Fish Pilaki and Mercimek Koftesi

I've noticed that it's more difficult for me to get motivated to post when the food is less that awesome. Like I know I need to post but I just can't gather the energy to get my stuff together, login, and do the thing. It almost feels like a chore and no one likes chores. Last week, when the food was spectacular, I was anxious to post and couldn't wait to share the experience. There were a couple of nights where I wrote the post right after dinner because I wanted to get my thoughts down that quickly. This week? Meh, not so much. I made this meal on Tuesday night and it's Thursday. Take from that what you will.

That's not to say the food is bad because it's far from bad; it's just not fantastic. I guess this means I can't expect everything to be life changing, which is something I've mentioned before but I guess I keep forgetting to remind myself. I will admit that's a problem I have in general: expectations. I often times expect too much from people or from situations and end up disappointed. It's something I'm constantly working on but I guess I need to work harder. Maybe work smarter, not harder? Isn't that a saying?

Ingredients

Fish Pilaki

I actually got this recipe from Almost Turkish.  Pilaki refers to dishes prepared with carrots, onions, potatoes, and parsley in olive oil. I encountered other pilaki meals when searching for recipes but this one was the most appealing. I wanted to do a fish dish but I didn't want to have to search out a special kind of fish. After going out and searching for so many specialty ingredients for Nepali, Burmese, and Peruvian weeks, I wanted to keep my grocery shopping fairly easy. So I will say that is a big plus for Turkish food, not too many unfamiliar ingredients!

Preheat the oven to 350

3-4 tbsps olive oil

4-6 white fish fillets. I used three tilapia fillets, which came out to just under 2 lbs.

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 small potato, diced

2-3 tomatoes, diced

Bunch of parsley, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lemon thinly sliced

1 tsp sugar

S&P

Heat the oil and saute the onions until soft. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook until done. Add tomato, garlic, sugar, salt, and 2 cups of water. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and then add half the parsley. Spread half the veggies in a casserole dish, lay the fish on top, and cover with the other half of the veggies. Season with S&P and pour the lemon juice over the mixture; lay the lemon slices on top. Cover the dish and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.

Mercimek Koftesi

I got this recipe from Ozlem's Turkish Table. This dish made every single "Top Turkish Meals" list I read. Every single one. They are bulgur and lentil patties and after eating them, I understood why they were so popular. 

3/4 cup red lentils

1 cup bulgur wheat

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp red pepper or chili paste. If you don't have that, 2 tsps tomato paste and 1 tsp red pepper flakes will work. 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsps ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsps olive oil

1 cup hot water for lentils, 1/2 cup hot water for bulgur

Place the lentils and the 1 cup hot water in a saucepan and bring to a boil with it half covered. Lower the heat and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the bulgur and the 1/2 cup hot water, red pepper paste, cumin, salt, and olive oil. The recipe says to let it sit for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and the bulgur is al dente. The water was absorbed right away with me and I waited 15 minutes and the bulgur was still uncooked. I added a bit more water, let it boil for a couple of minutes, and then tried again. After 5 minutes it was better. 

Saute the onions in olive oil until golden brown. Once they have cooled, add the lentil/bulgur mixture. Take a walnut sized amount of mixture and form into a patty. Arrange on top of lettuce leaves and serve with the following sauce:

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

2 tbsps olive oil

The fish was good but it seemed familiar. Tilapia is a versatile fish and easily picks up whatever seasoning you give it so I don't think the type of fish was the problem. The problem was the preparation. Carrots, potatoes, garlic, and onions aren't anything special. I think I've actually made a slight variation of this meal before so this was just another fish dish to me. The 21 month old LOVED the fish so much she asked for thirds. The 3 year old was less than interested. 

