İzmir Köfte (meatfree)

This is a success story! Having just finished a plate full of this lovely dish, I am contemplating another one. And yet, it is meat free! Eureka! My recipe, my technique, I did it and am very proud of myself too. Since I became semi-vegetarian (no meat. just a bit of fish from time to time) a couple of years ago, this dish particularly was in my head. Soya mince or quorn mince are not necessarily better than meat, but as it is proven here, are good substitutes.

I think the combination of the spices is the secret.. Oh, and the well-known juice you get at the end which is unmissable.  (You can clean up this juice with some bread left in your plate afterwards!)

Now here we go:

Serves 4 – 6

250 grams of soya mince
3 -4 tomatoes (cut into eighths)
1 big or 2 medium size bell peppers (remove the seeds then chop them into long slices)
2 – 3 medium size potatoes (cut into eighths or more)
1 onion (grated nicely in a bowl)
1 egg
handful of parsley (chopped)
breadcrumbs (as much as the kofte dough needs)
two or three spoonfuls of tomato or pepper paste
black pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, curry powder, salt, thyme

1. Slice the potatoes and keep them in a bowl full of water (this keeps the potatoes from going brown)
2. Take a medium sized salad bowl, put the soya mince, egg, chopped parsley, grated onion and spices, stir them and add the breadcrumbs until it makes a nice dough. Here. it is up to you, if it is too dry, wet it with a few spoons of water, if too soft then add more breadcrumbs.  You have to decide, I am afraid!
3. Heat the oven to 200ºC.
4. Make kofte balls from your dough, there should be approximately 15 pieces. I usually take a piece of dough, roll it in my palm, then press on it slightly.
5. Brush an oven dish (like a tray or glass casserole dish around 2 inches deep) with oil then place the potatoes, tomatoes, kofte balls and peppers onto it.
6. Dissolve the tomato or pepper paste in three glasses of water then pour over the oven dish. Drizzle with oil.
7. Cook in the oven till the sauce starts boiling then bring the oven down to 180º C or so.
8. Cook a little bit more, then your Izmir Kofte is ready, enjoy!

To store or not to store garlic cloves in oil?

garlic in oil

Well, for a while I thought it is great to store garlic cloves in oil in a nice jar. The basic rule was not keeping them like that longer than a week or and always refrigerating but still according to the Food Standards Agency home made garlic in oil jars may do harm to your health

Here FDA says:

“Lots of different types of flavoured oil are available in the shops, containing garlic, peppercorns, chilli and various herbs including rosemary, oregano and bay leaves, and these often have a long shelf life. But it’s not a good idea to make flavoured oils at home unless you are going to use them immediately.

This is because plants, including herbs and spices, can carry spores produced by bacteria. Occasionally, they could carry spores of a type of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism. This is a very unpleasant disease, which is rare in the UK, but can be fatal.

Clostridium botulinum multiplies in places without any oxygen, so if there are spores on plants such as herbs and garlic, putting them in oil can create the right conditions for the bacteria to multiply, particularly if the herbs are fresh or wet.

Companies that produce flavoured oils and foods preserved in oil are expected to take Clostridium botulinum into account and formulate their products to make sure that this type of bacteria doesn’t multiply.

Even though recipes for flavoured oils can be found in cookery books, magazines and websites, these might not have considered the risk of botulism. So if you would like to make your own flavoured oil, the safest option is to make a small quantity and use it on the day you have made it. If you have some oil left over, put it in the fridge straight away and use it within a week. Some oils can go cloudy or become solid in the fridge, but if this happens don’t be tempted to leave it at room temperature, because this might not be safe.”

So I still adore garlic and I adore spices and olive oil together but it is better to consume any mixture you prepare as quick as possible and not to make lots as it will go to the food waste which none of us like I guess.

Shiitake and chestnut mushroom soup

Yummy!

One could think why I would waste those lovely shiitake and chestnut mushrooms in a soup. Well here`s the answer, because this soup is delicious! It is amazing if you add a little bit of spice too! Normally I would have made a pasta dish but this time I had time and said why not try it?

10 – 12 pieces of chestnut mushrooms
10  pieces of shiitake mushrooms
1 medium size onion
single cream or yoghurt
parsley
black pepper
pinenuts

1. Chop the onion and cook it with some oil till it gets brown.
2. Chop the mushrooms then add them into the stirfry.
3. Pour some warm water to soften them, just to the top of the mushrooms then let them relax.
4. After 4 – 5 minutes, pour 4 – 5 glasses of warm water, bring it to boil then simmer it up.
5. Add some black pepper and if you like it some red pepper flakes and chopped parsley in.
6. Blender the soup then let it cook slowly for about 4 -  5minutes.
7. Fry the pinenuts and put them in before serving. Add a little bit of parsley to decorate.

Marvellous!

Courgette and peppers

Hello everybody!

After a long break, I am back with many recipes, but this time I won’t run away promise.

Now this is a very easy and healthy recipe. You can also keep thıs dısh in the fridge for few days so good for busy days at work. I will write alternative courgette recipes as it is one of the favorites for many vegetarians.

What do I need to buy?

2 or 3 courgettes depending on the size

2 medium size peppers (different colours look nice when you serve:)

onion

2- 3 cloves of garlic

olive oil

yoghurt

How do I cook it?

1. Chop the courgettes and peppers in cubes. Onions the same in another bowl.

2. Put the olive oil in the pan, and cook the finely chopped onions until they start turning yellowish. Do exactly the same with peppers.

3. Then add the courgettes, stir them altogether then let the courgettes leave and absorb their water back. You can pt the chopped garlic at this time. Simmer them for 15 minutes and after that your dinner is ready, serve it hot or cold with a spoonful of yoghurt and some toasted bread!