SAMPHIRE (GLASSWORT) SALAD

(Recipe in English is below. Deniz börülcesi salatasi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

This is one of the popular meze’s in Turkey; served before the grilled fish.

It doesn’t include many ingredients however samphire is a bit tricky: do not use salt in the water you boil it as it is already quite salty! Aaand, there’s awn that needs to be cleaned (see the method section)

Ingredients:

A bundle of samphire; washed

Water

2 – 3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 garlic cloves, crushed

The juice of ½ or 1 lemon or 2 - 3 spoons of apple vinegar

Method:

1. Start with the salad dressing: Mix the olive oil, garlic and the lemon juice very well.
2. Boil water in a deep pot and throw the samphire in it in order to boil them soft.
3. Samphire has awn that has to be cleaned; so when they are a bit cool, clean them: hold them from the thicker stem and pull the skin out of the awn.
4. Mix it with the dressing and ready to serve!

turkish samphire (glasswort) salad

SPINACH SALAD

(Recipe in English is below. Yogurtlu ispanak salatasi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

This one is something I serve as a starter, as meze, next to the other things. It is delicious and yet so simple to make. Give it a try!

Ingredients (Serves 3 – 4)

Half a kilo spinach leaves, washed and drained, chopped fine  

spinach leaves chopped fine

3 spoons of flour

3 spoons of olive oil

5 – 6 spoons of strained yoghurt

1 – 2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt to your taste

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the flour and over a medium heat and using a small pointed wooden spoon, stir quite vigorously to make a smooth, glossy paste.
2. Add small bits of the spinach you chopped at a time and continue stirring. You will see that the spinach will become creamy as it gets mixed with the flour.
3. When all the spinach is finished, turn the fire off and let it cool down.
4. In the meantime prepare the sauce: add the garlic cloves you crushed into the yoghurt and mix well.
5. When the spinach is cool enough, add the yoghurt sauce and mix well. Ready to serve!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 5

Spinach salad

HOLIDAYS IN CUNDA ISLAND

Dear friends,

It has been a long since I have posted here but it was quite a busy summer for me!

During the summer holidays of my husband, we’ve visited the lovely Cunda island, which is located in the northwestern Aegean Sea. The island is linked with a narrow road to Ayvalik, a summer town in Balikesir. 

It is quite a calm place, not like the popular summer resorts like Bodrum and Cesme. We stayed in a fancy little suite villa which we enjoyed very much! (here's the link if you are interested: Cundavilla Suit Hotel) If you go to Cunda to party, you might be disappointed. If you go there to enjoy the cold sea and the food, then you will definitely like Cunda! To be more specific, Cunda is a place for you if you like Aegean cuisine (this is the cuisine that you can find in Greece, in the Greek islands as well as in the western parts of Turkey) and cold sea. And raki and fish :)

We tried to dine (and have lunch too) at different restaurants all the time in order to have a proper idea of the culinary tradition in the island. If you like mezzes, Cunda island is a place to be! I think the restaurants have a standard in taste and in quality. Except for one particular restaurant, the prices are also quite okay. As for the portions are concerned, a couple of restaurants failed in my eyes but still it is not too bad. All in all, everything we ate in Cunda was extremely tasty! 

Here are a few pictures that I made during our holidays in Cunda! 

They look delicious, they are delicious!!!