The best vegetables and my favourite ways to eat them

So, having done my previous three top fives of Turkey, I was going to follow on with my top five foodie purchases. These were sumac, pomegranate molasses, saffron (which I don’t believe Turkey is particularly known for anyway), rose water (I did though actually buy this in France in their Moroccan section) and Turkish delight for my colleagues. Basically, these are all (other than the last one) ingredients that should arm me well for attacking the recipes in ‘Plenty’. I imagined myself, all holstered up, twirling my pomegranate molasses in one hand and rose water bottle in the other; sauce pan in front of me. A bit of Western Cowboy (is that tautological?) music in the background, with a giant brimmed hat, tipped downwards on my (very small) head. But nope, I’m not going down that route just yet.

 

I have decided instead to follow on with my five favourite vegetables. My blog is fairly young and you are still getting to know me. I therefore thought this next post would be more apt. In fact, my husband and I had a conversation about our favourite vegetables on our first date (hence the getting to know me reference) and that discussion alongside our mutual love of cooking, did influence my decision to see him again. I’m starting with my top five vegetables because it gets really exciting when I get on to my top five pulses, and I don’t want to peak too soon.

 

If I bring my favourite meals back to basics, I guess they can be described as ‘vegetables with cheese’. So, in no particular order and with brief reference to my favourite ways of eating each of my favourite vegetables I present the list below – pictures might have to follow (or maybe post your own?).

 

 

1) Butternut squash

The humble squash is right up there for me as a brilliant versatile vegetable that is always in my shopping basket (even though it can be a massive nuisance to peel and chop, I persevere). In winter it can be churned into a delicious spicy vegetable soup, as well as a headliner in a Thai curry or a constituent in a vegetarian lasagne. One way I like to eat it throughout the year is in a warm salad with butter beans (see what I mean about exciting pulses!?) and feta. I am going to share my favourite recipe (which is of course my own).

 

What you’ll need

1 Butternut squash

1 tin of butter beans

2/3 onions

1 packet of feta

2 cloves of garlic

Decent slug of olive oil

 

Dressing

1 heaped teaspoon of chopped capers

½ dried chillies (add or omit as preferred)

(2/3) Olive oil to (1/3) white wine vinegar/ 6 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar

Teaspoon of lemon juice

4/5 sprigs of lemon thyme

Salt and pepper

 

 

It’s really easy. Peel and de-seed the squash and cube evenly (don’t make these too big as they’ll take longer to cook). Peel the onions and cut into sixths. Toss the lot in some olive oil, with the crushed garlic and season. Place on an oven tray and roast in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for about 50 minutes. The squash needs to caramelise (darken) and become soft and sweet. If you don’t want the onions to burn, roast them for about 10-15 minutes less than the squash.

 

 

In the meantime, mix together the dressing ingredients (taking the lemon thyme off the stems). Remember to tailor the oil and vinegar ratio to taste (after you have added the lemon juice). Don’t worry if you’ve made too much, this will keep in the fridge.

 

 

To serve, drain the butter beans and place on a dish. Top with the roasted butternut squash and onions. Crumble over (as much or as little of) the feta cheese and dress with as much vinaigrette as you like.

 

 

2) Aubergine

Aubergine can be much maligned due to it not being cooked well. I hate the ruination of aubergine through poor cooking which leaves it chewy, rubbery and sometimes greasy. One of my favourite ways of eating aubergine, which is really easy to cook on a school night when I get home from work, with minimal effort, is aubergine parmigiana. This paired with some lovely crusty bread or roasted new potatoes is extremely comforting on a cold winter’s night (this is also perfect for pairing some kind of meat product with for Gipsy spread). My recipe’s ingredients are not particularly different to those of most recipes, but I minimise the number of cooking processes to one and see absolutely no reason for the addition of oil through frying the aubergine first.

 

What you’ll need

2 Aubergines

2 tins of tomatoes/ 1 jar of passata

3 cloves garlic

2 dried chillies/ a teaspoon of chilli flakes

Fresh basil

Salt

Cheddar

Parmesan

 

 

Slice the aubergines finely length ways and arrange in a baking dish. They can overlap. Season with a fair amount of salt (but don’t overdo it). Open the two tins of tomatoes (or 1 jar of passata) and pour evenly over the aubergine. Sprinkle over the crushed garlic, torn fresh basil leaves and chilli flakes then grate over the cheeses (1/5 parmesan and 4/5 cheddar) until the top is covered with an even spread of both. Bake the whole lot for about 45-50 minutes at 220 degrees. It is essential that the moisture from the aubergine has evaporated to ensure that it is not rubbery, but rather soft, supple and full of intense flavour.

