Cretan Zucchini in Tomato Sauce (Domatesli Girit Kabağı)

Cretan zucchini in tomato sauce is a staple appetizer/meze on both sides of the Aegean coast.  I’ve been dying to recreate the recipe for years, but it was hard, if not impossible, to find those baby zucchinis in US. I was really excited to start my experiments when Trader Joe’s started to carry those tiny cute zucchinis a couple of years ago. However, it wasn’t until last summer when we ate, among many other delicious mezes, an incredibly divine version of Cretan zucchini with tomato sauce and cheese at Lal Girit Mutfagi on Cunda island that I finalized my own recipe.

serves 2 as a main course and for 4 as an appetizer

1 lb baby zucchini, ends trimmed

3-4 tbsp olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic, slices or minced

3-4 medium size tomatoes, grated OR 1 can of diced tomatoes (smoothen them in a food processor for 10 seconds)

½ cup water

Aged cheddar (or feta or any kind of cheese you prefer)

salt

-Heat olive oil in a wide pot on medium to high.

-Add zucchinis, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. To cook zucchinis evenly on all sides, shake the pot with the lid on a couple of times.

-Add tomato cook for 2 minutes.

-Add water and simmer on low for another 10 minutes or until zucchini is cooked.

-Once you turn it off, add cheese on top, cover and let cool down to room temperature.

-Serve as a meze/side dish/appetizer or as a main dish with rice, grilled meat, crusty bread, or all.

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Green Beans with Tomato Sauce (Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye)

Olive oil dishes, dishes that are cooked exclusively with quite-shocking-to-some amount of olive oil and served cold or at room temperature, are the vegetarian staples of summer tables in Turkey. I bet if you open a random fridge at any given time in Turkey you can find at least two different olive oil dish. One of the most common olive oil dish is the green beans in tomato sauce. Green beans cooked in this style are good mezes/appetizers available at any restaurant/pub and a main dish on its own served with rice/grains or crusty bread. It makes a great lunch in steamy hot summer days. What follows is a quite straightforward traditional recipe.




1 pound of fresh green beans (The ones most similar to those in Turkey are, no doubt, Italian broad beans. However, they're hard to come by. And the next best is French beans. My favorite easy to find ones are Trader Joe's Haricots Verts. These thin French green beans are so fresh and skinny that they don't need trimming of any sort, which is super time consuming yet a must for a good green bean dish. If you will use anything other than haricots verts, trim the beans and snap the tails. Cut the beans into 2 or 3, depending on their length. Don't use American green beans, not worth it.
or
if to find non-American fresh green beans is a challenge for you you can use 1 pack of frozen green beans that most major grocery chains sell (either french style or Italian cut, not the American ones)
1 big onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped
2 big or 4 medium fresh tomatoes, finely chopped, grated, or blended or 1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
~1 cup hot water
salt

optional
1/8 tsp ground cumin (although not a traditional ingredient in green beans, I do love the touch of cumin in this dish)
1 tbsp tomato paste (this is a summer dish and cooked during high tomato season, yet some people do like the dark, robust color of the tomato paste or use it when they don't have enough tomatoes to supplement.)

-If you're using fresh green beans clean and trim them to 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
-Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot or in a pressure cooker and cook the chopped onions until soft.
-Add garlic and sugar, and stir until garlic is fragrant-1 minute.
-If you want to use tomato paste add it at this point and stir for a minute.
-Add the beans with cumin, if you're using any, and stir them until beans slightly change color (app. 4-6 mins).
-Add the tomatoes and cook for 3-5 mins and then add water and salt. Water should cover the beans completely, but not too much to make them seem like they're swimming in it.
-Cover the pan and cook with low to medium heat until the beans are soft. Approximately 25-30 minutes. If you're using a pressure cooker. Cover and cook for 12-14 minutes after it reaches high pressure.
-Regardless of in what kind of pot you cook them, you need to let it cool in the pot. Never transfer an olive oil dish from its pot until it gets to room temperature.