The real surprise was the mercimek koftesi. Like I said before, there's a reason they are so popular! The 3 year old liked them, although she did say they were spicy. They were a little spicy but nothing overpowering. It definitely livened up the bulgur and lentils because, let's be honest, on their own, bulgur and lentils are a little boring. They were bean patties but you know how much I love beans so of course I was going to enjoy this! The dip of pomegranate molasses and olive oil was TO DIE FOR! Pomegranate molasses basically taste like thickened pomegranate juice but I love pomegranate juice. I'm glad I bought this condiment because I'm going to find other ways to incorporate it into meals. 

So while the fish was fine, I did honestly love the kofte. They were really easy to make and I think would make a great appetizer. And the American in me just wondered "What if I fried them????"

Biber Dolma and Bulgur Wheat Pilaf with Vegetables

We are in Turkey this week! I decided to not buy a cookbook because, well, we settled on Turkey on Sunday night and with Amazon Prime, we wouldn't get the book until at least Wednesday morning and I do my grocery shopping on Tuesdays. I wasn't able to find any at our library and I could have requested it from another library but, again, wouldn't have had it in time for grocery shopping. The internet to the rescue! 

I found lots and lots of "Top Turkish Meals" lists and chose the ones that they all had in common and then started searching for recipes. I found this website, Ozlem's Turkish Table, and, wow. she is amazing! If you want to read a fantastic food blogger, check her out. If you prefer mediocre (at best) please continue reading me!

Ingredients

Biber Dolma

3 medium sized bell peppers or 5-6 small ones. I used 2 red peppers since it was just going to be James and I.

4 medium tomatoes. I used 2.

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed. I used 2.

For the filling:

1/2 cup basmati rice

1/2 cup ground beef or lamb; I used beef

2 onions grated. I used half of one.

Bunch of parlsey, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried mint. I had fresh mint so I used that.

S&P

For the sauce:

Flesh of the scooped tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red pepper flakes or tomato paste (optional)

Mix the ingredients for the filling thoroughly and set aside. Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds and membrane. Hold onto the tops! Same thing with the tomatoes; cut off the tops and save. Scoop out the flesh but save it for the sauce. Fill the peppers and tomatoes with the filling until 3/4 full. Don't fill to the top since the rice needs space to expand. Cover the veggies with their respective tops. Place the veggies upright in a pan and pack tightly. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce together and pour over the veggies. Pour some water into the pan until it covers almost half of the veggies. Season with S&P and stir in the garlic cloves. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and boil for 45 minutes.

Bulgur Wheat Pilaf

2 cups coarse bulgur wheat. Apparently there are different kinds of coarse bulgur wheat. The guy at Davod's  recommended #3 so that's what I used.

1 green bell pepper diced

2 medium onions, finely chopped. I used 1.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsps butter

14 oz can chopped tomatoes. I chopped one tomato.

2 1/2 cups hot veggie or chicken stock or water. I used veggie.

S&P to taste

Saute the onions and bell pepper in the butter and olive oil. Add the tomatoes and the stock. Bring to a boil. Add the bulgur and S&P and stir once. Cover and cook on low heat until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from heat and remove the cover. Cover with a dish towel, replace the cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes so it can absorb any remaining moisture. Word to the wise, make sure the burner is off before you do this or you run the risk of thinking you're about to burn your house down.

This was a good easy meal but it wasn't anything special. I've made stuff peppers before so I knew what to expect in  terms of flavor but I did learn a new way of preparing them. I always made the meat and rice separately and then combined them in the peppers and roasted in the oven. This is a faster method for sure. The bulgur pilaf was really good and buttery. I've had bulgur before but this was fluffier and tastier.

I think the part that probably didn't work for me was all the bell pepper. When I first started cooking regularly, I always used bell peppers. They are really easy to cook with and are a great way to add flavor. We probably ate bell peppers at least twice a week for almost a year so ever since then, I'm not a huge fan. I don't dislike them but I also don't seek them out. Probably shouldn't have chosen such a heavy bell pepper meal BUT the internet wouldn't shut up about biber dolma so I had to do it. The internet is so pushy.