Sautéed Spinach with Garlicky Yogurt

December 05, 2020 by Gizem in Meze, Salads

2020 has been a year where I had a love hate relationship with food. Some days I’d have an insatiable motivation to cook the most elaborate dishes and try complicated, five pages long, bread recipes and on some days, I didn’t even want to open the fridge. Lately I found the balance by finding comfort in simplicity. Cooking simpler food that I love, I know how to cook and that doesn’t require 15 obscure ingredients that I would normally enjoy searching in crowded shelves of specialty stores, seems to do the trick.

So here is a fancy looking yet simple salad (or side dish, meze) recipe that needs only 5 ingredients plus salt. You can serve it as a salad or a side dish, it goes really well with rice and meats, or you can spread large dollops on a slice of bread and call it lunch on a day you don’t feel like cooking.

As 2020 is coming to a close, I am starting to enjoy cooking again. It is a slow process but sticking to simpler and familiar food has been helpful. How is your relationship with cooking this year? Comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Yields: 6 servings Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt diluted with 2-3 tbsp water)

1 garlic clove, grated

Pinch of salt

2 bunches fresh spinach (not baby spinach)

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation

1. Throughly wash the spinach. Most spinach leaves have some residue soil on the stems, so the best way to wash them is to submerge in water for 5 minutes and let the soil, if there is any, fall to the bottom. You can also wash them in a colander in small batches, rubbing with your hands until all the residue is washed away.

2. Place the yogurt in a serving platter like a wide pasta bowl. If you are using Greek yogurt, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to make the yogurt runnier. Mix until the yogurt is smooth

3. Add the salt and grated garlic into the yogurt and stir until evenly distributed. Spread the garlicky yougurt evenly inside the platter.

4. Over medium heat, cook down the spinach until they are wilted but still in bright green colors, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the serving platter and distribute evenly over the yogurt.

5. Add the olive oil and tomato paste into a small pot (I use a Turkish coffee pot). Over medium-high heat, while stirring, warm up the olive oil and the tomato paste. When the oil turns into red and starts to bubble a bit, take off of the heat. With the help of a spoon distribute dollops of the tomato sauce over the spinach and drizzle any leftover oil all over the dish.

6. Serve warm. This dish is still delicious chilled as well.

Enjoy!

Fall Salad with Squash and Pomegranates

November 13, 2019 by Gizem in Salads

Last two weeks I was busy moving this blog to Squarespace mainly because I like how streamlined their user experience is. It took me a while but after a couple days of work I got all my content transferred and now, you are looking at the brand new mintandsumac.com! I am excited to continue blogging and I plan on making it a regular effort in 2020. Maybe this will be my first “new year resolution”.

But before I start talking about next year, there are still holidays to celebrate and lots of eating to be done this year. I find most holiday food to be heavy (but I guess that is part of the point!) so I like to lighten it up by serving a seasonal salad (and if I am not the host I offer bringing salad). For me, salads are all about flavor and texture. I generally use very simple dressings like lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar so it is important to me to layer various flavors for taste satisfaction and layer textures for what I’d call mouthfeel satisfaction. This fall salad mixes tangy, sweet and bitter flavors and layers crunchy, creamy and juicy textures. It is very simple to put together if you are short on time and also adds a pop of color to your dinner table.

Yields: 4 servings Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 kabocha squash (or acorn or delicata)

4 cups of arugula

3 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or to taste)

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or to taste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425F.

2. Clean the seeds of the kabocha squash and cut in large, 1 1/2 inch chunks. I prefer to leave them unpeeled so they keep their shape.

3. Place the kabocha squash on a baking sheet and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.

4. Roast for about 20-25 mins until the squash is soft.

5. In a bowl or a serving platter toss the arugula, roasted squash, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds.

6. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar before serving.

Enjoy!

Lentil Soup with Chard Stems

November 08, 2019 by Gizem in Soup

Lentil soup is quintessential in Turkish cuisine. It is my go to soup whenever I am not sure what to cook. I basically grew up on this soup. I had it at home and at the school cafeteria growing up and at late night soup shops to fight off hangovers during college.

Lentil soup is my idea of cozy. It is my kind of comfort food. Whenever it is cold or rainy, whenever I feel a bit under the weather, I crave lentil soup. Lately, with the nonstop rain in Seattle, this variation of classic lentil soup brought much needed warmth to our bellies at home.

This soup is creamy with the added crunch of the chard stems. I like layering textures in soups. In this soup, the crunchiness of the chard stems is a nice surprise without taking away from the flavors. The chili oil drizzled at the end, ties everything together with a nice kick.

I learned the trick of adding chard stems to lentil soup from my mom. I grew up in a household where food is never wasted. My mom would make a dish with chards and she would save the stems for salads and soups. This is probably not the exact same soup she used to make but it is my take on her recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yields: 6-8 servings Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 cup red lentils

1 cup chopped chard stems

2 cups stock (if you don’t have stock, use 2 cups of water)

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

For the chili oil:

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons marash chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over high heat.

2. Add the diced onions and cook over high heat, stirring a couple of times, for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent.

3. Rinse the lentils under cold water until the water runs clear. Add the lentils into the pot and give everything a stir.

4. Add in the cumin, salt and pepper.

5. Add in the stock and the water and give everything a stir.

6. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and cooked.

7. Reduce the heat to low and using a hand blender, blend the soup until creamy. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a smoothie blender too.

8. Add in the chopped chard stems and simmer the soup for another 5-7 minutes.

9. In the meantime, prepare the chili oil. Add the butter and the chili flakes to a small pot or saucepan and turn on the heat. Let the butter melt completely and let it bubble for a minute. The chili is going to give a red color to the melted butter.

10. Remove the hot chili oil from heat and pour on the soup. If you want you can save some to drizzle over individual servings as well.

Enjoy!