don’t waste the yummy seeds!

as you clean the pumpkin, put the seeds in a bowl with salty water:

once you have them all, give it a good wash to get rid of the orange remains of the pumpkin as much as you can. if there’s some left, don’t worry, it’ll go while roasting.

drain the water and put everything on a non-stick frying pan with some salt but without any oil and roast until its colour turns brownish. keep stirring constantly… *yawn*

… or instead you can cheat and do what i do! just microwave the seeds for 5 mins or so. make sure you stop and stir every minute though.

makes a wonderful snack this. it’s so turkish as well. pumpkin and sunflower seeds are great to snack on, so healthy too. but it’s no fun when you buy them without the shell. just hold the shell vertically in your mouth and start biting up to the mid section and it’ll drop into your mouth.

enjoy! x

ingredients

• 500g pumpkin (cut in cubes)
• 300g sugar
• 100g walnuts

preparation

this is the tricky bit. you’ll need a very strong and sharp knife for this. put the tip of the knife in first and slice up the pumpkin using the segments as a guide like this:

clean the stringy bits holding the seeds. save the seeds! i have another recipe coming up for those. back to the pumpkin, now peel the skin. i use a sharp peeler and find it more difficult with a knife. you can peel very thinly with a peeler keeping the nice bit just under the skin. a couple of these, i peeled with a knife and used the peel to cover the bottom of the saucepan to prevent sticking:

then cover the chopped up pumpkin with the sugar and leave to rest for an hour or so. or you can do this overnight so the sugar is absorbed all the way in the pumpkin.

you’ll notice that the sugar will have melted by now, you can put the lid on and on to the hob, medium heat:

it doesn’t take a long time to cook, maybe 20 minutes or so, keep poking with a knife every now and then, when it’s all soft, it’s cooked. take the pumpkin pieces in another dish:

be generous with the walnuts:

now this bit is optional. if you’ll notice that the sugar-water in the pan is nowhere near sticky enough, keep boiling for a bit longer and reduce, with the peel in it.

when it’s reduced to a syrup consistency, i scrape the little bit of pumpkin flesh and chuck the peels.

and pour this syrup over the pumpkins:

this top bit kind of hardens and crystallise after resting in the fridge for a couple of hours and it’s yummy:

you can skip the syrup bit altogether and serve it more neatly if you like using a walnut half on each slice and clotted cream on the side.

enjoy! x

ingredients

• 4 courgettes de nice (or 2 normal courgette halves or 1 sliced marrow)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice (i tried mild cheddar, mozarella and feta so far, all worked just fine)
• 2 eggs
• 1 garlic (pressed)
• 1 level tablespoon flour
• salt, pepper and chilli flakes

preparation

1. hollow out the flesh and boil or steam courgettes until they are half cooked

2. prepare the filling by mixing everything together

3. fill the courgettes with the mixture and sprinkle chilli flakes for decoration

4. into the oven (180-200^oC) in a buttered/oiled shallow oven dish

keep an eye on the oven, it doesn’t take a long time!

enjoy! x

ingredients

• 500g green beans (prefer the flat ones to the round ones)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1-2 teaspons ground cumin
• salt

preparation

wash the beans, cut the ends and trim the stringy sides with a peeler. it’s easier to do this than you think. honest! then cut them in 1-inch long pieces and boil in milk until cooked and tender.

drain the milk and put the beans on a shallow oven dish you buttered. season with salt and sprinkle the cumin evenly. the cheese goes on top and that’s it!

it goes in a pre-heated 180-200^oC oven until the cheese melts:

serve up and tuck in!

enjoy! x

ingredients:

• 500g lamb’s liver (i’m sure it would work for other animals too but i always cook lamb’s liver as it’s the most tender)
• 1 large onion
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 medium size tomatoes (use vine tomatoes if you can)
• a big handful of parsley (i prefer flat to curly as it’s more aromatic. feel free to use coriender instead)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (i’m using hungarian paprika a good friend brought over, it’s fantastic)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• salt & pepper
• milk
• lots of kitchen towel!

preparation – part 1

follow these 4 steps for guaranteed tender liver!

