make | TURKEY | turkey koftes

The traditional kofte is made of mince, usually beef or lamb, spices and onions.  However, since we're looking at Turkish food this month, we thought, why not give them a go with turkey?  According to a survey done in 2005, there were more than  250 varieties of kofte in Turkey!  It's clearly a really popular dish over there.  And we can see why - it's yummy, easy to make, and you can add whatever spices take your fancy.

We've given our koftes a slightly Arabian twist - whilst the word 'kofte' actually means 'ball', rather than make ours round, we've gone for a kind of cigar-shaped cylinder, which is what they do in Arab countries.  It's just easier to cook them if they're the same depth all the way through - you know when they are done, and they cook quicker.

We also made a kind of spiced carrot slaw and a cooling yoghurt to go with the salad and koftes.  This makes for a fun dinner time where everyone grabs what they want!

As you can see in the photo - we've got this magic jar filled with some delicious smelling red powder.  This is probably the most delicious smoked paprika ever.  I think it may actually be from Spain - I have no idea what the label is saying anyway.  Absolutely mega in paella (my TOP recipe - I will be sharing it with you when we hit Spain later on in the year).  Also pretty amazing in these koftes too!

As far as nutrition goes, grilling is a great way to cook - it keeps the koftes moist (so long as you don't over-cook them) and any fat can drain away.  Turkey is a great protein source and you've got lots of veg going on so you know you're getting lots of vitamins and minerals.  We used these fantastic pittas from the food doctor - made with mixed grains and seeds.  They've got lots of fibre, and give you a good mixture of protein and essential fats too.  They also taste SO good, and they're filling.  Notice we're using that amazing yoghurt again!

Just bought this great garlic press - no more stinky hands! It's not too expensive and you can pick up one for yourself from IKEA.  Another thing to know about garlic is to wash your hands with cold water afterwards - our Aunty Jackie told us this tip and it does work! Final de-garlic-ifying can be done with the only soap we know that actually gets rid of the smell - Palmolive anti-odour kitchen hand soap.  It smells like limes and you can get it for £1.99 at Wikinsons.  

Another tip, this time from our Dad - if you don't like the strong taste of raw onion (I - this is Emily here - don't, and find the taste can stay in your mouth for ages afterwards), you can lessen the astringency by putting standard malt vinegar on it.  We've also seasoned ours with a little black pepper - because everything tastes better with black pepper - right!?

When you make up your koftes, make sure you've soaked the wooden kebab sticks in water for a good half day before hand.  This will make sure they don't set on fire under the grill!! Try and get each kebab the same shape and size so they cook evenly.  

Enjoy today!! 

rosinaviolets    x

Turkey koftes 

Makes enough for 10 koftes

10 wooden kebab skewers, soaked in water 

500g turkey mince

1 tablespoon tomato puree 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1 clove of garlic, smooshed 

1 dessert spoon chopped fresh coriander 

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs 

1/2 teaspoon, or more or less to taste, chilli flakes 

1/2 red onion, grated or finely chopped (use the other half as we did in the picture above, as a side dish)

• Mix together all the ingredients (apart from the skewers!) in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  

• Divide the mixture into ten, and form into kofte shape (see pictures) on the kebab skewers.  

• Place in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.  

• Heat up the grill and put the koftes under the grill.  Turn them regularly until they are done (about 10 minutes should be fine).  

• Serve with the carrot slaw, yoghurt, and salad in pitta breads.  

Garlicy Yoghurt 

4 big tablespoons natural yoghurt 

1 garlic clove, smooshed 

salt and pepper, to taste 

• Combine in a bowl and serve with the koftes, carrots, salad and pittas.  

Spiced Carrot Slaw

2 or 3 big carrots 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

1/2 teaspon, or more or less to taste, chilli flakes 

• Grate the carrots 

• Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan until they go a little brown.  Don't burn them.  

• Spray the pan with a little olive oil and then add the chilli flakes and grated carrot.  Stir regularly to combine and heat through.  

• Serve immediately with the koftes, salad, yoghurt and pitta bread.  

live | plant-based power

The government have announced that we all need to be eating 7-10 portions of fruit and veggies every day.  This doesn't really come as news.  We all know that greens are good for us! I wasn't really aware just how good they are, though.  

I was watching the news whilst eating my bowl of oats the other morning, and a lady on the news was being interviewed about the new recommendation.  Her study had revealed that whilst those who ate between 7 - 10 portions of fruit and vegetables reported massive increases in several health areas, these benefits were also felt by those who regularly ate just 1 portion a day, and had increased it to 2 or 3.  