Olive oil dishes are traditionally served at room temperature or cold, however we won't judge if you do warm it up. They taste even better the next day. 

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Celery Root and Quince with Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Ayvalı Kereviz)

It's the season for celery roots, aka celeriac, and quinces and these two go marvelously well together in this Aegean inspired dish.

1 celery root, ~1,5-2 lb, peeled and cubed
1 quince, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and cut in half moons
1 medium onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
1-1,5 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves, parsley, or dill

-In a mid size bowl, mix 4 cups of water, lemon juice and flour.
-Place the peeled and diced celery root in the water and stir. If the water doesn't cover the celery root, add more water.
-Heat olive oil in a wide pot and add onions.
-Stir until soft, 8-10 minutes, but do not let them brown.
-Add sugar and stir.
-Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes.
-Take the celery out of the lemon-flour water with a slotted spoon and add to the pot. Preserve the water.
-Add quince.
-Add 1 cup of the water with lemon and flour to the pot. Top it with regular hot water until the vegetables are barely covered. (For a different taste, top with orange juice)
-Salt to taste.
-Simmer covered on medium for 20-25 minutes.
-Turn it off and let cool down to room temperature in the pot, covered.
-Once at room temperature, bring it to a serving plate and sprinkle with finely chopped celery leaves, parsley, or dill.

Olive oil dishes are always served at room temperature. They're even more flavorful the second day.
Enjoy with a splash of lemon juice on top, with crusty bread or rice, or on its own. 

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Celery Root with Orange or Tangerine Juice (Portakal ya da Mandalinalı Kereviz)

Celery root, also known as celeriac, is an awesome root highly common and popular in Europe but still waiting for its time in US. It is a different variety than regular celery (stalks). Its root has a bulbous shape and sometimes comes with its leaves on top that resemble giant parsley. It is best during the winter months, but could be found until late March here in the Bay Area. Most American recipes that I've come across recommend boiling and mixing with mashed potatoes or grating raw and adding to salads. Although both are fine ways of cooking with celery root, they're far from how we eat celery root in Turkey. Celery, kereviz in Turkish which comes from karafs in Persian, is cooked in meat stews and soups like potatoes, or in egg-lemon sauces similar to Greek avgolemono sauce, but yet the most common way of preparing celery is the traditional olive oil cooking, i.e., cooked in olive oil usually with carrots, potatoes, and peas, and seldom with quince and orange slices and served luke warm, like this recipe or this one .

Celery root with orange or tangerine juice is a "spin-off" from the conventional olive oil variety. The mixing of orange and lemon juices in this dish creates a memorable and delicious tangy flavors.

When picking celery roots, avoid both very small and very big ones. You would lose half of the small ones to peeling and the big ones tend to be hollow in the middle. Pick mid-size celery roots, approximately grapefruit-size ones and feel their weight in your hand; they should be heavy. Once peeled celery roots darken fast, so always keep a bowl of water and juice of half a lemon ready to place the peeled roots. If you get them with the greens on top, save them for cooking and decorating.

1 medium size celery root, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 big potato, peeled and diced
1 carrots, peeled and cut in half or quarter rounds
juice of 2 medium juicy oranges OR 3 tangerines OR 1 orange and 1-2 tangerines
2 lemons (juice of half to prevent darkening, rest for cooking depending on your sourness preference)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup olive oil + 2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp salt

-Peel the root and place it in a bowl with water and lemon juice to prevent darkening
-Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a broad pan and add onions. Cook on medium until soft but don't let them brown.
-Add sugar and stir.
-Drain the water from celery root.
-Add carrots, potatoes, and celery root. Stir for 2-3 minutes until covered with olive oil and warmed up.
-Add orange/tangerine juice (whichever combination you choose) and lemon juice (how much lemon juice you will add depends on how tangy you enjoy this dish. It can go from half a lemon juice to one and a half. I love mine tangy and usually add juice of one big lemon, 2-3 tbsp). Also add 1/2 cup of water.
-Salt it to your taste.
-Add half of the dill. (If you have the root greens you can add 1/8 cup of that at this point as well)
-Once it starts to boil, turn it down and cook for 25-30 minutes until celery root is cooked.
-Let it cool in the pot covered.
-Transfer it to a serving plate. Sprinkle it with 2-3 tbsp olive oil and rest of the dill.
-Serve cold or luke warm.

