Tonight’s meal came from Turkey and a recipe book borrowed from a friend. She’d visited there a few years ago and told me some wonderful stories when she dropped off the book, including that it was common to bring a treat over when invited for dinner, saying something like “may our meal be sweet as well as our conversation”.
Our meal today actually began with a soup earlier on (our timing was off between the different foods). This soup, called Eastern Anatolian Yogurt Soup, was quite different and not a flavour we are used to.
We started by simmering chicken stock with barley for 40 minutes. While this was going I mixed the plain yogurt with flour, eggs, and cold water. This was pushed through mesh before adding it to the base and then simmered for another ten minutes. As this cooked I heated some unsalted butter until frothy, and then added crushed mint leaves. This was combined with the soup and then served.
As usual, I didn’t seem to mind the taste, but no one else liked it at all. Not really fond of the plain yogurt in general they understandably did not like it as the main flavour came from there. We saved a bit for me to eat another time and the rest was dumped, which is too bad as it makes a large pot!
Our main was Börek with Chicken Filling. This is made by browning the chicken (this was supposed to be a whole chicken cut but we used chicken breast) and then cooking it with onions, thyme, peeled and cut tomatoes, and water for 45 minutes. Then cut the chicken into smaller pieces and added basil and parsley and cooked until there was little liquid left.
This mix was to be split into six portions, or in our case we did seven, and placed onto phyllo. The phyllo was four sheets thick and folded over the filling before folding the sides underneath. An egg wash was spread over top and then they were baked until browned.
We all enjoyed these, though a couple thought there was too much phyllo on the bottom, having close to 30 layers in the end. This sounds like a lot, but when the sheets are as thin as they are it’s really not as bad as you’d think! We decided, however, that if we were to make this again it would either be similar in build to spinach pies or we would simply cook the filling and eat it over rice. It was too much work otherwise when we know we’d enjoy it without the phyllo.
Our dessert was originally to be Almond Macaroons, but as Bulk Barn was closed for inventory we had to change it up to whatever we could make with ingredients at home. Thankfully I had just purchased a package of pistachios and we made Yogurt and Pistachio Cake.
To make this I ground up my pistachios into a powder. This should have been ones that were unsalted and that I roasted, but tonight I used what I had and it still seemed to work just fine.
In the mixer I blend egg yolks and sugar until a light and thicker consistency. I added olive oil and plain yogurt to this, being careful not to let anyone see the yogurt for fear they would not want to try much. To this I folded in a mixture of flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
In another mixing bowl I whisked the egg whites with the cream of tartar to soft peaks before adding the sugar and whisking to stiff peaks. This was then folded into the rest of the ingredients and placed in a spring form pan. This cooked well, but I wonder if it cooled to quickly as it sunk in the centre. It was suggested to eat with coffee, tea, or a slice of fruit so we cut into our persimmon and enjoyed it that way.
This cake was pretty tasty and I think everyone enjoyed it. One didn’t finish their piece, but I wonder if it was more that they were full. It had a bit of a pleasant nutty taste and you wouldn’t have been able to guess it had the yogurt.
Did you know that Turkey has the highest consumption of tea per capita and is home to the kebab? The Turkish delight was inspired by jelly beans! Soup is an essential part of Turkish cuisine, enjoyed before every meal (we didn’t know this when we had our soup beforehand, it was simply due to timing!).
The tallest point in Turkey is a dormant volcano believed to be where Noah’s ark landed, and in Western Turkey is Troy, from the legendary Trojan Wars. Travelers can cross continents underground in Turkey, and Istanbul is the only city built on two continents.
During WWI 2.6 million Turkish soldiers joined the war and the tulip flower, the symbol of the Netherlands, was originally discovered in Turkey. Oil wrestling is considered a national sport, and finally, Turkey is home to two of the seven wonders of the ancient world.