We've never really eaten anything Turkish, but it's a cuisine that's intrigued us for a while. There seems to be vaguely Greek things, like dolma (stuffed vine leaves), kind of Middle-Eastern inspired things, like flatbreads and bulgur wheat, and Mediterranean vibes with olive oil, and lots of fresh veggies, often served with cooling yoghurt.
If that sounds up your street, come exploring with us!
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| So tasty! |
Speaking of yoghurt, we have found the most amazing natural yoghurt you will ever taste. It's from Lancashire Farm and it's their 'natural bio yoghurt', in a blue pot. We buy ours in the enormous 1kg pot because it tastes so good. We have it at breakfast in cereal, in porridge, for dessert, we cook with it... It's good for you too! Most shop bought yoghurt, even vanilla, has a lot of sugar in it, but we promise you won't miss it here. If you've got a sweet tooth, add some honey, and maybe a banana, or some other fruit you love.
It's got just the right consistency, not too thick, not runny like the super low fat natural yoghurts (although this isn't high fat - only around 3.5g per 100g), and just the right amount of tang. It's lovely and clean tasting, and quite mild so it's not got that acidic flavour that people often don't like.
I just looked it up online and it turns out it won the Great Yorkshire Show in it's category so no wonder it tastes so good!
You can buy it at Morrisons, and Tesco I think do the smaller pot. I know it's also available at Asda for £1.40 for the 1kg pot!
This week's recipe is a easy take on the Turkish dish 'Karniyarik', which is basically stuffed aubergines. The original version calls for fried aubergines, but we are not a big fan of fried food, so we thought it might be nicer to bake them. You can peel the aubergines first if you don't like the skin, as it can be tough, but they might not look as pretty! We say, just get yourself a sharper knife! :)
Aubergines are really great in the summer - and this is when this dish is usually made. Another great way of cooking aubergines is over an open fire. In the summer time, try them on the BBQ - the charring does them a world of good! Or you can do it over the hob and use the flame there to char their skins. If you want to peel them before stuffing them, this will make that job easier to do too, but the flesh will become a lot softer than it appears in our photos. If you want them to retain their shape, best bet is to just peel raw, and then stuff as we have done.
Aubergines have a slightly bitter taste if left unsalted. What you've got to do is get your aubergines ready (so cut them in half an scoop out the middles) and then sprinkle them with salt and leave them for half an hour while you prepare the meat for the stuffing. Then when you're ready, give them a thorough rinse under the tap to get rid of the salt, and stuff away!
Remember when you're scooping out the middles not to go too deep as you don't want to pierce the skins. We used a sharp knife to follow the shape of the aubergine and then a spoon to dig out the middle. You can keep the middles for use in a spaghetti bolognese or other stew you're making later on in the week. After we'd scooped out the middles, Mum also said we could have used an ice cream scoop, so if you try that let us know how you get on!
The finished aubergines can be served with whatever grain you like best. We used brown rice, as it tastes so much more than white rice, but you can also have bulgur wheat, similar to cous cous and very popular in Turkey.
Enjoy today!!
- rosinaviolets x
Karniyarik (Stuffed Baked Aubergines)
Serves 4
2 large aubergines
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tomatoes, 2 finely chopped, one quartered
1 green pepper, finely chopped, four slices kept back
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
200 - 250g beef mince, depending on the size of the packet & your appetite!
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne pepper, or chilli powder, to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
Big handful of parsley, chopped
Brown rice, or grain of choice, to serve
- Cut your aubergines in half and scoop out the middles as described above. Leave a good edge to them, and don't go so deep that you cut the skins. Sprinkle them with salt and sit in the fridge while you prepare their stuffing.
- Heat your frying pan over a medium heat, and cook the beef mince first. Drain off the liquid to get rid of some of the saturated fat, or use the leanest beef you can afford! After three or four minutes, add the onion and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the carrot, pepper, celery and two of the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more.
- Add in the Worcestershire sauce, paprika and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
- Take the meat mixture off the heat and stir in half of the chopped parsley.
- Take the aubergines out of the fridge and give them a good rinse and dry. Lie them in a baking dish, and stuff them high with their filling. There may be some leftover - you can keep it to bulk out a spaghetti later on in the week, or serve it alongside if you've got people with big appetites!
- Sprinkle over the remaining parlsey and give them another sprinkle of paprika. Decorate the tops with the tomato slices, and a slice of green pepper. Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Make up a mixture of 250ml hot water and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and pour gently over the aubergines. Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes covered in foil, then remove the foil and bake for a further 5 - 10 minutes. Enjoy!
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