Potato Salad à la Turca (Patates Salatası)

Potato salad, I had to say à la Turque not to have it confused with any of its American or European cousins, is an herbed filled, green heavy savory deliciousness. It is a great side when grilling and the absolute perfect lunch on summer days. The history of this salad in Turkish cuisine is vague and it is made in differing variations across Turkey. Although potato salad is in all its variations usually prepared as quite savory and herby, it is rarely as herby as the one I make. This salad can be one of my earliest specialties as I started making at at the age of 10. My rule is any herb and any Mediterranean green can and must go into this salad. There's nothing written in stone here; you have your boiled potatoes and herbs on them. However, the Turkish potato salad has to be savory and a bit on the sour side.

Potatoes enough to make 4-5 cups when chopped--in Turkey this is made with yellow potatoes since we don't have red ones over there; however, I love it with red potatoes,too.

1 small onion
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, cut in quarter rounds
3 banana peppers (or any other green/red pepper), chopped finely

1/4 cups halved and pitted green olives

1/4 cups finely chopped dill pickles or capers
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1/4 cup dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped or 2 tsp dried mint flakes
1/2 tsp spicy red crushed pepper (optional)
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp sumac 
1/2 tsp black pepper
juice of one and a half lemons (check after one to see if it's sour enough for you. I usually end of using almost 2 lemon for their juice, but I do love sour)
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil, you will be surprised how much olive oil this salad can need and hide

1-2 tbsp dijon mustard (optional)
salt

-Either boil the potatoes (however much you will be using) as a whole in plenty of water until soft but not mushy, very important! You want the potatoes to hold their shapes. Then peel and dice them. (InTurkey potatoes are always peeled, but in Turkey potatoes usually come with a big chunk of the field they were planted in. I don't think the ones you find here in US need peeling. I prefer not peeling them) If you're short for time, peel (optional, again) and dice first and then boil them--this way they will be ready much faster, approximately 10 minutes. Drain and let cool

-Cut the onion in half lengthwise and then chop it into very thin half moons. Put the chopped onion in a bowl and knead it with 1 tsp salt until the onion is soft. Rinse the salt off the onion and drain. 

-Mix olive oil, salt, and lemon juice (and mustard if you choose to use it--it contributes to the savory taste in a magnificent way.)
-Mix all the other ingredients and potatoes in a big bowl. 

-Dress and mix well. Make necessary adjustments: olive oil, salt or more lemon juice. 

Serve as an appetizer, salad, as a side dish for meat or enjoy it as lunch on a hot summer day. 

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Baked Vegetable Fritters (Fırında Sebzeli Mücver)

Mücver is usually made with zucchini and then fried, however it is way lighter to bake it in these hot and humid summer days. This is a modified recipe that uses not only zucchini but also potato and carrot. If you have other vegetables in mind like spinach, leek, etc., you can add them, too.




























1 zucchini, grated
1 potato, grated
1 carrot, grated
3 spring green onions, chopped
1 green or red pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint or basil, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 or 1/3 cup white cheese or feta, crumbled
1/3 cup, pitted 'real' black olives, chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/3 - 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
sesame or nigella seeds




























-Heat oil in a pan. Add first pepper, then carrot, then potato, and finally zucchini. Sautee until wilted, but not totally cooked.
-Transfer this mix in a bowl and let it cool down.
-Add green onion, parsley, dill, mint, eggs, cheese, olives, baking powder, and flour.
-Pour the mixture in a greased oven safe dish. Make sure the mix is not thicker than 1.5 inches in the dish.
-Sprinkle sesame or nigella seeds on top. You can also decorate it with sliced canned olives.
-Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for ~1 hour or until it gets golden brown on top or on the sides. Check with a clean knife or a wooden toothpick/skewer.

You can serve baked vegetable fritters as a side dish with dinner, with afternoon tea, or for breakfast.

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Vegetarian Potato Casserole with Green Lentils (Mercimekli Patates Oturtma)

Back in the 80s, when I was in the elementary school, to support farmers who couldn't sell their produce Turkish government had bought hard-to-melt-down amount of lentils. The government's solution for agricultural crisis created another problem: warehouses stocked with lentils.

Government's solution to this new lentil crisis was Ayşe Baysal, professor of nutrition and dietetics, aka "auntie Ayşe" or "auntie lentil." Auntie lentil appeared every single day, seriously, for months on TV, on the only channel of the time--the state's channel TRT1, and gave a lentil recipe. Behind this obsessive non-stop lentil recipe creation was, of course, the determination of government and auntie Ayşe to reduce the national surplus of lentils.

Turkish public learned from "auntie lentil" that 100 gr. lentils is equal to ? gr. ground meat; how to make phyllo dough pastries (börek) with lentils; or how to make dolmas with lentils. Some of these recipes inspired Turkish people to cook more with lentils, and some scarred us; they became a nation's nightmare or a part of its dark collective unconscious like "baklava with lentils"!! The idea annoys me to this day. (I wonder if anyone tried)

I remembered auntie lentil a couple of days ago when I wanted to make a traditional Turkish recipe, potato casserole, which requires ground meat. I am not really fond of ground meat and I was thinking about how or with what to replace it when I clearly remembered auntie lentil saying over and over again that lentils are perfect substitute for ground meat. And here we go...


























1 cup green lentils
5-6 potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch rounds (This time I used red potatoes, but any potato is fine)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 big red Italian sweet peppers or 2 green chilies, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chopped parsley
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
crushed red pepper flakes
ground pepper and salt

-Boil green lentils with 1 tsp cumin, 1 bay leaf, and 5 cups of water until cooked. Rinse.
-Boil potato rounds in salty water for approximately 10 minutes. Don't let them get mushy; they should be cooked but firm.
-Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and garlic. Cook for 5-6 minutes until onion is softened.
-Add peppers and cook for 3 minutes.
-Add tomato paste and cook for 2 more minutes.
-Stir in tomato and lentils. Add salt and pepper (and optional crushed red pepper flakes).
-Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (Add a little bit of water if it dries out)
-Grease an oven dish and place potato rounds. Cover potato rounds with lentils. Pour 1/4 cup of water.
-Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 20-25 minutes.
-Sprinkle parsley on top before you serve.

The recipe turned out really good. We tried it with yogurt the first day; we loved it. And next day we heated it up in the oven with cheese on top. That was delicious, too.

This lentil recipe with my favorite herb parsley is for "auntie lentil" as well as for Simona of Briciole, my favorite lexiconist food blogger who is hosting Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging.

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Potato Casserole (Patates Oturtma)

My parents and my aunt are here visiting. Among other things, they're cooking. The potato casserole is tonight's dinner and the recipe is from my aunt. I'll try to get as many recipes as possible while they're here and post them. Bon appétit!

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch rounds
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 pound ground meat
2 carrots, cut in rounds
2-3 banana peppers or 1 green bell pepper, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
1/2 cup (or less) olive oil
salt and pepper





















-Mix potato slices with salt and 2 tbsp olive oil and place them on a big oven dish and bake at 350 F until they darken to slightly brown.
-Heat the rest of the oil in a big frying pan. Stir onions and garlic until soft.
-Add peppers and carrots. Stir until cooked.
-Add ground meat. Stir until ground meat is cooked.
-Add tomato paste, salt, and black pepper. Stir for 5 minutes, pour in 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water and cook for another 5 minutes.
-In a oven dish put one layer of potatoes. Cover them with ground meat mix. On top put another layer of potatoes and again another layer of ground mix. Repeat this layering until everything is finished.
-Bake it in the preheated oven at 350 F for 15-25 minutes.
-Sprinkle parsley on top before you serve.

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