Two dishes sorted... few more needed to make it a meal

Well it's getting closer to that time where i need to visit Turkey.

So with a bit of help from Martin i can announce two dishes i'll attempt so far


Traditional lamb (kofte)

and

Stuffed vegetables (dolma)

but i'm still looking for a few more to add to the experience as well as a mouth watering dessert.

So please feel free to post anything you know of :-)

Did You Know?...

The famous Trojan Wars took place in Western Turkey Truva town.

The first church built by man (St. Peter's Church) is in Antioch (Antakya), Turkey.

The oldest known human settlement in Turkey is Catalhoyuk (7th Millennium B.C.)
Ephesus and Halicarnasus - two of the most famous places of the ancient world - are both in Turkey.
St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Clause, was born in Demre, on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast.
Noah's Ark landed on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) in Eastern Turkey.
The last meal on Noah's Ark, a pudding of sweet and sour taste (Asure), is still served throughout Turkey.
The Turks were who introduced coffee to Europe.
The famous Dutch Tulip comes from Turkey.
The biggest city Istanbul is located on two continents.
Turkey is noted for having one of the three (together with French and Chinese) most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the world.
The First Ecumenical Council was held in Iznik, Turkey.
Anatolia is the birthplace of historic legends, Homer (the poet), King Midas, Heredotus (the father of history), St. Paul the Apostle and Santa Claus
Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words, "Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)" in North Anatolia when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
Female goddesses dominated the Central Anatolian pantheon for thousands of years before these supernatural powers were transformed to male gods.
The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
Virgin Mary's house where she spent her last days, situated on the top of Bülbüldag (Ephesus), is considered as a holy place for all religions.
Seven Churches of Revelation are all in Aegean Region in Turkey (Ephesus, Sardis, Tyatira, Pergamon, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Collosae).
Turkey houses one of the the richest flora and almost every year new plant species are gained to the world literature.
The Color "Turquoise" comes from the clean see color on the Aegean Cost in Turkey.
Antalya Museum was rewarded specially by European Council as the best museum 1988 in Europe.
In Antalya, in the spring time you can both ski in the mountains & swim on the coast.
UNESCO declares Pamukkale and Zelve Open Air Museum as world heritages.
The millennium stone at Sultanahmet square Istanbul was the zero meridian point of the world once upon a time.
Kasikci diamond one of the greatest piece of the world and is displayed in Topkapi Palace.
Three of the 10 remaining icons of the world and according to the belief of Orthodox, Jesus Christ's cross which he was crucified are in Hagia Yorghi church.
Hereke which is in the world carpeting literature with the quality of the wool and silk rugs is in Izmit (Kocaeli) Turkey.
Homeland of Iskender Döner (Shorma/Gyro) which is very famous all around the world is Bursa Turkey.
The philosopher Aristotales lived in Assos for three years.
Lydia which is one of the greatest civilization lived in Anatolia has still got some remainings around Salihli (Sardis) and it's the first civilization which coined money.
Virgin Mary's House in Ephesus is visited by Pope the 6th Paul and Pope Jean Paul as well.
The world's greatest amphora and glass collection is in Bodrum Museum in Bodrum Castle.

The Best preserved Roman Theater is located in Aspendos Antic City, Antalya, Turkey

The First University in History is in Harran, Turkey

Turkey - Here I come!

Having recovered from one of the world's best BBQs it's time to hit the road again.

As is always the case I needed to add a location to the list and with the help of my dearest Shannan, Turkey was added to the list.

1. Morocco

2. Egypt

3. Turkey

4. India

5. Cuba

6. France

Without a dice we decided to write them all down of six pieces of paper and throw them into the nearest bowl we could find. Them with the help of my lovely assistant Turkey was plucked from the bowl.

So like before I now begin my preparation for the next adventure.

As always if you come across a traditional main meal or dessert please feel free to share it.

Even if you just feel like putting up an interesting fact about Turkey the more travel buddies the better J

So until next time...

güle güle - goodbye J

Now that was a BBQ!

Just like my trip to Russia I didn’t really know what to expect, but as always I had a blast. Burning meat on a BBQ is one of the best ways to bring people together in my opinion. We love our BBQ’s in Australia and as I discovered on this trip so do the Argentinians.

Being able to source the meat through the butcher made things very easy.  That combined with the salad and simplicity of making empanadas you couldn't ask for a better BBQ feast.