 

 

I propose leaving my recipe for Indian spice stuffed baby aubergine for my vegetarian thali post (watch this space).

          

3) Asparagus

I know it makes your pee smell, but the asparagus spear is very regal to me. It is a kingly spear which is at its best in May, eaten the same day as it is harvested. None of this asparagus that has been flown in from Peru with my Christmas dinner thanks very much. Now, asparagus doesn’t require much messing about with and it is best enjoyed treated simply. So all you really need is some good crusty bread, parmesan and a couple if eggs. This one isn’t really rocket science! Slice the bread, drizzle with some olive oil, top with steamed asparagus, poached eggs and parmesan shavings. A bit of seasoning and voila, an easy spring supper.

 

 

4) Spinach

Again, another one of my weekly shop staples. Spinach is awesome, because I can have it in my side salad as the leaf and it can also be the main event in my meal. Mother in law Toast put it in a smoothie for me at the weekend to help me combat my cold and I even love it on my pizza – spinach and ricotta being an all time favourite combination of mine. So, the basic principle is, saute some onion and garlic, wilt the spinach into this. Add the ricotta, seasoning, mustard and nutmeg and you have your filling. Stuff it into pancakes and cannelloni, top with tomato sauce and cheese then bake. Add some eggs and cream and it becomes a great quiche filling or stuff it inside some lovely light and billowy filo pastry to creat pillows of beauty.

 

 

5)    Brassica oleracea

Ok, this is just cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage to you and me. I could not pick just one, so I’ve included the whole family. Sticking with the whole vegetables with cheese theme, again on a nice winter’s evening there is nothing better than a cauliflower and/or broccoli and cheese. Sometimes, the addition of macaroni also proves genius to provide a really heartening meal. I recently obtained some cavolo nero from mother-in-law Toast’s garden and considering what I had in the house, I decided to cook a fresh pasta dish with garlic, lemon and chilli, as well as the aforementioned butternut squash (I had some leftover). The recipe for which is below. I paired this with some herby pork balls(M&S cheat with lemon and thyme) for Gipsy spread.

 

 

What you’ll need

1 head of cavolo nero cabbage

Pasta(I used trottoli)for 4

1/1.5 lemons

2 dried chillies/ a teaspoon of chilli flakes

2 cloves garlic

Roasted butternut squash (optional)

 

 

I finely sliced, then steamed my cavolo nero for a couple of minutes first (you could just blanche it). I then lightly fried off thinly sliced garlic in olive oil and added the drained cabbage. To this I added the juice of the whole lemon, the chilli flakes and seasoned.

 

 

I cooked the pasta as per instructions and then added these to the cabbage mix with a table spoon of the salted cooking water and tossed it all together (along with the roasted butternut squash). This was served with a good grinding of black pepper and grated parmesan (Gipsy spread got to have some herby pork meatballs (an M&S cheat) through his). The picture below is indeed of my dinner plate. It was fresh, light, crispy, sweet through the butternut squash and earthy from the cavolo nero.

 

 

Yes, it will be the pulses next. This is where a vegetarian Indian person comes into their own – I could probably provide Indian food recipes for all my pulses (which would then also be great for vegans), but I shan’t. I plan on mixing it up. You will just have to wait for the five ways with lentils which is planned for a much later post. Also, don’t worry – I don’t intend on developing OCD and only doing things in fives!

 

On another exciting note (for me anyway). I have won food photograph of the week in Olive magazine’s face book competition. I submitted the picture of the Anatolian manti that featured in my last blog. My prize is a pre-release copy of ‘The best of Rose Elliot. The ultimate vegetarian collection’ cookbook. I’m thrilled!

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10152825305020304&set=o.56665736536&type=1&theater

 

http://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/Books/detail.page?isbn=9780600625841

Turkish top fives continued

My previous blog post might well cover most of the food I would recommend eating when in Turkey, but I'm going to be a bit more explicit about my top five recommendations on eating and drinking here. Gipsy spread and I have our own special way of way of doing things when on holiday, which I expect will become self evident. So, how else to begin than with the mezzelar?