1. yes, liver does come with a bit of blood. do NOT wash it! it’s a little gross, i know, suck it up (not literally, eww!). of course we’re not going to cook it with all that blood. instead, we’ll chop the liver in bite sizes and we’ll absorb the blood with kitchen towel. like this:

and like this:

2. once it’s no longer floating in blood, rest the liver in milk kagit for 15-20 minutes:

3. we will NOT use any salt while cooking, we’ll add the salt afterwards

4. we’ll sprinkle a little bit of baking powder on the liver before cooking

preparation – part 2

follow this guide now:

1. we’ve already chopped the liver in bite size, dried with kitchen towel and left in milk for 15-20 mins

2. chop the onions like this:

and sautee with 1 tablespoon of olive oil

3. admire the beauty of vine tomatoes…

… and get dissapointed at the pale colour after peeling, meh

chop them in cubes

4. drain the milk, rub some baking powder on and add  the liver on the onions, keep stirring for a couple of minutes on high heat

5. after 2 minutes, first add the tomatoes…

… then add the spices (including the salt, yes) and garlic, stir until the tomato cooks

once tomatoes are cooked, add the parsley/coriender, stir for another 30 seconds or so:

and that’s it! so easy to make and it’s delicious.

we had it with gnocci with pesto and salad:

enjoy! x

anyway, back to our casserole. it’s so simple, yet so tasty. it reminds me of my childhood. back in istanbul, when i was a kid, meatballs and fries were my favorite. mum tried to make it healthier so she cooked them in a casserole dish instead of frying and added more veggies in. the result was nothing like meatballs and fries but i loved it just as much, if not more.

so i told andy i was going to cook meatballs with potatoes when he asked me what i had planned for dinner. he said ‘hmmf meh’ or something like that. i ignored him completely, of course.

ingredients

for the meatballs:

• 500g mince beef (or lamb or turkey, whatever you like more)
• 1 small onion or half a large
• 3-4 slices of thick sliced bread or 4-5 for medium slices (or the equivalent of breadcrumbs)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• salt & pepper

other stuff:

• 1kg new or charlotte potatoes (i’ll tell you why in a minute)
• 5-6 vine tomatoes or 1-2 beef tomatoes
• 1-2 bell peppers
• fresh thyme

preparation

let’s make the meatballs first. grate or chop the onion (food processor or contact lenses recommended to avoid burning eyes!) first, and then the bread. if you don’t have a food processor, you can damp the bread with a bit of water, squeeze the excess water and crumble into the mix. then mix everything together and roll into any shape you like.

this is optional but mum reckons it improves the flavour and texture. fry the meatballs in a non-stick pan with a little oil (1 tablespoon or less) for a few minutes on high heat, just to seal, don’t cook completely. i just did a minute on each side, that’s it.

now the potatoes… i use charlotte or new potatoes because they keep their firm when cooked. floury potatoes on the other hand, get fluffy and break. much as we love the maris piper and king edward, they are better for mashing or roasting.

slice the potatoes, not too thin, not too thick either – half and inch or 1cm will do. don’t slice all the potatoes as you may need less depending on the size of your saucepan. i used a 11 inch (28cm) non-stick shallow casserole. put 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of the pan and lay the potato layer:

remember to salt each layer as you go by the way. now the tomato layer (sliced the same as potatoes) with a bit of fresh thyme:

then the meatballs layer and another layer of potatoes:

finish with another layer of tomatoes with peppers on top:

the layers should be as follows, from top to bottom:

