Even if I
didn’t know what erişte was, a recipe with ingredients like this would
attract my attention like a magnet.
didn’t know what erişte was, a recipe with ingredients like this would
attract my attention like a magnet.
 |
| a bowl of delicious köy eriştesi/village egg noodles with sage, walnuts and white cheese |
What do you
think?
think?
What with
our ever-growing interest in doğal or natural produce, simple yet
tasty dishes like this are appearing more and more on menus in Istanbul
admittedly with a sophisticated touch: in the village erişte is eaten with
butter.
We were
recently in Assos, our Aegean village, so I asked Hatice if she made her
own erişte.
What a stupid question: of course she did! It seems that in the villages small
groups of women, often family members, work together to make this special kind
of Turkish noodle towards the end of summer/early autumn when it’s warm enough
to dry it out. It can be made at any time of the year so long as conditions ensure
the drying out process. The actual
making of it is not particularly difficult and the ingredients are everyday
ones: eggs, milk, flour, semolina and salt. Erişte (pron: erishteh) is actually a
Persian word meaning strips as this is the shape in which they are cut, flat
rather than round.
recently in Assos, our Aegean village, so I asked Hatice if she made her
own erişte.
What a stupid question: of course she did! It seems that in the villages small
groups of women, often family members, work together to make this special kind
of Turkish noodle towards the end of summer/early autumn when it’s warm enough
to dry it out. It can be made at any time of the year so long as conditions ensure
the drying out process. The actual
making of it is not particularly difficult and the ingredients are everyday
ones: eggs, milk, flour, semolina and salt. Erişte (pron: erishteh) is actually a
Persian word meaning strips as this is the shape in which they are cut, flat
rather than round.
 |
| Hatice’s erişte |
Here in the
city,
erişte can be found in the local
street markets or in the kind of stores which specialize in traditional local
food items. Even larger supermarkets will offer their own particular brand. Some housewives make their own erişte
but to be quite frank, I don’t think I’ll be trying any time soon.
But it’s the making of the sauce with fresh
ingredients that’s so important. This particular one is very tasty: the smell of the garlic alone is tantalizing, and when it all comes together, it makes a perfect light lunch or supper dish.
Köy Eriştesi with Sage,
Walnut and White Cheese
From ‘Aegean Flavours: A culinary
celebration of the Aegean region’s local markets and produce’
By Didem Şenol
celebration of the Aegean region’s local markets and produce’
By Didem Şenol
Ingredients
2 lt/8 cups water
200g/8oz thinly sliced köy
eriştesi
eriştesi
A pinch of salt for the water
50g/2oz butter
50g/2oz chopped walnuts/kırılmış ceviz
1 bunch sage/1 demet adaçayı
1 bunch fresh thyme/1
demet taze kekik
demet taze kekik
1 sprig parsley/1 dal maydonoz
1 clove garlic/1 diş sarmısak – or more if liked!
100g/4oz white cheese/beyaz
peyniri
peyniri
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
·
Boil
the water and add a pinch of salt. Add
the erişte
and let cook for 5-7 minutes with the lid off. Before draining it off, keep aside
a glass of the boiling water (this is to keep it moist instead of using extra
butter or olive oil).
Boil
the water and add a pinch of salt. Add
the erişte
and let cook for 5-7 minutes with the lid off. Before draining it off, keep aside
a glass of the boiling water (this is to keep it moist instead of using extra
butter or olive oil).
 |
| toasting the walnuts with the sage and garlic |
·
Gently
brown the chopped walnuts in butter over low heat. Add the sage leaves and
garlic and then the boiling water which was kept aside. Add the erişte
and stir.
Gently
brown the chopped walnuts in butter over low heat. Add the sage leaves and
garlic and then the boiling water which was kept aside. Add the erişte
and stir.
·
Chop
the thyme (I DIDN’T HAVE FRESH SO USED A LITTLE DRIED WITH ADDITIONAL PARSLEY)
and parsley finely. Crumble the white cheese and add it to the köy
eriştesi together with the thyme and parsley. Grind some black pepper
over the top.
Chop
the thyme (I DIDN’T HAVE FRESH SO USED A LITTLE DRIED WITH ADDITIONAL PARSLEY)
and parsley finely. Crumble the white cheese and add it to the köy
eriştesi together with the thyme and parsley. Grind some black pepper
over the top.
Serve immediately: it’s delicious!
Afiyet olsun!
Mmmm … go on, try it!
We've been up the mountain collecting thyme today so this recipe will on the menu this week.
this looks wonderful! i can't wait to try it!
Hmm, yummy Claudia; home made eriste with this delicious sauce; loved the flavor combinations; look forward to trying out: )
Claudia, when I was thinking about this recipe today, it occurred to me that it's like Turkish pesto – herbs, walnuts, cheese, garlic and salt and pepper. Sounds as yummy as its Italian counterpart.
Hi everybody! thanks as always for your lovely comments! Glad you like the sound of this – you will love the taste too 🙂
Looks and sounds amazing!
Claudia, this is lovely, really. I make pasta and/or chicken similar to this often from an Italian recipe I learned years ago (browned butter sage sauce with parmesan). I've even done it with walnuts. But the köy erişte took it to a whole new level of delicious.
Also it's super fast and easy. It saved my butt for dinner last night, and I'm eating it cold now even though half my mouth is still numb from the dentist.
So, so good. Thanks!!!!
That looks absolutely delicious Claudia! And the perfect pasta dish for Autumn 🙂
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
I made this tonight substituting rotini for the eristes. I am thinking that next time I will substitute diced cooked butternut squash for the eristes. Thank you, Claudia! Roz Spier