1) Mezze
Antalya is located on the mediterranean coast line and with 300 days of sunshine has excellent conditions for growing a range of fruits and vegetables. This means the diet is based on a variety of high quality regional (and fairly organic) produce. It meets 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetable demand in the province.

The range of mezze reflects all this beautiful produce. There are varieties of spicy tomato pastes and yoghurt dips, usually with lots of garlic - to my delight the Turkish are not afraid of raw garlic!

There are also the usual stuffed vine leaves and various bean options. The beans were much more plump and fleshy than those I tend to find in my local supermarket in tins!



The borek I sampled below was crispy and cheesy and satisfied my craving for this delicacy. It is often served as a snack and can also be found in the bakeries. It worked perfectly on this occassion with the slight sourness of the yoghurt and the fragrance of the fresh herbs through it.







The Hasanaga mezze selection had so much on there, that I can name but a few. The picture below has stuffed chilli peppers in a tangy tomato sauce, spiced lentil cakes (which were crisp and included fresh herbs), the esme, which is a spicy tomato sauce, an aubergine caviar, garlic and cheese mushrooms and also more stuffed vine leaves (they produced my favourite). Clearly, there were other options that I could not fit on my plate.



2) Ottoman/Turkish casserole
I had to choose this by default on a the first couple of occassions as the only vegetarian main course option on the menu. I tried this at the Corner Cafe and then again at Hasanaga. I loved it both times. The casserole consisted of the best of mediterranean vegetables, aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, onions etc cooked in (a lot of) really good quality olive oil and a selection of spices which were delicate and fragrant; the combination of which was unknown to me. This was then topped off with cheese. It tasted very different from the morrocan tagines which tend to be heavy with olives and preserved lemons (and lacked cheese). As stated before, this is one that I really want to recreate at home. Gipsy spread had the ottoman casserole which included minced lamb.





3) Ice cream
As mentioned in my last post, Turkey does great ice cream. It is also the range of flavours that are great and usually harder to find here. There are some very high quality nut ice creams, with absolutely no scrimping on the nuts, unusual fruit flavours and a really excellent lemon ice cream - yes, that's right, ice cream and not sorbet. It is sold everywhere and helps refresh and stave off the heat.


4) Sweets and breads
The Turkish love their breads and pastries. I love the combinations they put together. I could never be sure before biting in whether it's sweet or savoury. This includes the sesame seeded mini bagels with a tiny hit of cinammon and my favourite, the buttery brioche bread which looks like there are chocolate chips on top, which in fact turn out to be black olives. Spinach and cheese is also an all time favourite combination which they will happily insert into buttery pastry and into soft flat breads or 'pancakes'.

 

 

5) Manti
Turkey has its own version of pasta. Its equivalent of a vegetarian tortelloni was interesting to sample. I did this at the La Perla boutique restaurant. There was a meat version that Gipsy spread did not work his way around to. The pasta itself was much more dense than a very good light Italian pasta (note the tortelloni at Seraser in my previous post), but the filling was sweet and refreshing, consisting in this case of green beans and peas. The sauce though was lovely and sharp. It was light because it was made of yoghurt, with a spiced oil drizzle. I was interested to try this as there is an Ottolenghi recipe (in 'Jerusulum' - with thanks to Alice and the Cat) that uses yoghurt with pasta, peas, feta and pine nuts, which I have not yet tried. Having been inspired in Turkey, this will be on this week's dinner plan. In fact, having just finished reading 'Julia and Julie', I am contemplating whether I have the nous to take on cooking every recipe from Ottolenghi's (my favourite chef)'Plenty' each day. Gipsy spread would of course be allowed some fish or meat on the side as usual. I'll let you know what I decide!



In hot countries, a lot of drinking is required to prevent dehydration. Now, my favourite drink of all time is Champagne and as it was my birthday, of course we indulged in a nice bottle of this. Although, as this is not particularly Turkish, it can't be on my list of top fives, but I think the bottle below is 'pretty in pink' and I therefore wanted to include a picture.



1) Turkish wine
I am going to begin with my second favourite drink of all time, wine. The Turkish produce some very high quality grapes and we regularly sampled some very good quality house wines, as well as some higher end wines in the higher end restaurants. As it was so hot, I generally erred towards rose wine, which was usually very fruity, but dry. I also sampled some really good, light chilled reds - I'm guessing these were the younger wines - it was not always possible to get a look at the label and wine lists or information on these was often lacking. We did though sample an excellent Turkish Cabernet Sauvignon as per below at La Perla boutique restaurant. At £35 a bottle, this really was one of the top end wines. Gipsy spread was therefore advised to eat the steak with it!

