be able to roll it into a ball.

To make the dough combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients and form a soft dough. Knead the dough well until it is elastic and springs back. Cover keep aside for at least an hour until the dough doubles in volume.

Divide the risen dough into four portions. On a floured surface flatten one portion of dough. Place a forth of the paste in the center.

Fold the edges over the filling to seal it. Flatten the ball of dough with filling and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

When all the portions are stuffed with the filling score each portion with eight cuts. Sprinkle some black sesame seeds in the center. Keep aside for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brush the tops with butter and bake the bread for 15-20 minutes until the tops are slightly browned.

Enjoy!

Gamja Jorim (Braised Potatoes)

Gamja Jorim is a braised potato recipe that is surprising flavorful. It has the perfect balance of sweet and savory. I made this dish as part of a Korean meal.

This is the dish that my daughter absolutely loved. The potatoes have a sweet and savory taste and are very flavorful. I found the dish a little too sweet.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
2 large potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp black pepper

Dice the potatoes into even cubes. Soak in water for 10 minutes to remove the starch.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cubed potatoes. On medium heat stir infrequently to ensure they do not get brown spots or stick to the bottom. Cut the onions in slices about an inch long. Add onions and minced garlic to the potatoes.

Saute for a few minutes until onions are tender and translucent. Combine the rest of the ingredients and add them to the hot potato mixture. Cook until the sauce coats the potatoes.

Turn off heat.