Red Lentil Kofte / Mercimek Köftesi

This vegetarian kofte is one of the most popular appetizers of Turkish cuisine. 1 cup red lentil 1/2 cup fine bulgur 1/2 cup olive oil 2 cup...

Eggplant Papucaki (Patlıcan Papucaki)

This is a typical Aegean dish that you can find on both Turkish and Greek sides of the Aegean Sea. As much as the dish itself, I love its p...

Zucchini Fritters (Mücver)

Although I gave different versions of mücver recipes so far, I haven't posted "the" mücver recipe. In Turkey mücver is usual...

Stuffed Zucchinis with Ground Meat (Etli Kabak Dolması)

I was surprised to see that I haven't posted this recipe before, since it's one of my favorite summer time dolma dishes. Now that zu...

Baked Vegetable Fritters (Fırında Sebzeli Mücver)

Mücver is usually made with zucchini and then fried, however it is way lighter to bake it in these hot and humid summer days. This is a mod...

Purslane with Tomato (Domatesli Semizotu)

Purslane season is officially on! For those who have purslane growing in their yards or who can find it at the farmer's markets, flea ma...

Savory Spinach and Feta Cake (Ispanaklı ve Beyaz Peynirli Kek)

In several previous post s I have mentioned the importance of afternoon tea time in Turkey and the snacks that we would have with our tea. T...

Spinach with Eggs (Yumurtalı Ispanak)

For many reasons I am not cooking lately and when I cook I am craving comfort food; I try to choose the ones that are easy, delicious, and d...

Garbanzo Bean Pilaf (Nohutlu Pilav)

Now a highly common and popular street food, garbanzo bean pilaf ( nohutlu pilav ), was a special dish served during the reign of Mehmet the...

Vegetarian Potato Casserole (Etsiz Patates Oturtma)

This is a vegetarian version of a highly traditional dish, potato casserole . I had made another vegetarian version before with green lentil...

Bulgur with Green Lentils and Walnuts (Cevizli Bat)

Bulgur with Green Lentils and Walnuts is a traditional recipe from a Central Anatolian city, Tokat . In Tokat's local cusine dishes with...

Celery Root Salad with Yogurt (Yoğurtlu Kereviz Salatası)

There are two common lies that Turkish moms tell their non-celery root liking kids. If celery root is cooked , the mom forces the dish as a ...

Cheese Pastries (Peynirli Poğaça)

Although there are tens of different kinds of poğaça (savory pastry), none resembles anything like Italian focaccia , where the term poğaça...

Bulgur Kofte (Çılbak Köftesi)

Bulgur Kofte is a different version of another traditionally Turkish recipe, garlicy bulgur buttons , from southeastern Turkey. Koftes are u...

Leeks in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Pırasa)

Pırasa is one of those vegetables that you either love it or hate it. The existence of both positive and negative references to leeks in Tur...

Red Lentil Soup with Couscous (Kuskuslu Mercimek Çorbası)

Is there anyone who does not like red lentil soup? I haven't met that person yet. Here is one more red lentil soup from central Anatolia...

Green Lentil Soup with Rice (Pirinçli Yeşil Mercimek Çorbası)

Fall is here and I'm as excited about the turning leaves as I am about making soups again. As most of the Turkish green lentil soups, G...

Green Olive Rolls (Yeşil Zeytinli Rulo)

In Turkey patisseries are real life savers with their wide range of offerings that include baklava, börek s, cakes, cookies, meringues, milk...

Purslane Tomato Salad (Pirpirim / Semizotu Piyazı)

I first had this purslane salad in Gaziantep , a city in southeastern Turkey at a kebap house. My childhood friend Özge, an archeologist by...

Flaky Spinach Pie (Ispanaklı Tepsi Böreği)

After gathering courage to make my mom's zucchini börek , I now am familiar with using phllyo dough for other various börek recipes. As ...