2) Jim Lik
This venue was a bar with a very basic menu. We did not eat here. You enter through a small opening in a wall into a beautiful 'secret garden', with lots of seating under tree canopies and lanterns appearing to float in the sky above you. The menu, if you can make it out in the picture below is beset in a very cheesy 1970's Turkish magazine. In the top left is a very bawdy picture of a moustachioed man, seeming to proposition a women in a bath, her modesty, kept simply by some bubbles!

This is one of the places where I was drinking the chilled red. To be clear, whether I would receive a chilled or room temperature red wine was never made explicit on any menu and was a bit of a lottery. We would come here before dinner and also sample the popcorn that comes with the drinks. 

3) Hope Inn
So why would I include somewhere called the Hope Inn? Well, this live music bijous bar is not what the name might imply, i.e some kind of Irish pub export. It has some indoor seating, but spills out onto the pavement and has both Turkish and non Turkish live music most evenings. Now, Gipsy spread and I (the aforementioned special ways of doing things) like to find ourselves a 'local' when we go on holiday. This has faired well for us in the past. In Barcelona, after going to a jazz bar around the corner from our Hotel most nights (and usually tipping well); by the last night, Gipsy spread was behind the bar with the barman, pouring his own drinks and doing shots. In Thailand, the pool island bar where we had our nightly happy hour cocktails led to us making friends with Coconut-the best name of all our favoured bar keeps over our travels. So, we ended up at the Hope Inn most evenings after dinner and made friends with the owner and bar man. The bar has a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and is in a great location for people watching (those on the way to the Alley Club - where we did not go!). The singing is actaully also fantastic and extremelly enjoyable.

 

https://www.facebook.com/HopInnPub?ref=ts&fref=ts

4)Soft drinks
With all the luxurious fruits available in the area, there are many many fresh fruit stalls to be found. You must sample the fresh orange juice for about 50p. As well as the beautifully sublime home made lemonade served with fresh mint over or blended with ice. Pomegranite, watermelon and cherry are some of the other exciting options.

 

 

5) Turkish tea and coffee
I sampled these, but I can't say I was a fan of the turkish tea and coffee. They were a tad bitter for me. I'm a latte girl. What I did love though, was the array of fruit teas which are definitely worth a sample. The pomegranite, apple and eucalyptus teas were fragrant and light but powerful in flavour. No shrinking violets were to be found here. Interestingly, most of the coffee and tea shops also did a range of frappes and iced coffees were often very welcome in the thirty degree heat.

I am now off to visit mother in law toast for the bank holiday weekend and will be attending the Petersfield food fayre tomorrow. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.

 

 

My Turkish top fives - starting with where to eat.

It would be remiss of me to come all the way to Asia-minor and not give a full briefing of the food situation by commenting just on my birthday meal. So, I'm going to outline my top fives of my time here in Antalya. The easiest to begin with is the restaurants or rather, places to eat. Antalya has a burgeoning tourist trade, with it's beautiful old Town Kaleici where Gipsy spread and I stayed, its coastal location and many many fantastic historical ruins, Ottoman, Roman and Lycean. The eateries are influenced by a large variety of cuisines and cater for all needs. I, in particular love mezze and tapas and was not disappointed in Turkey. So, I present, in no particular order my top five places to eat in Antalya.

1) Seraser
Ok, I did have to put this one first as its a fine dining venue, where I had my birthday meal and is generally regarded as Antalya's finest (for a fusion feast). The setting was lovely. With the choice of al fresco dining or the interior with its opulent decor, we chose the latter. The food was more Mediterranean than simply Turkish, but made the best of Turkish produce. It was all beautifully presented as can be seen below. As is to be expected when fine dining, we were bought out a minute falafel hors d'oeuvre each prior to the starters.

We knew the Antalyan province grows amazing tomotoes, but the sweetness and the tang of the tomato sauce for the tortellini  is unrivaled (I use the usual balsamic for mine and also chopped capers). The pasta was also delicate, airy and light. My main was technically a starter, but that was more than enough for me. I still don't know how the aubergine was inserted into my delightful soufflé; it was as if by magic as I could taste it.  Gipsy spread had a very large starter of carpaccio of beef, followed by sea bass wrapped in vine leaves, which he enjoyed thoroughly. Our shared dessert was a beautiful meringue and strawberry inspired ice cream, dressed with a strawberry coulis and shard of sugar. This was elegantly creamy, with the true comfort that comes like a big hug from good strawberrys. The service was also superb, with attentive, helpful and friendly staff. I always love to experience fine dining in foreign country's - so far I think the seven course degustation menu in Bali on new year's eve still leads as my favourite (I might yet do a retrospective of my favourite meals), but this was also excellent and made me feel special on my birthday.

