modamutfak@ headlands meze menu& recipes

Meze night at Headlands will be including mezes from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries with Turkish versions. All recipes compiled from different sources and merged. Then revised after try outs. We will also experiment with some new ingredients like teff grain. Chef Keith Mercovich, kitchen intern Hajera Ghori and I (Evren),will be in the kitchen while Otto and Jamie will be working on our experimental monopoly and will make new game pieces as the crafts part of the night.

We have a plan to make lavas and some minced-meat pide in the wood stove as well. We'll see how far we'll go ;) I'll post the rest here! Keith and Hajera are making wonders in the kitchen usually so the stakes are high!!

Recipes are more or less the same with modamutfak@meze we had in Istanbul so, two birds with one stone. I have a translation handicap today so, sorry in advance for my funny recipe instructions

Menu:
Mercimekli kofte (red lentils, bulgur, spring onions)
Topik (chickpeas, onion, cinnamon)
Fava (broad beans, fresh dill)
Babagannuş (eggplant, tahini, yoghurt)
Şakşuka (eggplant, yoghurt, garlic, tomato)
Cacik (cucumber, garlic, yoghurt)
Havuç tarator (carrot, garlic, yoghurt)
Muhammara (pepper&tomato paste, garlic, walnut)
Gavurdağı Salad (tomato,green pepper, spring onion, walnut salad)
Incir dolmasi (dried fig dessert)

Ingredients and instructions:
Mercimekli kofte (Lentil balls) (4-6 servings)
1/2 kilo fine bulgur+teff grain
1/2 kilo red lentil
3 medium sized onions
1/2 cup olive oil
cumin
dried mint
fresh parsley
6-7 spring onion
1/2 lemon juice
Tomato paste
Red pepper paste (salca)
Salt, pepper
1 cup hot water
green leaves (ruccola, lettuce etc.) –for serving)

Boil red lentils, and when finished add bulgur/teff grain and cover the top until bulgur gets softer.
Separately chop and sauté onions and add tomato and red pepper paste +salt papper .
Add 1 cup hot water to onion mixture and wait until it boils.
Add the onion mixture to lentil&bulgur and mix it, wait until it gets cooler
Separately chop spring onion and parsley
Add 1 table spoon salt and knead the lentil&bulgur mixture for 10 min and add the chopped green stuff . Mix thoroughly add cumin, mint, and then add lemon juice and knead.
Shape them like kofte/meatballs and serve them on green leaves


topik (6 topiks, 6 servings) – Armenian fasting dish
½ kg dried chickpeas
1 small potato
3 medium onion
¼ cup cinnamon
½ bunch fresh parsley (optional)
½ cup pine nut
½ cup raisins
allspice
coriander
6, 20X20 cm cotton fabric
Soak the chickpeas overnight
Change the water and boil it until it softens. After it softens peel the skin and puree the chickpeas. (You can add boiled small potato and mix it)
Add 3 spoons of tahini and pinch of salt and knead the mixture
Peel the onions and chop circular ( )Boil the onions at very low heat until very soft, keep the boiling water afterwards.
Finely chop the parsley
Rest of tahini, salt, black pepper, allspice, coriander, pinenuts and parsley is mixed separately After the onions are cooled down add them to this mixture.
20cmX20cm cotton fabric is soaked and spreaded over the table.
Split chickpea puree over each of them and spread 2-3 mm thick and smooth out the surface.
Put the onion mixture in the middle and hold the fabric and bundle in the middle. (so they become somewhat a ball. Tie the end with a thread and put them in boiling water for 20 min
Take the balls out and leave for cooling down at the onion boiling water.
Remove the fabric, sprinkle cinnamon on top and serve.

fava (4-6 servings)
250 gr dried broad bean (bakla)
1 onion
1 carrot (optional)
½ bunch fresh dill
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
sugar, salt

Soak dried broad beans with squeezed lemon juice and sugar over night
Second day cover them in hot water and salt and boil until they soften.
Grate onion and carrot
Sauté chopped garlic in olive oil then add onion and carrot; a little flour can be sprinkled
Add boiled fava and sugar (1/4 cup?) add salt if necessary (well I usually taste when making, we’ll see how to do here ) Take it away from the heat
Add finely chopped dill and olive oil, continue mixing.
Refrigerate for some time so it gets into shape. Should be served cold. Can be served with fresh dill and lemon slices.

babagannus (4-6 servings)
½ cup tahini
1,5 kg eggplant
5 cloves of minced garlic
½ lemon juice
300 gr thick yoghurt (or ½ normal turkish, russian or greek yoghurt)
cumin (optional)
olive oil

Cook eggplants over hot coals, on a gas flame or oven till soft and the skin is burned and blistered, remove skins and place in a sieve to drain. Squash grilled eggplant and mix with the rest of the ingredients

saksuka (4-6 servings)
4 eggplants (long type)
3-3 “sivri” green long peppers, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
Peel strips off of eggplants to leave half the skin in stripes, cut into fourths longwise, then cut into 2-cm lengths. Sprinkle with salt, let sit 15 minutes, wash and pat dry, then fry in hot oil, drain and put into a broad salad plate.
As it is cooling, sauté the finely chopped peppers in a frying pan in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring until they disintegrate. Add tomato paste and garlic, and cook a bit more but before too much of the tomatoes’ liquid is evaporated. Pour over the eggplants in the plate and let cool. Serve cold.

