Canan´s Turkish Jam Tart
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
This tart was first cooked for me by Canan, whom I met in the summer of ’92 in Bodrum. Canan comes from one of those families who was totally inspired by great Turkish food and a deep love of cooking as well as sourcing the perfect ingredients. Her mother and father were both inspirational in the kitchen and Canan was just incredible to watch. Never one for recipes, everything was in her head and she could create a meal at the speed of light. And it all tasted simply wonderful. Jam Slices cut into bite sizes Ready to be baked. The first time that she told me that she would whip up a Jam Ta ..read more
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Hot Cross Buns
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
It’s a very different Easter this year and many people will not be celebrating in any sort of ordinary way but one thing we can do though, is enjoy a Hot Cross Bun or two or three! These are very simple to make and yummy to eat whilst still hot, otherwise toasted the next day, they are great too. A Good Old Fashioned Recipe This recipe came from my mother in law who proudly referred quite often to her Cakes, Pastries and Bread Cookbook. It was a St Michaels 1977 edition put out by Marks and Spencers and every recipe was an absolute winner. Hot Cross Buns When we lived in England, we would m ..read more
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Chocolate Pear Tart
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Chocolate Pear Tart This delicious pie is currently sitting at the top of our  All Time Favourite Dessert list. The chocolate shortbread pastry can be eaten by itself. It is that good. And if marzipan or almonds are not your thing, or you cannot get hold of them, then there are substitutes explained further down. You can make the chocolate pastry dough either by hand or in a food processor. If making it by hand, you need to grate the marzipan, which is easiest done by freezing the required amount of marzipan first. As for the pear and chocolate filling, it is truly delicious. And the ta ..read more
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Home Pickled Gherkins
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Late Autumn is when the ‘kornişon’ or small gherkins appear in the markets. They actually appear twice a year but if you are interested in pickling them, you need to make the pickles with the Autumn crop. I have been told by several villagers that the Spring crop will not stay crunchy in its pickling juice whereas the October / November (Autumn) crop will still be good a year later in their jars. Once pickled they can be eaten after just 2 days. Some people in Turkey might wonder why you would even bother as they are so incredibly cheap to buy in the the shops, ready made. However, I always ..read more
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Drying Aubergines – Preparing for Winter
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
I know it is now November but keeping up with all the winter preparations that Turkish women cover in the last moments of summer is actually really tricky. At last, I am able to cover another very important activity that makes the Turkish winter dishes so delicious. Drying aubergines or eggplants, whichever you like to call them, is very important and totally necessary for those who wish to eat these wonderful vegetables in winter time. In the village in which I used to live, the women never ever went into town to the market. A truck would come up our hill every 2 months offering 50kg sacks ..read more
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Tarhana – A Labour of Love
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Tarhana is one of the oldest known instant soups. Possibly the first of its kind, created centuries ago by the Turks living in Central Asia and then spreading widely. Combining many foods that have been collected and harvested over the summer, they are then cooked, dried and crushed to create a delicious soup.  It is a fermented cereal-based product and can be simply defined as a mixture of yoghurt, cereal flours, yeast, different vegetables, herbs, and spices. Bread of any description (this being lavaş) is being dried out in a small village street, ready to be crushed into the Tarhana ..read more
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Erişte
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
I was very lucky to be invited to Arzu’s house to see how she made erişte. She had set aside her Sunday to work with her sister making enough erişte to last her through the winter. I had not met her sister before but there was absolutely no doubt that they were related as you will see in the photos! This is how Arzu greeted me, sitting on the floor, hard at work. Her husband opened the door and ushered me in. No wonder she couldn’t answer the phone when I checked she was in! She starts off by throwing a pre-rolled ball of dough onto the little table on the floor. How she can sit cross legge ..read more
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Jujubes, Chinese Dates or Custard Apples
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Not so many people will recognise these little gems called Hurnap or Hünap in Turkish. You may have heard of them, known as Jujubes, Chinese Dates or Custard Apples. They are definitely not your everyday fruit. But they do rather sound like the latest release from Haribo with a name like this, don’t they? Juju, Jujubes, Jujubeeeees! They are currently available in the markets in Turkey and will be coming to the end of their season shortly. As of October 2018, the cost of a little basket will set you back 7tl … that’s 80 pence or 1 Euro. They can be eaten in their green state or green ..read more
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Olive Picking and Beş Çayı
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Olives are a staple food all over the Middle Eastern world and Claudia has covered a lot of information in her fabulous blogs in the past. (Her links are pasted below.) So instead I will take you to a little garden in Fethiye where Semra, one of my dear friend’s who has 6 fairly young trees. Now wouldn’t you think that that would mean we could harvest these olives within a day? Sadly no! Due to our extensively long, hot, dry summer the olives have ripened far earlier than previous years and Semra has needed to pick her olives in mid September. This is way earlier than normal. This means that ..read more
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Pomegranate Wine & Cherry Wine
Pantry Fun
by Lulu Witt
3y ago
Many of us do enjoy a tipple. I am proud to say our first attempt at wine making was not half bad and we certainly did not stick to the rules. I imagine if we had, how even more delicious our Pomegranate Wine would have been! So if you are inclined to consider making some wine, then read ahead…it’s so easy that you will want to do it, just to say you have! THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO START THE WINE There is an easy way to make this and then there is the really difficult way. There is a cheap way to make this and then there is an expensive way too! So firstly, let me show you the choices. Go buy 1 ..read more
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