Pastrami & Poached Egg Pide

Pastrami & Poached Egg Pide

• 8 slices of pastrami (cut into bite size pieces)
• Large handful of grated cheddar cheese
• 2 poached eggs
• 4 cornichons, sliced thinly lengthways
• Small handful of rocket leaves
• Turkish pepper flakes
• Rapeseed vinaigrette 
• White wine vinegar
• Melted knob of butter
• Portion of pide dough (enough for two pide)

Make up a portion of pide dough as per my previous pide recipe and form into two boat shapes. 

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.  Place your prepared dough onto a baking sheet, scatter the cheese over each pide then top with the chopped pastrami and cook in the oven for around 7 minutes.  In a pan of boiling water add a good couple of splashes of white wine vinegar and drop in two eggs and leave for 3 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Once the pide are cooked, remove from the oven, top each with a poached egg, cornichon slices, rocket and a sprinkle of Turkish pepper flakes and lastly a drizzle of the vinaigrette then get stuck in.

This recipe will not disappoint, another one to add to my list of favourite dishes!  The toppings for these pide are endless, what would you fancy?

Chicken and Artichoke Pide

Chicken & artichoke pide

This Turkish recipe is easier than you may think to make.  With the pide dough you make a boat shaped base which you can fill with a variety of fillings.  For this recipe I am using chicken and artichokes.

For the dough, you will need:-

• 7g sachet of fast action yeast
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 100 ml cold water
• 300g 00 grade pasta flour

For the filling you will need:-

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• Jar of artichoke hearts, drained
• Handful of sliced black olives
• 1 pepper thinly sliced
• Turkish chilli flakes
• 200g grated cheddar cheese
• Small amount of melted butter
• Rocket leaves

Put the yeast and sugar into a small bowl, add two tablespoons of warm water, stir and leave to one side.  Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt.  Make a well in the centre, pour in the olive oil and yeast mixture.  Combine the mixture with your hands, gradually pouring in the cold water.  Continue to mix until the dough sticks together, if needed add a couple more tablespoons of cold water.  Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured surface for 5 or so minutes until the dough is stretchy.  Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 30 minutes until it has risen slightly.

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees.  Place in a pizza stone to heat or alternatively if you don't have a pizza stone, line a baking tray with baking paper.

Whilst there is enough dough to make 8 pide, this recipe will make 4, the remaining dough can be frozen or alternatively if making 8 increase the filling ingredients accordingly.

Cut the dough into 8 equal portions.  Using your hands, form 4 pieces into an oval shape.  Dust each side with flour and roll out into a long thin boat shape.  Prick the dough all over with a fork and place on the baking sheet or heated pizza stone.  Place you cheese, chicken, artichokes, pepper and olives onto each pide, leaving a small gap around the edge.  Fold the edges in on themselves and using a fork, crimp around the border.  Bake the pide boats for around 10 minutes until slightly golden.

Plate up, sprinkle over some Turkish chilli flakes and top with a small amount of rocket.  Brush the pastry with the melted butter and enjoy.  I drizzled over some rapeseed vinaigrette  and got stuck in!  

This is a light and tasty dish, you could have with a side salad for lunch or a light dinner.  We both really enjoyed this and can't wait to try something different with the remaining pide dough, watch this space!  What toppings would you try?

Hasan Pasha Kofte - Cheesy Beef Kofte

Hasan Pasha Kofte - Cheesy Beef Kofte

Serves 4 (makes 8 kofte)

• 300g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg separated (you will be using both the yolk and the white)
• 1/2 tsp Turkish pepper flakes
• 500g beef mince (15% minimum fat)
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 slice of bread, crusts removed, soaked in 3 tbsp of cold water
• 125ml tomato passata
• 75g grated mozzarella cheese
• A small handful of torn flat-leaf parsley
• Sea salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, drain and return to the pan.  Add the butter, egg yolk, Tuekish pepper flakes and a good pinch of salt.  Mash together until smooth and set aside.

Put the beef mince in a mixing bowl and add the onion, garlic, black pepper, soaked bread, egg white and a good pinch of salt.  Using your hands, mix together thoroughly for a few minutes.  The mixture will feel wet at first, but the bread will begin to absorb the moisture.  Roll into 8 meatballs and place the, in a snug ovenproof dish.  Push your thumb into the centre of each meatball and create a well.  Top each kofte with a spoonful of the mash.

Mix the passata with 125ml cold water and pour around the kofte.  Cover the dish with foil and cook for around 15-20 minutes or until just cooked through.  Scatter over the cheese and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes nail melted.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Hasan Pasha Kofte - Cheesy Beef Kofte

This was a nice looking dish, the mash topping was lovely but the kofte I have to say was lacking in flavour for me, if I were to make this again I would up the seasoning somewhat as they just tasted like mince!  Cooking time was also about twice as long as stated in the recipe, perhaps my balls were somewhat large lol.  I will make again but with some tweaks.  The recipe is taken from the cookbook, Turkish Delights by John Gregory-Smith, there are some fab looking recipes in there and will be looking forward to trying out some more.

Turkish Style Tuna & Halloumi Salad with Herby Salsa

Turkish Style Tuna & Halloumi Salad with Herby Salsa

• 2 tins tuna, drained
• 1/2 pepper thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly peeled in to ribbons
• 1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• 3 tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
• 500g sliced Halloumi
• Handful of chopped coriander
• Handful of chopped mint (reserve a pinch to garnish the dish)
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (available from supermarkets)
• A pinch of Turkish pepper flakes (ordered mine from Amazon)
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 1 punnet of Sweet Chili baby beetroot
• Bag of salad

Method:

To make the salsa, combine the tomatoes, onion, herbs, pepper flakes, molasses and 4 tbsp of olive oil, mix together and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, fry the halloumi for a few minutes each side until golden and then set aside.

On a large serving dish empty the bag of salad and scatter over the carrot, peppers and cucumber.  Top the salad with the halloumi and the tuna and then drizzle on the salsa. Add the Sweet Chili baby beetroot around the edge.

This recipe serves 4 and whoever the lucky people are to share it with you, they will thank you, trust me!  We had this last night for dinner and the two of us polished it off, it was that good.  This recipe is perfect for this time of year and is great on its own or to go alongside a BBQ, this is what al fresco dining was invented for. 

 I shall be making this again in the next few days, thinking I may top with some poached eggs, what do you think?