Once you get used to cooking this dish, you can experiment with it by adding 1/3 cup of green peas to  it or skipping potatoes or carrots or both. Make it your own.

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Sunchokes in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Yer Elması)

This ginger look-alike, hard-to-peel root has many names in English among which I like sunchoke or sunroot the best. I liked the sun in those names but never really understood why a root that probably never sees the sun has that name, but then I saw the plant; it looks like, I thought, sunflower, and to my surprise it apparently is related to the sunflower plant. It is called yer elması, i.e. "earth apple," what French call potato, in Turkish.

Sunchokes, although not very common Turkey-wide, are very common in the Aegean and in Istanbul. The sunchoke season here in Northern California and in Turkey run from late November to to early Spring, and you can find them in stores and at farmers' markets. They are great in Turkish olive oil dishes (here's a recipe with orange juice) or raw in salads. This low in calorie, high in fiber root is quite rich when it comes to health benefits. It has a distinct sweet rooty and slightly nutty flavor, but it is not for everyone. I'm the only one who likes it cooked in my house. So you need to try and see whether you like it simmered in olive oil or raw, or like it at all. Below is a very traditional olive oil dish recipe.
 












serves ~4 people
1 lb sunchokes, peeled and left as a whole or diced
1 lb baby or regular potatoes
1/2 lb pearl onions peeled or one medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, diced or halved or 1 cup baby carrots
1/3 cup olive oil (yep, it is an olive oil dish and the amount is normal)
1/2 tsp sugar
salt
1/2 bunch fresh dill
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water

-The hardest part of the recipe; peel the sunchokes. It is easier to peel them when left in water for 20-30 minutes beforehand. Leave them as they are or dice them.
-Put olive oil in a medium size pot on medium heat.
-When heated add pearl onions and sugar. Stir for 4-5 minutes until softened. Do not let them brown.
-Add sunchokes, carrots, potatoes, and half of the dill bunch, unchopped, for flavor.
-Stir for a minute.
-Add water, lemon juice, and salt.
-First let it boil, and then simmer it on low heat covered for 30-40 minutes, until cooked. If unsure, pierce sunchokes with a knife.
-Let the dish cool down in its pot with the lid on. Transfer to a serving plate only after cooled down.
-Serve with finely chopped fresh dill on top.

*This is an olive oil dish; it should be served at room temperature or cold. Olive oil dishes tend to taste even better the next day.

*I do like sunchokes in olive oil in round shapes, but you can cube or dice all the ingredients. It's just a matter of presentation.





























For a non-traditional, or an almost Turkish, twist try with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

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Vegetarian Stuffed Tomatoes (Zeytinyağlı Domates Dolması)

In Turkey end-of-summer tomato bounty usually means time to can or jar tomato sauces or to make tomato paste. Unfortunately I am too lazy for any of those. I decided to say good bye to the summer and to the dearest tomatoes that I tremendously enjoyed all summer long with a nice dish. Stuffing tomatoes with rice or ground meat, although not as common as peppers or zucchinis, is common. Using bulgur rather than rice for stuffing is more popular in the central and eastern Turkey. Inspired by dolmas stuffed with bulgur, I tried using quinoa for my tomatoes which makes this recipe an authentic "almost" Turkish one.

For dolma it is important to pick firmer tomatoes. I prefer roma tomatoes for stuffing.


