Turkish cigarette börek with minced meat - Kıymalı Sigara Böregi

Before bringing my newest Turkish recipe, I would like to introduce the world of börek to everyone. 

Börek

The origin of börek as many other traditional Turkish dishes goes back to the Ottoman Empire. Whithersoever the ottomans wandered and settled, the local people still prepares their foods during the centuries, moreover the Turkish kitchen gave inspiration to new dishes as well. The pastry-based dishes are dominant in our days too, exceptionally various and numerous of cooking techniques exist.  

We can follow easily the way of Turks in the history, when we see where börek or similar foods are eaten today as well. The word börek comes from the Turkish word "börbör" which means cover and wrap and is still very common from the Caucasus to the Balkans. Although the West cuisins have many fantastic baked goods and pastry dishes, we can rarely find anything  resembling börek.

By Ottoman sources especially in the 15th and 16th centuries the diversification of börek started,  since  many new recipes origins from this period.

Traditionally it's made in large oven pan and after baking cut into smaller portions. The börek prepared and served in big pans was an important entartaining element of the Ottoman holidays. Contrarily nowadays it's prepared in smaller portions. One of the specialities of börek is that its top is sprinkled with sesam seeds. The börek (which is known by many as burek) is a baked or fried filled pastry, made of very thin, flaky dough, which notorious name is yufka dough. In these days it's filled with cheese, mainly with feta, beyaz peynir (special Turkish white cheese - salty white cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk - or with kaşar - a medium-hard pale yellow cheese, unpasteurized sheep milk mixed with a little goat milk). Besides the cheesy filling the börek filled with minced meat and vegetables are also very popular. 

By the known Ottoman sources the börek's sweet version was very famous and beloved by all in the old times but in our days rather the salty börek is common.  

Turkish cigarette börek with minced meat, a.k.a Kıymalı Sigara Böreği

Okay I own that its name is not hanging together with its looks, this doesn't look as the real sigara böreği but at the breakfast place Simit in Istanbul it's sold like this and its taste compensate for the vision. :)

Ingredients:
1 package yufka dough (in default of it: phyllo dough)
1 egg
2 tablespoon yoghurt
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 tablespoon sesame seeds (this time I used lenseeds)

For the filling:
40 dkg minced meat
1 small onion
2 garlic gloves
1 coffee spoon cinnamon
3 teaspoon oregano
1/2 banch of parsley
salt, pepper by taste
olive oil

1. For the filling chop the onion, garlic, parsley. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and simmer the onion then add the minced garlic, the minced meat. After simmering for a few minutes, season with the spices, the cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper. When the filling is ready, set aside and let it cool for a while.

2. In a smaller bowl mix the yoghurt, egg and olive oil. We will use this mixture for greasing the phyllo doughs.

3. For filling the börek, take a sheet of phyllo dough in front of you on a clean surface with the longer side facing you. The left side of the dough grease with the eggy mixture, then lift the right side on left part. Brush also its top with the egg mixture then take 2-3 tablespoon filling and place it 2 cm from the  nearest edge of the dough, 1-1 cm from the both other sides. Fold in each side of the long sides by 1 cm. Fold the closest edge on the meat and keep rolling away from you to form a cigarette shapeed roll.

4. Place the rolled-up böreks on a baking paper-lined oven pan. Before baking, grease all with some eggy mixture and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Bake them in the 180°C preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until goldenbrown.

The best is when it's lukewarm but on the following day it can be a perfect breakfast....if some is left :)

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Turkish stuffed eggplant - Karnıyarık

At the weekend I was in Turkish mood again. Almost for a week I haven't prepare any Turkish food, I started to have withdrawal symptoms. 

On Sunday I undertook to cook the lunch. This is interesting only because once in a month when I go to my hometown to visit my parents, I enjoy that I'm a kid again, mum cooks, so I can get rest a bit as well. However on Fridays and Saturdays I always bake together with mum. We chat meanwhile something stupendous is born in the oven. 

Regarding the Sunday lunch, because there was minced meat, fresh eggplant at home and mum hasn't eaten karnıyarık yet, I prepared this for her.

The Turkish word karnıyarık means originally "split belly". This dish is made and as beloved by all in every part of Turkey  as the eggplant itself too. At least 100 different kind of Turkish recipes exist for the use of eggplant. By going over the ingredients and cooking metohd, most probably it springs from southeastern and eastern part of Turkey. The filling is made from onion, garlic, tomato, fresh parsley and minced meat (originally with lamb meat).

One of the well-known version of karnıyarık is imam bayaldı with a small difference. Imam bayaldı is made without meat and served as cold appetizer, meze but the karnıyarık is served generally warm.

Ingredients:

3 small eggplant

30 dkg minced lamb meat (or beef. This time I used minced chicken breast)

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

40 dkg tomato (peeled and chopped)

2 tablespoon tomato paste 

1 green paprika (finely chopped)

1 bunch of parsely

1-2 tablespoon olive oil

salt, pepper

+ for topping: 1 tomato (divide into 6 thin slices)

                           6 thin slices green paprika

1. Wash the eggplants, cut down their green ends, cut in half lengthwise and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes then wash them again with clean water, put them next to each other in an ovenproof pan. Place in the 200°C preheated oven for 20-30 minutes covered with aluminium foil until they get almost totally soft. You can prod with a fork and check when they are ready. 

2. Meanwhile simmer the onion with some olive oil. Add the minced meat, the garlic and the chopped paprika. When the meat is simmered, add the tomato, the tomate paste and season to taste. Cook it ready within approx. half an hour, stirring it from time to time. Remove from the heat and stir in most of the chopped parsley.

3. When the eggplants are ready, take out from the oven (but don't switch it off), with the help of two spoon take out the inner part of the eggplant but without cutting through to the skin on the opposite side and leaving 13 mm uncut at either end and let them cool for a while. Stuffed the epplants with the meat, decorate with the tomato and paprika slices and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. 

Serve warm. You can eat with bulgur or garlic yoghurt sauce as well, but it can be a main dish  in itself too. This is one of my favorite Turkish eggplant dish.

Afiyet olsun!

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15 minutes broccoli rolls

I had some left-over broccoli dip from the farewell party of Friday. I wanted to prepare something quick, but light dinner consuming the broccoli dip as well. When I found the puff-pastry in the fridge, I had already known what to do.

Ingredients (8 small rolls):
1/2 pack of puff pastry
2 dl broccoli cream
1 egg
Butter for greasing
Flour for dusting

Heat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Grease the pastry thick with the broccoli cream, then coil it up carefully and cut about 2 cm wide rolls.

Place them on greased baking sheets, spaced apart. Brush each roll with egg and bake for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp.

Afiyet olsun!

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