I think everybody should learn how to make a white sauce, or béchamel: my French mother did too. She insisted on teaching me before I got married, along with how to make pastry, and I have been ...
Vegetables
What to do with Artichokes or Enginar
an enginarcı at the Selami Çeşme pazarı, my local Monday market Everything may be a bit late this year but enginar or artichokes are indeed ripe and out there, readily ...
Broad Beans in Olive Oil – Zeytinyağlı Bakla
broad beans in olive oil/zeytinyağlı bakla We are back in our Aegean village of Assos for the first time this year. All the neighbours are saying how bitterly cold it has been and the garden ...
Mukalla – a Dish from Antakya: Chard & Sweet Red Pepper Stir Fry
beautiful sturdy pazı or chard leaves, washed and trimmed Yesterday my uncle got out the dictionary to check what exactly chard was! Seems it may not be an Aussie staple after all but it ...
Red Pepper, Goat’s Cheese and Walnut Pinwheels
Yes, this shape is familiar: the Christmas Buns I made recently looked like this. These are unabashedly savoury and fit the bill for a delicious canapé that once you have the three ingredients plus ...
Tender Braised Leeks
tender braised leeks with green olives and parsley I love leeks - pırasa in Turkish - and when I saw the picture of this dish in a BBC Good Food magazine, complete with sliced green ...
Cabbage Rolls with Bulgur Antakya-style/ Bulgurlu Lahana Sarma
cabbage rolls/ lahana sarma I bought a cookbook last week on the strength of one picture and it was of this dish. The book itself – Antakya: City and Cuisine by Jale Balcı - ...
Beautiful Beetroot
Have you noticed how beetroot is enjoying a revival? I think in the UK we used to eat it with Heinz mayonnaise and a slice of cold ham and it was always there. We –or our grandmothers - boiled it ...