6. tomatoes and peppers
5. potatoes
4. meatballs
3. tomatoes and thyme
2. potatoes
1. bottom of the pan with olive oil

add water to fill 1/3 of the pan and on to high heat with the lid on:

lower the heat all the way down once the water boils and let it steam for a while. check after half an hour and then every 10 minutes – just stab a knife in the top layer of potatoes to see if it’s cooked. if it is, check one of the meatballs, just in case. if both are cooked, you’re all set!

of course noone expects you to serve up in layers like the way you cooked it – the messier the better! make sure to spoon some of  the lovely buttery juices on the bottom of the pan before  you serve:

andy took the “hmmf meh” back after having two portions!

this dish is so delicious, i want to go and cook another batch while typing this! it’s a beautiful combination of all the flavours, especially with the cooked tomato juices oozing down the bottom, leaving its trace on each later… absolutely amazing.

enjoy! x

ingredients

• 2 packs of sponge fingers (i use Tesco’s own brand)
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 400g mascarpone
• 3 tablespoons of amaretto
• fresh or instant coffee
• cocoa powder

description

first, make a mug of strong coffee. if i don’t have fresh coffee, i do use instant, no problem. use 1 tablespoon of coffee granules, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of amaretto with 1 mug of water. put it aside to cool.

now, separate the whites of 3 eggs. keep the 3 yolks with the whole 4th egg together, we’ll use them in a minute. beat the 3 egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks:

if you’re using a stand mixer like me, transfer the egg whites into another bowl until we need them cos we have more mixing to do with this one.

now mix 3 egg yolks and the 4th whole egg with 4 tablespoons of sugar. add the mascarpone (get rid of the water in it, if there is any) and beat with the mixer until the mixture is smooth. it will be lumpy at first, it gets smooth in a couple of minutes. like this:

now in a low setting, mix the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture. do this slowly and do not over-mix. just folding it nicely is enough. add another tablespoon of amaretto at this point!

ok we’re done mixing, now let’s get ourselves a nice dish, like my porcelain one below, to prepare the dessert in. dip the sponge fingers one by one in the coffee and lay on the bottom of your dish. trick here is not to soak them too much. dip in, keep in coffee for 1 second and take it out. coffee is strong anyway so favour will be strong enough. we want them to soften completely when they absorb the mixture not just coffee.

then pour some of the mixture on the sponge fingers, enough to cover them all and a bit more, and start building another layer on top. sometimes i add cocoa powder on each layer, this makes the end result more ‘chocolatey’. chocolate is good!

you can add as many layers as you like. in the square dish seen in my photos, i use 2 packs of sponge fingers and i end up with 3 layers. it all depends on the size of your dish i suppose.

once you put the last bit of the mascarpone mix on the top, put it in the freezer for 1 hour.

after an hour, take it out of the freezer and cover the top with cocoa powder. this might get messy but dont worry if you think you’ve put a bit too much, it will be absorbed or we can get rid of it by blowing on the dish – i usually do this in the garden not in the kitchen!

now once you put the cocoa in, you’ll get the urge to try it. try not to! it really needs to rest in the fridge overnight so that the flavours will  mix and the sponge fingers will absorbe more moisture and get softer. however, if you can’t resist the urge, you’ll end up with this shapeless thing:

don’t get me wrong, although the sponge fingers are a bit chewy it still tastes fine but that’s why we keep it overnight in the fridge…

i can’t get over the fact that it’s so easy to make and tastes amazing!

enjoy! x

ingredients
vegetable of your choice to be filled (but the following mix works great!):

• 4 large bell peppers
• 2 courgettes
• 1 tomato

filling:

• 500g mince lamb, beef or turkey
• a handful of rice (or to be exact, 1 espresso cup full)
• 2 spring onions
• fresh parsley and dill (use as much as you like or check photo for my amounts roughly)
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 1 Tbsp oil (i use evoo)
• salt & pepper

first, wash and prepare the veggies. chop the ends of the courgette, then get rid of the seedy bit in the middle with an apple corer or even a knife, whatever works for you.