~15 medium size firm tomatoes
1 cup quinoa
3 medium size onions, finely chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil (I never hold back olive oil)
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tsp white granulated sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2-3 sweet peppers (any color), finely chopped
juice of half lemon
salt


-Wash the tomatoes and remove the tops to use later as a lid. Use a spoon or a melon scoop to remove the seeds and inside flesh. Save the flesh. Put the flesh in a food processor or dice them really small.
-In a big frying pan heat half of the olive oil.
-Add sugar, onion, pine nuts, and peppers, and saute until onions are tender.
-Add quinoa, stir for a couple of minutes.
-Add 1 cup of pureed tomato from the inside flesh. Cook stirring for 2-3 minutes.
-Add 1 cup of hot water. Cover and simmer until the water is soaked. Turn the heat off.
-Add the remaining ingredients: black pepper, all spice, basil, parsley, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well.
-Once it cools down start stuffing tomatoes with this mix. Do not over stuff them. Leave a little bit of room for quinoa to grow :) Place the tops that you cut earlier on top. That top will keep your dolmas moist. (If you are out of tomatoes and still have more stuffing try zucchinis or potatoes, or just eat the stuffing it's delicious.)
-Place the tomato dolmas in a somewhat deep (to prevent mess) oven proof pot or dish facing up.
-Pour the remaining olive oil and 1 cup or a little more hot water to cover almost half way up the tomatoes.

Now you can either cook them on the stove or bake them in the oven. I honestly think baked dolmas beat the stove cooked ones but it's up to you.

For cooking on the stove:
-Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

For baking:
-First bring to a boil on the stove and then bake for 40-50 minutes at  400 F. Do not cover.

Reminders: It's always a good idea to check the amount of water while cooking/baking. If the water is gone before the cooking is over, add hot water.

Let dolmas cool in their pots. Wait until they are luke warm before serving. This is an olive oil dish and like other olive oil dishes it's best when it's cold and even better the next day.

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Dandelion with Olive Oil (Hindiba)

If cooking every dish (sweet and savory) in olive oil is one of the most important characteristics of the incredibly healthy  Cretan cuisine, boiling all greens including weeds is the other one. The Cretan diet, widely accepted to be one of the healthiest diets, became an indispensable part of Turkish Aegean cuisine through Cretan-Turks who were compulsorily exchanged for the Turkish Greeks of Anatolia starting from May 1st, 1923 based on the treaty of Lausanne. As a result of this agreement between Turkish and Greek governments, half a million Greeks left Turkey and approximately one million Turks left Greek. And through this non-humanitarian and tragic population exchange which caused thousands of dislocated families and hatred between nations the west coast of Turkish cooking is enriched by this cuisine.  

This is a very simple recipe that captures the essence of Cretan cooking: greens and olive oil. Dandelion greens, like many other weeds, are widely consumed in Cretan cuisine with a simple olive oil dressing and tarator sauce. Eren Aksahin in an article about Turks of Crete (read the article) quotes a little anecdote about Creteans' infatuation with greens:

"A Cretan goes into a field with a cow. The son of the field’s owner runs to his father, and says “Papa! A cow and a Cretan are in the field! What should I do?”  His father answers: “don’t bother the cow, she’ll eat until she’s full and leave. But the Cretan will gather everything before he leaves. So chase the Cretan out!”

1 bunch dandelion greens
1/4 cup olive oiljuice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
salt
-Boil enough water for your dandelion bunch in a pot with some salt.
-Add dandelions and cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on freshness of the weed.
-Blanch dandelions for ~3 minutes. 
-Squeeze excessive water and lay on a plate. 
-Mix olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed/minced garlic with salt and pour over the dandelions. (Adjust salt, lemon, and garlic to your taste)

for tarator sauce
2 slices of white bread (cannot stress the importance of the whiteness of bread for this sauce), crusts removed
1-2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1 lemon or 2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup ground walnuts (although walnut is more common, some prefer pinenut for tarator sauce)
4-5 tbsp olive oil
salt

-Soak bread slices in 1/4 cup water, squeeze excessive water.
-Put all in a food processor and pulse until smooth. The sauce should not be very runny or thick as a paste. Add a couple of drops of water or lemon juice to loosen up.

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