Patlican Salatasi
Eggplant Salad
1 kg eggplant
1 onion
5-6 “sivri” peppers (fresh red pepper may also be used)
2-3 tomatoes
2-3 T olive oil
Salt
1 bunch parsley
Juice of one lemon
Cook peppers over hot coals or on a gas flame till soft and the skin is burned and blistered, remove skins and place in a sieve to drain. Cook the peppers and tomatoes in the same way, peel. Chop the eggplant finely without mashing it. Chop the tomatoes and peppers and place in a deep bowl. Cut the onions in half lengthwise, then cut into thin half rings, knead with salt, then wash well. Wash parsley and chop finely. Mix all the ingredients, and serve with a squeeze of lemon. If you like it spicy, you may use Maraş pepper flakes.

Cacik (4-6 servings)
2 cucumbers
½ kg yogurt
4 cloves garlic
Chopped fresh dill
Salt, dry mint
Olive oil
Mince cucumber. The easiest way to do this is to score one end by hitting repeatedly with a knife, then slice. Or can be grated. Mix yogurt and crushed garlic in a deep bowl. Add the cucumber and a small amount of cold water to bring to the consistency of medium thick soup. Add dill and mint, and salt to taste, chill well, and top with a teaspoon of olive oil.

havuc tarator (4-6 servings)
6 grated+ sauteed carrot
8 cloves of garlic
500 gr plain yogurt (turkish, greek or russian style), salt

Grate carrots, and sauté in the olive oil. Spread into a broad salad plate. Mix yogurt and salt, and spread over the carrot. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve as a cold meze.

Muhammara (4-6 servings)
3 grilled red peppers
½ cup walnut
¼ cup bread crumbs
4 cloves of Garlic
½ Lemon juice
Olive oil
½ cup Pomegranate sour (or molasses)
¼ cup tomato paste
Salt

Everything except grilled peppers are sliced with blender.
Add the peppers and use blender again. Can be served with lavas bread

gavurdagi salad (4-6 servings)
4 tomatoes
4 cucumbers
4-5 long and thin green pepper (italian pepper?)
5-6 spring onions and 1 onion
½ bunch of Fresh parsley
Olive oil
Walnut

½ cup pomegranate sauce (sour or molasses) (can be replaced with squeezed lemon juice)
Slice tomato, cucumber and green peppers cubic.
Finely chop parsley, spring onions and chop onions
Mix all the ingredients, Before serving add pomegranate sour (or lemon) and olive oil and sprinkle walnuts on top.

Incir dolması (stuffed fig) (4-6 servings)
12 or ½ kg Dried figs ( or ½ kg fresh figs with 150 gr ricotta type of cheese)
1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Milk
½ cup sugar

Soak the dry figs in hot water. Remove the stems, and with a finger, open a hole from the place where the stem was. (or with knife) Mix the crushed walnuts and sugar, and fill the figs with this mixture. Arrange the figs in a pan to fit, and pour the 1 c of milk over the top, cook in the oven till the liquid is absorbed.

modamutfak @ headlands

roomservices is invited to do a residency at Headlands Center for Arts in San Francisco for Sept-Dec 2009. we arrived to San Fran at a fantastic weather and and beautiful kitchen where all the artists are having their dinners together, cooked by a great chef (Keith M.) from beautiful Californian organic products. Keith was very much interested in what we have been doing as a cooking&crafting hobby so we will have a modamutfak day on next tuesday including small dishes and lavas baked at a woodstove. I know I have been lazy to post the meze recipes but this might be an opportunity in that since we include soem of the recipes like topik, babagannus to this night too.

roomservices San Francisco'daki Headland Center for Arts'in Eylul-Aralik- 2009 da davetlisi olarak cagrildi. San Francisco'ya cok guzel ve gunesli bir havada (23 C) vardik ve sanatcilarin aksam yemeklerini ortak olarak yedikleri muhtesem bir mutfakla karsilastik. Yemekler merkezin ascisi Keith M tarafinda Kaliforniya bolgesinden gelen organik urunlerle gunluk olarak yapiliyor. Keith bizim modamutfak etkinliklerindeki elisi&yemek yapma etkinliklerimiz ile ilgilendigi icin onumuzdeki sali gununu modamutfak gunune cevirmeye karar verdik. Sectigimiz bazi yemekler, atistirmaliklar ve odun firininda yapacagimzi lavas ile beraber :). Son modamutfak meze etkinliginden tarifleri atmakta tembel davrandigimin farkindayim ama bu yeni etkinligin bir firsat olabilecegini dusunuyorum cunku yeni menude topik babagannus gibi meze etkinliginde kullandigimiz bazi tarifler de var.

modamutfak_meze finishing touches

modamutfak meze list/listesi:
topik, babagannus, peynir ezme, hibis - :))), peynirli patlican kizartma, ispanakli borek, muhammara, deniz borulcesi, cerkes tavugu ve isimsiz deneyseller
modamutfak_meze'de harika bir pazar oldu. Burcu Koknar, Ozan Avci, Zeynep Atas, Avsar Karababa ve ben hem mezeler yaptik ve yeni seyler denedik hem de bir guzel yedik :) mezelerin tarif ve adim adim yapimlari pek yakinda burada!

modamutfak_meze