We all hear 'eat 7 - 10 portions of fruit and veg per day' and wonder - is it so bad if one day I had 6? Or 4? Or conversely, what happens if I have 11?  How it be that each individual out there (I stress individual), eating 7 - 10 portions of plants is the way to be at optimum health?  

What the interviewee made me aware of, is that really, the recommendation should not be phrased in such a numeric form.  It ought to have been: 'whatever you're currently eating, eat more'.  And with this sentiment, I sympathise.  

Green goddesses 

(and Gods of course!) 

The World Cancer Research Fund has said that eating at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day can help reduce our risk of cancer, and keep a healthy weight.  Bowel cancer, in particular, is affected by the quality of our diets, and if we ate more fibre in the form of wholefoods about an eighth of cases could be prevented!  Wholegrains can also help to cut risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity.  

So, we try to go for, as a general benchmark, around two thirds of the food on our plates as plant-based, and one third as animal-based.  Plant-based can include your fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, beans, etc.  Animal-based foods, on the other hand, are things like meats, fish and poultry (obviously), but also eggs and dairy (don't forget them!) 

Of course, we are not saying that animal-based foods are unhealthy! Of course not! Just as an example, an egg is really one of the best superfoods out there.  So we're not suggesting you steer clear of them.  It's more that we've had a bit of a sudden realisation that we've got to be careful about how much animal-based produce we eat, not just for our health but for the environment too.  

Not just for your health... 

If we are to carry on eating animals with a clean conscience, we've got to stop doing it so frequently.  Another recent news story was that as projected populations increase, we're going to start running out of food for the planet.  How can we produce enough to feed everyone healthily?  

What about the money? 

It's not as expensive as you might think to use more plants in your cooking.  If you replace some of the meat with plants, you'll make a significant saving! Think about the cost of lentils, compared to chicken breasts.  So we'll try to choose smaller amounts of higher quality meat, and then substitute some of the meat in a dish with beans or lentils.  If you like a shepherd's pie, for example, you could use half the amount of mince you normally do, and then use some lentils to bulk it out.  

There's also the option of trying tofu, or Quorn.  You can make a Quorn spaghetti taste just like a normal spaghetti - when Mum tried it at home with us, we couldn't tell the difference! 

Don't neglect fish, though.  Often, the oily fish that's so good for us is actually cheapest - things like mackerel and sardines aren't prohibitively expensive and taste great too.  They say to get about 2 portions a week for that hit of Omega-3.  

As for calcium,  there's actually more in almond milk than cow's milk, especially when you buy the fortified versions. However, while almond milk has a greater nutritional value, cow's milk beats it big time on protein, with eight grams compared with one gram per serving respectively. Iron is more difficult, so do make sure you've got a bit of red meat in there - try a lean steak, and plant-sources include things like kale, peas, broccoli (our favourite!), chickpeas and cashew nuts.  

What are we going to do? 

Well, we're not going to stop eating animal-products.  To be honest, we didn't eat that much meat and animal-products to start with.  If you eat lots, we'd say to cut down, but if you're like us, we're just going to be more mindful of the volume we buy and eat in the future.  If you are vegetarian or vegan, that's great!  I know these diets can be super health-giving.  What I would suggest is to listen to what your body wants.  If your body responds well to a vegetarian or vegan diet, that's really good.  Just get out there and get the information you need to eat well without animal-products.  I know that I am just fine eating some animal-products, and I also know that I love fish and seafood, so for that reason alone I would be upset to see it go!  But, in light of the environmental and health reasons, I know it's best to limit how much animal-products we're consuming.  Just so that they remain sustainable, and people in the future can carry on benefiting from them.

At the end of the day, it's all about getting that balance. Your preferences are your own, so switch it up accordingly. Your  body will thank you if you tune into it. I see health as highly individual. It's not about sticking religiously to dogmas, but it is responding to your own individual needs that will bring rewards.

What do you think? 

Enjoy today!!

rosinaviolets    x 

make | TURKEY | karniyarik : stuffed baked aubergines

It's April and we're headed to TURKEY.

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!

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! :)

Stuffed aubergines are really popular in Turkey.  In general, aubergines seem to be really popular in Turkish food.  There are, apparently, more than 280 original recipes made with aubergine!

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!