I like to make stripes on the courgettes with a lemon rinder too – only because it looks good!

then cut the tops of the peppers, which will be used as lids (or hats, if you like) but keep the stems on and clean the seeds.

now let’s prepare the filling:

put the onion, parsley and dill in the food processor or chop them very finely if you can be bothered. tomato can go in the processor too or you can grate it. i’m afraid you’ll have to chop the spring onions yourself but it shouldn’t take more than a minute to do! once the chopping is done, mix everything together.

now fill the veggies with this mixture, put two slices of tomato at the ends of the courgettes and we’re all done. everything goes in a thick bottomed saucepan.

then mix one teaspoon of tomato paste in 1 cup of water and pour over the stuffed vegetables. you can skip the tomato paste altogether if you like or if you’re my mum who would refuse to use anything other than real tomatos in her meals!

first we start with high heat until the water boils, then we put the lid on the saucepan and turn the heat all the way down to low and leave it to steam slowly. once you can smell the gorgeous food from another room in the house, it’s cooked! just poke the veggies with a knife to see if they are soft and lift one of the pepper hats to check if the meat is cooked. if the rice is cooked, the meat is definitely cooked anyway.

mine is all over the place, i think i cooked it a bit too much but who cares, it was sooo delicious!

an enormous portion for andy…

… and one for me. yum!

you must try it! try sprinkling a bit of dried mint on the courgettes and serve with a bit of plain greek yogurt on the side and see how the taste transforms into something even better. believe me, you must try this!

enjoy x

ingredients

• turkey leg
• rice of your choice, 2 cups
• 4 carrots
• 1 large onion
• 1 cup of frozen peas

preparation

1. turkey leg, onion and carrots cut in big chunks go into a deep-ish oven dish. add water to cover half the way up the turkey leg, season with sea-salt and cracked black pepper and put in the oven (180 C) for a good hour and a bit more, until the meat is tender and cooked nicely. remember to turn the turkey leg  upside down, hmm maybe after 45 minutes or so.

2. leave the oven dish on the side to cool while you prepare the rice. add a bit of evoo (2 tablespoons would do) and the rice in a saucepan (which has a lid that fits!) and stir-fry the rice for a couple of minutes with a bit of salt. salt prevents the rice from breaking while frying but remember you added salt to the turkey also so use just a little to fry the rice.

3. chop the turkey, carrots and onions in bite size cubes and add on the rice with the frozen peas. mix everything but try not to smash the carrots

4. add 3 cups of stock – the water you’ve just cooked the turkey in! if it doesn’t make 3 cups, just top up with hot water. give it a good stir and keep on high heat until it boils

5. once it boils, put the lid on, heat down to lowest and leave to cook until all the water is absorbed by the rice. once it’s cooked, leave it to rest with the lid on for 10-15 minutes before serving up. if you fill a bowl with the rice and turn it on a plate, i think it looks very pretty =]

enjoy! x

crumble is my favorite british dish and i’ve made this many times. i even made it with gluten-free flour and soya margarine for andy who happens to have coeliac disease and has no tolerance to dairy products. even with such dodgy ingredients, turned out to be fantastic!

ingredients

• 4-5 green apples
• 4-5 pears
• 250g blackberries
• 200g caster sugar
• 300g flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 150g butter at room temperature
• 100g pistachios
• single cream, custard or vanilla icecream to serve with

preparation

i used 5 apples and 5 pears like these:

then chopped them up in cubes

then left them on low heat with 200g caster sugar

once they begin to soften, added the blackberries

not gonna cook them for long, just long enough to give its colour – see below

i prepared the crumble while the fruit cooked – first i mix brown sugar with the flour, then crumble all with the butter

then added the pistachios

when done, looks like this:

fruit goes on the bottom of the dish

and the crumble on top

looks like this in the end:

then i shoved it in 180 degree oven. when done, it comes out as slightly darkened and with boiling fruit popping out here and there:

we had it with single cream and it was fantastic!

enjoy! x