Spicy Feta Spread

November 08, 2019 by Gizem in Snacks, Meze

I don’t know about you but I love savory snacks. If I am looking for something to munch on during the day, there is a very good chance that it will be olives, cheese or bread, or all of the above. This spicy feta spread is a snack that I can whip up fast to satisfy the savory cravings. I mostly have this as an afternoon snack with some black tea (they go so well together), but I also made it for breakfast and served it as a meze at dinner parties in the past.

As the name suggests, this feta spread is quite spicy. I definitely recommend sticking to the recipe (or making it even spicier, I mean, why not) but if spicy food is not your thing, you can always reduce the heat that the recipe asks for. I didn’t use to like spicy food until I met my husband, Cesar. His love of spicy food rubbed off on me over years of food adventures. Now we have a collection of hot sauces in the fridge, yet another collection of peppers in the spice drawer and we became the couple that travels with a carry-on size Sriracha.

But, back to the spices in this recipe. Turkish Marash pepper or Aleppo pepper is a bit sweeter than the standard red pepper flakes you find at the supermarket. Marash and Aleppo peppers have moderate heat and a sweeter taste, almost like sundried tomatoes with a nice kick. Most spice shops carry Aleppo pepper. Marash pepper is a lesser known name, at least in the United States. If you can’t find either, feel free to use crushed red pepper flakes but keep in mind that your feta spread mind end up a bit spicier.

Yields: 8 servings Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

150 grams feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)

3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, preferably Marash pepper or Aleppo pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation

1. I always buy blocks of feta cheese if I can find them. If you are starting this recipe with a block of cheese, place it inside a bowl and crumble it using the help of a fork.

2. Chop the walnuts with the help of a knife or if you are lazy like me, use the chopper attachment of a hand blender. The walnut pieces should be relatively small.

3. Combine crumbled feta, walnuts, tomato paste, olive oil and spices until everything is incorporated.

4. Spread on slices of toasted bread and serve.

Spreadable Cheese Curds

November 04, 2019 by Gizem in Snacks, Meze

Who doesn’t like cheese? I mean, I am sure there are people who don’t like cheese but I am definitely not one of them. I can eat cheese all day every day. This spreadable cheese curd recipe is adapted from Refika Birgul’s addictive Youtube channel where I spend hours watching her cook amazing recipes. She is so fun to watch and makes me want to join her Youtube crew for all the food and laughter. Her channel and recipes are in Turkish so I adapted and translated this homemade spreadable cheese recipe for all of you to enjoy. In Turkish we call this cheese spreadable lor cheese but I believe the closest English translation is spreadable cheese curds.

Turkish cheese is either a well kept secret or a lost opportunity in marketing amazing local products. When you think of cheese, Turkey probably doesn’t come to mind as a cheese mecca. Everyone thinks France, Italy, Spain, even United States! But Turkey has so many amazing kinds of cheese like Ezine, Kars gravyer, comlek, kashkaval, feta, tulum, Van… I can keep going. Sadly, most of these cheeses are not widely known or distributed around the world. However, they are nationally celebrated by all Turkish people and they frequent breakfast spreads all over the country.

When I first moved to New York my craving for Turkish cheese was at an all time high. After some sad experiences with tiny and expensive slices of packaged feta cheese found at various supermarkets I was about to give up. I was disheartened by the sliced, shredded and crumbled cheese options (and to this day I still don’t buy them). New York must have heard my hopeless cheese prayers because within a year I discover Kalustyan’s and East Village Cheese (which I heard is now closed). I think I almost cried when I found Ezine cheese at Kalustyan’s. I remember bringing it home and making Cesar taste it while explaining the significance of this moment in my life. He knew my obsession with Ezine such that he called all the major cheese stores in New York and asked if they sell Ezine cheese and had to explain what it is to confused shop owners. I knew then that he was a keeper!

But on days where New York, Ft. Lauderdale and Seattle (aka all the places I lived in the US) failed me in finding Turkish cheese, this recipe could have saved me, if only I tried it sooner. My mom has been telling me to make this cheese at home for years but I always assumed it would be very time consuming and difficult. I was wrong! We are so conditioned to purchase most products at the supermarket that we forget how easy it is to make them at home from scratch. In this spirit, I plan on posting more recipes of making kitchen staples and pantry items from scratch. Hope you enjoy this cheese! Let me know in the comments below what your favorite cheese is.

Tips:

* Before boiling the milk, rinse the inside of the pot you are going to use. Don’t dry the pot. The water helps avoid forming a burnt layer of milk at the bottom of the pot. Trust me, burnt milk is hard to clean, so you don’t want to skip this.

* If you want, you can also use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. For the curds to form, you need acid so any of these would work.

* You can ignore the steps after Step 3 if you don’t want to make your cheese spreadable and leave it as crumbled curds. These crumbles make amazing salad toppings, pastry fillings and omelettes. Just let them sit in the strainer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour and your crumbled cheese curds are ready. Keep them refrigerated.

* The original recipe uses basil instead of mint and also adds unsalted pistachios. You can adjust the recipe by adding your favorite herbs, spices and nuts to this cheese.

Yields: 8-10 servings Time: 45 minutes (active) + 8 hours (inactive)

Recipe from: Refika’s Kitchen (Refika’nin Mutfagi)

Ingredients

8 1/2 cups milk (whole milk or 2%)

1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (Aleppo or Marash pepper)

1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Preparation

1. Bring milk to a boil in a large pot*. Milk overflows very easily so keep a close eye on it. You can rest a spoon on the pot to keep it from boiling over.

2. Once boiling reduce the heat to low and add in the lemon juice*. Start stirring the milk continuously. You are going to start seeing curds forming in the milk.

3. Stir until curds have formed and the liquid in the pot becomes translucent and greenish. At this point, you can transfer the curds to a strainer positioned on a bowl.

4. To make the cheese spreadable we don’t want to strain and cool the curds too much. Let them sit for 5 minutes and transfer all the curds to a food processor.

5. Add in salt, olive oil and butter to the food processor. Blend for 2-3 minutes until the curds become silky and creamy.

6. Transfer the creamy cheese into a bowl. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. I like to let it cool before I add the mint so that the heat doesn’t turn them black.

7. Add in the mint, red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Stir until everything is well incorporated.

8. Pour the cheese on a wax paper and roll it to give it a thick cylindrical shape. Twist both sides of the wax paper like candy wrapping.

9. Store in the fridge overnight. The cheese is ready to slice and spread in the morning. I like to serve it on a toasted slice of bread and top it with fresh tomatoes or cucumber and a drizzle of olive oil.

Watermelon and Feta

October 31, 2019 by Gizem in Meze, Snacks

Watermelon is one of the most popular summer fruits in Turkey and it is my favorite fruit of all time. This post is not really a recipe but a pairing of watermelon and feta, sweet and salty. When I tell my non-Turkish friends to try watermelon with feta, they generally don't believe that they would go well together.

I grew up eating this for breakfast every summer when I visited my grandparents on the coast of the Mediterranean. On a hot summer day, a cold and sweet slice of watermelon and a salty slice of feta is all you need to cool yourself down. So trust me and try this match made in heaven this summer.

If you want to spice it up a bit more, watermelon and feta is also a commonly enjoyed meze with raki. Raki is a Turkish liquor made with grapes and anise. So pour yourself and your friends a glass and enjoy the flavors, the company and summer nights.

Ingredients

Slices of watermelon

Slices of feta cheese

Preparation

Put the watermelon and feta on a plate and eat as much as you'd like! One bite watermelon, one bite feta.