Ground Beef Spinach (Etli Ispanak)

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients
300-500 gr spinach, washed, drained, and coarsely chopped
~150 gr ground beef
2 tablespoons Turkish bulgur (you can subtitute it with rice)
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tomato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon chilli paste
2 teaspoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
Water (optional)

Garlic Yogurt Sauce
½-1 cup of plain yogurt
1-2 cloves of garlic, mashed or grated


How to make it
Melt the butter in a stewpot over medium heat and then add in the olive oil. Saute the onion until half tender, about 2-3 minutes, and then add in the ground beef, salt, and pepper, stir well. Let it cook until the ground beef colour turns to light brown. Add in garlic, chilli paste, tomato paste, and tomato, mix them well.
Put the spinach over the ground beef mixture in the stewpot, stir them, pour a glass of hot water (optional) and then cover the lid. You can add in salt and/or pepper if necessery. Half through cooked, add in the turkish bulgur and some extra hot water if needed, and then cook until bulgur is tender. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients of the garlic yogurt sauce in a small bowl.
For serving, place the dish on a serving plate and pour a couple of spoons of the garlic yogurt sauce over the top of it. Best serve with the Turkish Bread.

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Green Beans in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye)

Serves 3 – 4

Ingredients
500 gr of green beans
50 ml of olive oil
1 medium size of onion, finely chopped
1 cubanelle pepper, cut 3 – 4 pieces crosswise
2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm water

How To Cook
Remove the two ends and the strings of the beans, trimming the two sides. Cut them in half. Wash and drain.
Heat the olive oil. Lightly brown the chopped onions and the cubanelle pepper. Add in the tomatoes, beans, sugar, salt and pepper, mix well. Pour in warm water just enough to cover them. Cover the lid and cook on low heat for about 1 hour until the beans are tender and the water is reduced. Let cool before serving.

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Steamed Fish (Balık Buğulaması)

Serves 4 – 5

Ingredients
1 kg of small fish, such as red mullets, sardines, or anchovies
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium size of onion, finely chopped
2 cubanelle pepper, thin sliced
2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
200 ml of hot water
1 stem of spring onion, slice crosswise
½ tsp of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, slice crosswise
A bunch of parsley (a handful, or probably about 2-3 tablespoons.), finely chopped


How To Cook
Melt butter in a skillet then add in the olive oil. Saute the onion in the same skillet over low-medium heat until half tender. Add in the cubanelle pepper and garlic, stir them constantly about 2 – 3 minutes. Then add in the diced tomatoes, mix well. Pour in the hot water, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and spring onion, stir and cook for about 2 minutes or until it boiled and then turn the heat off.
Pour half of the mixture above into a stewpot. Add in half of the parsley all over it. Arrange the fish in the stewpot. If necessary, add in salt and pepper to taste. Put the lemon over the fish and then add in the rest of the parsley and onion mixture. Cover the lit and let cook on medium heat for about 7 – 10 minutes.

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Turkish Meatball in Stewpot (Tencere Köftesi)

Serves 2

Ingredients

300 gr of ground beef
1 slice of (non fresh) white bread
1 small size onion
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Cummin to taste
Thyme to taste
3 medium size of potatoes
A half of tea cup olive oil
3 cubanelle pepper
1-2 tomatoes, peeled and grated (or you can use canned crushed tomatoes)
1 small spoon tomato paste
A half cup of hot water

How To Cook

Knead well ground beef, white bread, grated onion, and grated garlic with salt and all the spices. Pour half of the oil into a wide stewpot. Using your palm, shape the ground beef dough into a wide thin round shape (burger like shape) and then place covering the bottom of the stewpot. Peel the potatoes and then wash it. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into a circle shape and then put in array over the meatballs. Cut into half the cubaneller pepper and place them onto the potatoes. Pour the grated or crushed tomatoes into the stewpot. Add in salt to taste and the remaining olive oil and then cover the lid. Cook over low heat until the potatoes hald tender before pouring in tomato paste dissolved in a half cup of hot water. Continue to cook until potatoes are well cooked, you can test it by sticking a fork into the potatoes. Serve hot.

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Pilaff with Orzo (Şehriyeli Pilav)

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients

1 cup of long-grain white rice
2 – 3 tbs of orzo
1-½ to 1-¾ cups of hot water or chicken stock
1 tbs of olive oil
2 tbs of butter
1 tsp of salt or to taste

How To Cook

Rinse the rice in a few changes of warm or cold water. Then soak the rice in hot water for about 15 minutes and then drain it thoroughly.

Heat the olive oil in a cooking pot over a medium to low and then stir in the orzo until the colour change to light brown. Add in the butter and rice in it, stir for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the hot water or chicken stock and add in the salt. Close the lid and turn the heat to low. If your lid fits loosely, put a clean kitchen cloth between the lid and the pot.

After about 12 minutes, the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice al dente. Let the rice sit off the heat (turn the heat off), undisturbed with the lid on, for at least 5 minutes.

Ready to be served while it’s warm.

* It is a vegetarian recipe (use hot water instead of chicken/beef stock).

* The orzo could be subtituted with short cuted vermicelli (tel şehriye).

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Turkish Pilaff (Pilav)

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients
1 cup of long-grain white rice
1-½ to 1-¾ cups of hot water or chicken stock
2 tbs of butter
1 tsp of salt or to taste

How To Cook
Rinse the rice in a few changes of warm or cold water. Then soak the rice in hot water for about 15 minutes and then drain it thoroughly.
Melt the butter in a cooking pot and then saute the rice in it for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the water or chicken stock and add in the salt. Close the lid and turn the heat to low. If your lid fits loosely, put a clean kitchen cloth between the lid and the pot.
After about 12 minutes, the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice al dente. Let the rice sit off the heat (turn the heat off), undisturbed with the lid on, for at least 5 minutes and for as long as 30 minutes.
Ready to be served while it’s warm.


* It is a vegetarian recipe (use hot water instead of chicken stock)

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Alman Cesmesi (German or Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain)

The German Fountain, which is the last and the latest work in the Hippodrome Square (now it’s the Sultan Ahmet Square), is dated as 1898. The German Emperor, who was impressed by the hospitality that he experienced in İstanbul during his second triphad built this elegant fountain, whose project was prepared by himself on his return to his country. The fountain, which was sent to İstanbul by train, was reassembled in the Hippodrome, Atmeydanı with its present name.

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