These recipes were shared during our online sessions facilitated by Jodie and Yeşim (CuD Team) with a wonderful group of 6 women.
The idea behind Cooking Up Dialogue gatherings is to bring women together who are from different backgrounds and through sharing and dialogue to explore our different and mutual traditions and experiences. The aim is to empower us all to move forward with collaboration on our minds. The old paradigm of competition and polarisation can sit out while we sit in with our healthy, fun and inspiring interaction!
Each woman brings her own taste and flavour to the recipes and to the conversation.
Here are a few of the recipes from this wonderful group. Though I personally prefer to avoid labels we have used national identity within this group both for simplicity and distinction, and for us to be able to delve into our cultural heritages. Cana, Fatma and Sanem represent the Turkish nationals of our group and Alejandra, Elena and Sandra represent the women with foreign roots. All the participants are residents of Istanbul, effectively neighbours in this mega city. Together they reflect the diversity and the cohesion of womankind.
In this particular session both Sandra and Sanem brought a hummus recipe to our cyber table, and both Cana and Alejandra brought tomato rice, when we meet in person and eat the food together we curate the menu to ensure there is variety, but for this online gathering it was interesting to see the different approaches to these popular recipes.
(These recipes are displayed in the reverse alphabetical order of participants.)
Hummus:
Sanem İzmirli
Turkish, lives in Istanbul. She experiments with global cuisine using practical recipes and ingredients that can be found in most kitchens.
Hummus is a popular dish in the entire Middle East, not only in Turkey, making it is extremely practical if you have a blender at home, it's also very nutritious ...
2 handful of boiled chickpeas
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 lemon juice
2 y. Spoon tahini
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
We take all these ingredients into the serving plate and complete the process by drizzling with red pepper, which is heated in olive oil.
Hummus:
Sandra Schreiber
From the USA, Jacksonville, Florida.
She's been living in Turkey for 18 years: 4 years Kaş, Antalya and Istanbul 14 years.
She is a passionate collector of international cuisine recipes.
Ingredients and Preparation
The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl or pot and cover the chickpeas with cold water at least twice the volume. Let it sit overnight. Pour the chickpea soak liquid away the next day. Place a medium pot over medium-high heat and add the filtered chickpeas and baking powder. Cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water and boil. Collect and scraps the foam on the surface. The duration of the chickpeas will need to be cooked for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness. When you are done, they should be very soft, easily smashed when pressed between your thumb and finger. Drain the cooked chickpeas. You should now have roughly 3 2/3 cups of chickpeas. Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process them until you get a hard paste. Then, while the machine is still running, add tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Finally, while the machine is still running, gently whisk in ice water and allow it to mix for about five minutes until you get a very smooth and creamy paste. Place the hummus in a bowl. Pour over some olive oil. Put the cumin in the palm of your hand and sprinkle a line on the humus. Likewise, make a cross-patterned with sweet pepper powder. Ready to serve!
Sinop Mantısı (Ravioli):
Fatma Denizci
Fatma is from Istanbul and now resides in both Kadıköy and Şile, Ovacık Village. She is the founder of The organisation 'One day in Ovacik Village', the founder of 'Slow Food Palamut' and of the Earth Market in Şile, Istanbul. Here she shares flavours from her Turkish Kitchen.
"The difference of Sinop ravioli from classical Turkish ravioli is that the dough is rolled out very thinly. It's cut into squares like the classic ravioli. After folding into a triangle two of the corners are puller together half and stuck. The other difference is the dish is served with walnuts."
Ingredients:
Dough:
• 3 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
Filling:
• 200 gr minced meat
• 1 onion
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
Sauce for:
• 250 gr yogurt
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt
• Ground walnut
• Butter
• 1 teaspoon of red sweet pepper
Preparation:
Mix the flour, salt and egg, gradually add the water and make a dough that does not stick to the hand.
knead until ready.
Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Grate the onion. Mix the minced meat, onion, salt and pepper thoroughly
Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces, take a piece and roll out with a roller,
Cut it into 1.5 cm squares, put minced mortar in them, fold it in a triangle shape and close the triangle, join the ends.
Put it in plenty of boiling water and cook the ravioli until it rises above the water,
Crush the garlic and add it to the yogurt.
Add butter and add pepper.
After you put your ravioli on the plates, you can serve with walnuts and/or garlic yogurt and chili.
Chicken Soup:
Elena Kiyaevi-Korkmaz
Russian born in Uzbekistan.
Elena lived in America and now lives in Istanbul. She shares Uzbek, Russian and Multicultural flavours from her kitchen.
"I use any available chicken part at home, preferably organic. My kids don't like rich stocks that's why I use ot so much meat."
4 organic drumsticks; or 4 thighs;or half of the organic whole chicken;some bones.
2 medium size potatoes cut in small cubes
1 carrot cut in small cubes
1/4 of the red bell pepper chopped
1/2 Celery stalk
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
For pressure cooker you will need to follow the instructions. Usually the water should be filled for 2/3 of the pot. For the regular pot, fill it up, leaving couple inches from the top. (Of, course depends on your pot. Trust your instincts.)
I throw all the ingredients to pressure cooker, skim the foam, cover the lid, lock it and cook it for 30 minutes (check pressure cooker instructions) If you use the regular pot, cover the chicken with a cold water. Bring it to boil and reduce the heat. Before the boiling you will need to skim the foam with the spoon. It will make your soup clear. Simmer for an hour. Season it with 1/2 tbsp of kosher salt.
Check the chicken for the readiness and add potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper and celery (I chop 1/2 stalk celery, or cut it in half and throw it before serving), bay leaf. Cook until the potatoes are ready (10 -15 minutes).Usually, I add egg noodles or alphabet pasta into the soup and prefer to cook the pasta separately. Cook the pasta accordingly to the box directions in the small pot. Mix the pasta and stock before serving. Garnish it with chopped fresh dill.
Green Beans cooked with Ribs and Tomato Rice:
Cana Oyman
Can is Turkish and lives in Istanbul. Her relationship with cooking is just getting better.
Since her husband and daughters started creating masterpieces in the kitchen, she finally became inspired too.
"These Bosnian beans do not appear properly in Istanbul, but in the summer months in our summer house (Ayvalık) we eat our fill! This recipe is for when you see ribs spread out like fan at the butcher."
• First I sizzled the ribs back and forth in a pan
• I cooked lots of onions, garlic and the market's delicious tomatoes and beans, lots of olive oil and some butter.
• Last I grated a tomato on behalf of the vibrant red colour, close to when taking the food from the stove.
Tomato pilaf;
• I saute 4-5 ripe tomatoes I planed in plenty of olive oil.
• I added the rice, which I previously soaked in hot water with plenty of salt.
• I clicked with salt, pepper, butter.
Sometimes I add 5-6 cloves of garlic to this rice. Sometimes thin slices of lemon peel
White Bean Stew and Tomato Rice:
Alejandra Soto
Alejandra is from and was born in Chile, lived in England and America and now lives in Istanbul. She brings multicultural flavours from her kitchen.
Alejandra's recipe
for these delicious beans and rice to follow.
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Every dish has a story, every taste is a memory.