Sample Recipes
RED LENTIL SOUP
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed
4 cups of broth
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of flour
1 onion, cut into small cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon oregano
4 slices of white bread
salt
Place the onion into a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté until golden. Add flour and mix well. Stir in the lentils and carrot; pour the broth and water into the saucepan, add salt to taste. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until the lentils are softened. Pass the mixture through a food processor and pour it back into the same saucepan, bringing it to just under a boil. Add the oregano and remove the saucepan from heat. The soup is now ready to serve.
Cut 4 slices of white bread into cubes. Fry bread in a pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Drain off the excess butter onto a paper towel and put the bread cubes (croutons) in the soup.
ARTICHOKES COOKED IN OLIVE OIL
125 ml. extra vırgın olıve oıl
1 onion - peeled and sliced
2 toatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tea spoon - granulated sugar
1 potato - peeled and cut into cubes
2 carrots - peeled and cut in to cubes
1 tea spoon salt
3 tablespoon peas
4 artichokes - peeled and cleaned
Lemon juıce extracted from 1 lemon
Put two-thirds of the olive oil in a shallow pan and cook the onion with the sugar. Add the potato, carrots, tomatoes and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for another 10 minutes. Transfer this mixture onto a plate.
In the same pan, heat the remaining olive oil and place the artichokes in it. Slightly cook both sides then drizzle lemon juice and sprinkle salt over it. Spoon the vegetable mixture into the center of the artichokes. Cover and leave to cook for 20 minutes, until artichokes are tender.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm or cold as an appetiser or as digestive after a main course.
RICE PILAF WITH CHICK-PEAS
150 gr. chick-peas - soaked overnight
200 gr. rice - washed and drained
60 gr. butter
1/2 lt. chicken broth
Wash and drain the rice. Put the chick peas into a large saucepan and cover them with water, add some salt, bring to a boil; then cover and simmer for about 40 minutes until they are soft. After draining them, melt the butter in a medium size saucepan, and then add the rice and fry for a minute. Add in the cooked chick peas and mix. Pour in the hot broth, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed and the grains are soft. Serve hot.
SEMOLINA HELVA
2 cups semolina
200 gr. butter
120 gr. pine-nuts
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
Very gently heat butter in a saucepan, add semolina and pine-nuts. Toast until pine nuts are light golden, for about 25 minutes over low to moderate heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Disolve the sugar in the milk and bring it to a boil. Add the milk and sugar mixture to the semolina, boil, then stir the mixture. Keep it over low heat till the milk is completly absorbed by the semolina. Stir and allow to stand in a warm spot for 15 minutes. Stir one more time using a fork and let it cool. Serve at room temperature.