The best part about this adventure (as is probably to best part about any adventure) is discovering ways of cooking or combinations of flavour that I never knew about. With Argentina the real fun came in trying the Chimichurri and the Flan con Dulce de Leche. I never would have thought of attempting these, but they are so easy and really do add that something extra to the meal. The Chimichurri is a wonderful addition to a great piece of meat. It just gives your taste buds something else to think about whilst your chewing. The Flan con Dulce de Leche is an over the top sugar buzz. It is ridiculously sweet but for those caramel lovers a must to try.

But let’s get to the fun part… feedback time… drum roll please...

Preparation time: (how long does it really take?)

Chorizo – No time at all as you can get them at your local butcher.

Cordero – once again no time at all. Just pop down to the butcher and get yourself some lamb. I used a butterfly leg and then took ten minutes seasoning it with herbs.

Ensalada de lechuga, tomate, y cebolla: Another 10 minute delight. Simply cut up the onion and tomato and mix it in with the lettuce leaves. Can’t get any easier than that.

Chimichurri Sauce – Once you have all the ingredients lined up it only takes around ten minutes to knock this out – thank goodness for food processors  J and the smell is fantastic!

Empanadas  - Depending on how many you are making and the filling you are using allow around 30 minutes to prepare. As with the Pelmeni the more hands on deck the quicker. Putting in the filling and folding them is quick and simple. Once again anyone with kids try these – it’s another dish where they’ll love to get involved.

Flan con Dulce de Leche - 5 minutes to put together tops and 35 minutes to cook. Again a great kid friendly dish.

Ease to cook: (what does it involve?)
Chorizo – So easy – place on the BBQ and turn occasionally

Cordero – So easy – place on the BBQ on a medium heat cook 15-20 on one side, turn and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Let it rest and serve.

Ensalada de lechuga, tomate, y cebolla: NO cooking required slice and toss that’s all.

Chimichurri Sauce – Using the food processor this is very quick and simple. Put the ingredients in. Whizz it together with the push of a button.

Empanadas  - Very easy. The only time consuming part is cutting out the circles of pastry. Once you have them it is just a case of putting the filling in the middle of the circle and folding them over and pressing the edges with a fork. Place them in the oven to cook the pastry for around 15-20 minutes and serve

Flan con Dulce de Leche - 5 minutes to put together tops and 35 minutes to cook. Anyone who can open a can and crack an egg can do this. Is a little tricky placing the dish in the boiling water and covering it with the foil before placing it in the oven, but once you’ve done it once you’ll find it easy as you know what to do next time. I did take some time to make the caramel sauce. I chose to make the sauce from scratch using sugar, cream and butter - it took around 20 minutes to make. There are recipes out there though that do show you how to use sugar and water to make the sauce, but hey I love my caramel so took to longer option J

Overall: (i'll use a scale of empty bowls - 5 empty bowls is the best - 1 empty bowl not the best J)

Chorizo – 4 empty bowls. A unique flavour that when mixed with the salad or vegetable empanada was delightful. Not sure you could eat more than one though in a sitting, but I could easily see this sausage becoming a BBQ regular.

Cordero – 5 empty bowls. lamb on a bbq is a winner. Season it with a bit of salt and rosemary and look out taste buds.

Ensalada de lechuga, tomate, y cebolla: 3 empty bowls. Yes it is an easy to make salad, but it needed something to make it more than just three ingredients in a bowl – not sure what though, but ideas are welcome for next time.

Chimichurri Sauce – 4 empty bowls. If you’re looking to add a kick to your next steak then definitely gives this a go. The flavours from the herbs combined give it a wonderful zest. I would reduce the amount of olive oil a little - I found it to be a little overpowering, but all in all in worked well with the meats on offer.

Empanadas  -  5 empty bowls. These were great. The vegetable filling in the pastry was just that something different. I can see how these are popular in Argentina. With no restriction on the fillings you could have a real blast experimenting with numerous combinations.

Flan con Dulce de Leche – 3 ½ empty bowls. It was very sweet a little too sweet for my liking however I would give it another go for sure. Maybe next time go easy on the caramel sauce and perhaps just with vanilla ice-cream.

As always enjoy the photos and stay tuned as my next destination will be decided in the next couple of days  J

BIG THANKS TO MY FOOD PAPARAZZI - SHAN :-) for taking all these gorgeous photos!

Making the caramel sauce

Making the flan

Making the chimichurri

The meat

Making empanadas

The BBQ

The ensalada

Cooked empanadas

Serving up

It all coming together

 Time for dessert