 

 

 

 

http://www.seraserrestaurant.com/

2) Hasanaga
The simplest way to describe this place is rustic and traditional. The interior of the restaurant is rustic, with a very traditional Turkish menu and entertainment. This is simply the only place to go for Turkish food in Antalya. It's the best, with an extensive enough menu that you can eat here every night. The sign outside is not wrong (see below) - in case you can't read it, it states that 'when you come to us, you will come again and again'. This restaurant is an institution, which has been in the family for generations and is also where the locals eat. There is traditional live turkish music every night and it has a wonderfully canopied outside seating area.

 

There is a set selection of mezze appetizers on the menu, but I'd recommend the mixed starter; where additional dishes to those on the simgle starter menu are available and change daily. A self selection of these and a basket of bread and I'm done! I did try the mezze elsewhere, but what I liked about Hasanaga's in addition to the variety was the sense that the spices had not been compromised for the tourists (a real bug bear of mine of some Indian restaurants) - the flavours had real depth of spice, a good kick and hit of heat in some, but which was then balanced by the very menu yoghuty dishes.

They also have a fantastic vegetarian casserole. I couldn't identify the spices in this, so now have a plan to recreate this fragrant vegetable and cheese dish, with my Ottolenghi cook books and recently acquired sumac and pomegranite molasses on standby. Gipsy spread had one of the recomended kebabs, as he always gets to share in my food as well.

 

Before, we could even say 'dessert', (each of the three times we visited!) we were brought out a wonderful fruit plate. The beautifully ripe cherries, kumquats and watermelon were a very welcome end to the meal, just right in size and tone. We also spent some time guessing the other fruit and were eventually informed that these were baby plums.These are very tart and quite sour in flavour, but with the crispness and water content of a chinese pear. These were again very refreshing in the heat after all of the beautiful spices.

3) Vanilla
This restaurant and seperate lounge bar are owned by a British ex pat chef and his Turkish wife. The food again is more Mediterranean, but I'd recommend the high quality lunch menu of salads and pizzas al fresco, with a nice glass of rosé. The decor is modern, but relaxed and the owners are always on site with the family. I would have tried dinner here, but another bug bear of mine is chefs laziness when the only vegetarian option on offer is a risotto. Regrdless, the pizza's were very nice, again showcasing the best of the anatolian ingredients.

 

http://vanillaantalya.com/

4) Oszut and Firin
I don't know why I was surprised, but Turkey makes excellent ice cream. It can be found on lots of street corners and Cafe's, but the place I liked the most, we found on our walk from the old town to the beach. Not only was there a huge range of ice creams, but ice cream cakes and a range of desserts, including the more traditional. If you have a sweet tooth, I'd recommend a visit here. My favourite ice cream is pistachio and I don't consider it to be a good pistachio ice cream unless there are chopped nuts in there. The one here was amazing, I don't think I've had a better pistachio ice cream (including in Italy). They also did a range of gorgeous looking ice cream cakes, cakes and more traditional puddings. Sadly, my camera couldn't capture pictures through the display case, but there's a sample of a (yes, it's pistachio!) cake, below.

5) The bakery around the corner from our hotel (any good bakery really)
Big holiday breakfasts often mean that we don't need a big lunch, but just something to tie us over until dinner. The bakery around the corner from our hotel had a host of treats on offer to satisfy our hunger and curiosity for the unknown. Here we sampled many delicious savouries including spinach and (feta like) cheese pastries, Turkish pancakes (fillings included, spinach, cheese or spicy potato and some kind of sausage (although not pork) roll. We also had sight of the breads we were served at breakfast, my favorite of which was an olive brioche; although there were also cheesy brioche breads, sesame surrounded bagels and an array of other breads we ran out of time to sample. The sweets are also nutty, spicy (cinammon), gooey and delectable.

Ok, well that's enough for now from me. I'll be back with my top fives to eat and drink in Turkey soon. There is likely to a bit more of some of the above.