A Turkish Feast - Bazlama (Turkish Flat Bread), Lamb Kofta, Tabbouleh, a simple Turkish salad, and Baklava

 

Bazlama, Turkish Flat Bread

Here's the recipe for the best Turkish Flat bread we have tasted, and can be cooked simply on the BBQ plate outdoors at your own home. In Turkey it is normally cooked in an outdoor oven, but it works just as well on the stove top in a cast iron pan.  It is best served warm if you can. Mr. HRK found this recipe at https://www.allrecipes.com, 04/25/2021. 

Ingredients:

Firstly the Cooks note: This recipe makes 4 large flat breads, however if you prefer them smaller like pita and pocket bread, cut the dough into 8 portions. 

If you can't find Greek style yoghurt, use regular yoghurt and reduce the water  in the recipe to 1 1/4 cups.

The flat breads also make crispy and delicious bases for pizza. The smaller ones are excellent as pita or pocket breads.

Use plenty of plain flour when you are rolling out the flat breads to prevent them sticking to the bench, and use a floured rolling pin

Ingredients:

(No oil needed to cook)

4 cups Plain Flour 

1 sachet (7 grams or .25 ounce) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C, if you are pedantic, we're not)

1/2 cup Greek-style yoghurt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt (the original recipe used 1 tablespoon but we thought it was slightly too salty, up to you)

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt in a small bowl with the warm water. Add the water and the yoghurt to the flour and mix well. The dough will be nice and soft but not sticky. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench and shape it into a ball. 

Now cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rise at room temperature for 3 hours. ( We place ours in the warm laundry, where our hot water system happens to be, and close the door, and it sure did rise!)

2. Cut the dough into four triangular portions. Shape the dough into rounds and flatten each round on a well floured bench as though you are making pizza dough. We flattened ours out further with a floured rolling pin so that it was a larger and thinner flatbread and it was perfect.

3. To cook your flatbread, choose either the BBQ or a cast iron skillet. As Mr. HRK was cooking, he chose to use a pizza stone in the BBQ, which worked like a dream. Preheat the BBQ or stove to a medium-heat. Place one round of dough on the BBQ or skillet and bake until there are brown spots on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip the bread and bake for another minute. Remove the bread and wrap it up in a clean tea towel to keep warm. We separated them with baking paper like you do with pancakes in case they stuck together with the humidity around, but it really wasn't necessary.

Tabbouleh with Yoghurt Sauce and Lettuce Wraps

Yoghurt Sauce ( makes the delicious difference with Kofta)

1 cup yoghurt

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

Method:

Combine the ingredients, leave in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to infuse. (I left mine overnight which is preferable if you have the time.)

Kofta sizzling on the BBQ

Lamb kofta eaten with Lettuce Wraps or Turkish Flat Bread

The beauty of making koftas is that we have most of the herbs and spices already in our spice drawer. I just needed to buy fresh mint and coriander, however at a pinch if time is at a premium, I would be happy use all dried herbs and spices. 

Ingredients:

(It's easy to just double this recipe if you are cooking for a crowd)

Olive oil for frying the kofta on the BBQ

400-500 g lamb mince (ground)

1/2 onion, grated

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground coriander + (2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, optional)

1 tablespoon dried mint or 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons mild paprika

1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes if you like a bit of heat

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves finely chopped 

8 large Cos (romaine) lettuce leaves or Turkish flatbread to serve

Method:

Use your hands to knead together the lamb mince and the spices, garlic, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, mint and coriander until all ingredients are well blended together. Divide into 8 portions and roll into football shaped ovals with your hands. Put them on a plate in the fridge and cover. This can be done the day before, or on the same day while you make the salad.

Thread the koftas onto metal skewers or bamboo ones that have been pre-soaked in water to prevent burning. Heat the oiled BBQ plate (or your chargrill pan or frying pan) on high and add the koftas and cook 3-4 minutes. Don't move them until a crust develops, then turn over and cook each side. Remove from the heat.

Cover with foil, and rest for 5 minutes and then serve to your hungry family and guests.

To assemble the Turkish Flatbread,  place a spoonful or two of the yoghurt on the Turkish bread and spread over the bread, then add spoonfuls of the salads, then the kofta. Enclose the ends of the bread and roll to enclose. I'm sure your family will know what to do anyway. 

To assemble the kofta in lettuce leaves, place a spoonful of yoghurt onto each lettuce leaf, add a spoonful of salad or tabbouleh, and top with a kofta. Fold the lettuce around the filling and eat.

Tabbouleh recipe (from a previous post of mine):

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa (tri-colour for impact if you like), or wholemeal couscous
150 ml chicken stock for extra flavour, (just water will also work well)
1 Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and diced
3-4 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 1 cm dice (I used 4 Roma tomatoes)
3 spring onions, green ends only, finely chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, or about 1/2 bunch, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (not the stuff out of the bottle)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Add a crushed garlic clove if you like, but not necessary
*A large avocado cut into 1 cm dice can replace the cucumber, but add that just before serving.

Method:

If using quinoa:- Place the stock in a small saucepan, add the quinoa and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender to taste. Remove from the heat,and stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and leave it to cool.

If using couscous:- Place the stock in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Place the couscous in a heatproof bowl and add the stock to the bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate or something plastic free (preferably), to store the heat, and stand for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff it up and to separate the grains. Season it slightly to your taste, and set it aside until cool.

Gather the bunch of parsley, form into a tight bundle in your hand and finely shred the leaves with a sharp knife.

Do the same thing with the mint leaves.
Add the cooled grain, quinoa or couscous to the rest of the ingredients, and mix through gently.

Making The Tabbouleh Salad dressing:

In a smallish bowl, gradually whisk the olive oil into the lemon juice and garlic (if using) until it starts to thicken slightly and emulsifies. Stir the dressing through the tabbouleh ingredients and season with a little salt and ground black pepper if it needs it. A little salt will really develop the flavours.

On a nutritional note, eating salads like tabbouleh is a healthy alternative, as the herbs, parsley, and mint are rich in sources of Vitamin K and C, some beta-carotene, folate and flavonoids. 

Simple Turkish Salad:

1/2 an Iceberg lettuce (the Iceberg Lettuce is back)

Two large ripe tomatoes

65 g or 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Handful of fresh herbs, preferably marjoram or oregano washed and chopped.

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

40 g chopped pistachios or toasted hazelnuts with skins removed 

Method:

Remove the outer leaves of an iceberg lettuce, pull off enough lettuce leaves to line your bowl when cut  fairly finely. 

Wash the leaves and dry. 

Shred them and place them loosely in the base of your bowl. Chop two large ripe tomatoes and place on top of the lettuce.

Add half the fresh herbs, then the cheese then the rest of the herbs.

Garnish with chopped nuts if you wish, such as chopped pistachios or chopped toasted hazelnuts with skins removed.

If you plan on serving your kofta with just lettuce wraps, a second salad might be nice to eat off the plate. 

Mix the olive oil and lemon juice and lightly whisk to make the salad dressing. Put this in a glass jug and dress the salad just before serving or leave everyone to dress their own.

Turkish Dessert Platter

Finish your feast with a Turkish dessert platter of Baklava, Halva, Turkish Delight, and dried fruits. Delicious. All of these can generally be purchased. and  most of this platter was bought from Mifsuds in Mackay, a locally owned fruit and vegetable shop with an amazing range of delicatessen goods. 

Thanks for dropping by,

Best wishes,

Pauline