Cooking San Francisco

Turkish Pizza

Kerrie, along with family and friends, had the great fortune to visit Turkey this summer. It was a memorable trip not just for the hospitality of Turkish people and their rich history, mounds of ancient treasures, and the Aegean blue seas, but for the uncomplicated and inviting cuisine.  One of the favorite culinary finds was the ubiquitous Lahmacun and, let's face it, finding a simple, inexpensive and appealing meal is just about the best thing that can happen to a person while traveling in a foreign land.

This Turkish “pizza,” is widely enjoyed in Istanbul and has a very thin crust topped with minced meat, usually beef or lamb, which is mixed with a few spices and a hint of tomato.  The dish is served on wooden cutting boards topped with shredded romaine lettuce and a lemon wedge and the traditional way to enjoy this aromatic treat is to squeeze lemon juice over the greens, and fold the pizza in half before eating.

Of course we had to try this foreign delight at home, so we started by combining our favorite ingredients from two different recipes to create something similar to the original Turkish product. We used lamb, but beef would be just as good. To match the consistency of a Turkish pizza ask your butcher for the finest grind possible, otherwise, make sure that you separate and crumble the ground meat as much as possible while it's browning. Ideally, the topping will be as smooth as possible so that it won't tumble off the crust when you fold it.

We used Whole Foods fresh pizza dough and it was airy, smooth and once cooked, crisped nicely.  We recommend allowing the dough to come to room temperature before working with it. We also gently stretched the dough pieces  with our fingers before rolling them, which seemed to help them keep their shape.

This recipe is very easy to pull together but you can save time during the crazy dinner hour by making the meat topping in advance and refrigerating it in a covered container (it will keep for a day or two) until its time to make the pizzas. You can also double the recipe and serve leftovers over pasta or creamy polenta with goat cheese crumbled over the top. This recipe is worth a little extra time and effort and is a great way to introduce the family palate to flavor combinations that are new, yet presented in a familiar package.

Finally, do take a moment to savor the beautiful photographs Kerrie shot in Turkey. They are at the end of the post.

1 package fresh pizza dough (approximately 12 ounces)
1 pound ground lamb or beef
2  cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped (or 1 cup canned tomatoes whole and chopped, or crushed)
1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons reserved
1/4 bunch of mint, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon reserved
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 head of romaine lettuce, washed, dried and chopped
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ground meat, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, mint, spices, pine nuts, salt and pepper.

3. Cook slowly, uncovered, for 10 minutes. With the back of a spoon, break the meat and tomatoes up into small pieces. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Set aside.

4. Divide pizza dough in to four equal pieces (use a knife or pastry blender). Using your fingers, stretch one piece of dough as thin as you can, without tearing the dough. Place on a floured surface and roll out to an oval shape with a rolling pin. It is important to try and get the dough as thin as possible. Repeat with remaining three pieces of dough.

6. Slide dough onto baking sheet (you may need 2) that are either oiled or lined with parchment paper. Thinly spread the meat topping on the dough. Put the baking sheet(s) in the top half of the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until crust is browned.  (Alternatively, you can bake the pizzas on your oven's convection setting at 450 for 10 minutes.)

7. Remove pizzas from the oven and set aside until just cool enough to handle.  Sprinkle the pizza with the romaine lettuce, and reserved parsley and mint and serve with lemon wedges on the side. Just before eating, squeeze lemon juice over the greens and fold the pizza in half

 

Serves 4

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

 

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

The original recipe found in the December 1996 issue of Bon Appétit magazine explains, “In France, this soup would be prepared with a baking pumpkin. A mixture of butternut and acorn squashes mimics the French pumpkin's exceptional taste and texture.” It's true; the flavor of the two squashes simmered together with fresh herbs produces a great soup. However, we won't lie; peeling and cutting the squash is a bit of a pain. To make things much easier, though slightly more expensive, you can purchase 8 cups of pre-cut and packaged butternut squash at Whole Foods (as much as we love Trader Joe's for many grocery items, we don't recommend their pre-cut, bagged squash) and omit the acorn squash. You might not end up with the aforementioned perfect French pumpkin flavor, but you will still have a satisfying and healthy winter soup. Alternatively, you could bake the acorn squash beforehand and scoop it out when it is tender (see baking instructions below).

Also, we omitted the sugar in the original recipe and substituted yogurt for whipping cream and we preferred both the taste difference and the health benefits. The croutons are a nice crunchy, salty addition, but we have served the soup without them when pressed for time.

Soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
5 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
4  cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4  cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

1/4  cup thick, 2% fat Greek yogurt

Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4 inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and puree soup with a hand blender. (Alternatively, working in small batches and being careful not to fill the container too full, puree soup in the blender. Return soup to same pot.) Whisk in the yogurt and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Reheat over medium heat before serving.)

For croutons:

While soup is simmering, preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

Variation: Baking acorn squash
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve squash and remove seeds.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 30 minutes to 45 minutes (if cutting and peeling squash yourself and making croutons)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes

Egg Custard with Gruyere Cheese and Thyme

This is one of those recipes that we can't believe it took us this long to discover. We found it in Gourmet Magazine, December 2008, while searching for quick breakfast food that could be served to a crowd on a busy morning, say for example, Christmas Day.  There are so many good things to say about this recipe it's hard to know where to start. The final product is a satisfying melange of fluffy egg, melted Gruyere and herbal thyme. The recipe itself takes almost no time to put together, thanks to the use of a blender, one of our favorite kitchen appliances. Not to mention that you can serve it for breakfast, lunch or dinner (we've done them all). It is also very flexible and ripe for substitutions. We replaced the original chives with fresh thyme, and though we added cooked bacon pieces in one version we made; leftover ham or sausage would also be wonderful. We used Trader Joe's Light Organic Whipped Cream Cheese, which worked very nicely to stabilize the eggs and milk. If you are looking for something sweet to serve on an early holiday morning, stay tuned for our breakfast bread pudding.

2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (6 ounces)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
10 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 ounces cream cheese, whipped or softened
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish (2 inches deep). Sprinkle Gruyère and thyme evenly in dish.

2. Blend eggs, milk, cream cheese, nutmeg, pepper and salt in a blender until smooth. Pour egg mixture over Gruyère and thyme in dish and bake until puffed, set, and golden, approximately 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

 

 

Chopped Chicken Salad

Here in the City, while we don't always get to enjoy the hot, dry weather of the surrounding farm areas, we certainly do enjoy their bounty at our farmer's markets and local stores. This salad is particularly exuberant in late summer and early fall, when nearly all the ingredients are in season and available locally. We love the cool crunchiness of the cucumber, onions and corn as they meld with the creaminess of the avocado and tomatoes. Lemon is an essential ingredient. We've written the recipe using lemon juice, but we also tried it with a lemon champagne vinegar which is lovely as well. As you can imagine, this salad scales very well and is ripe for variations and substitutions. If you'd like to make the salad ahead of serving, you can chop everything except the avocados and tomatoes and store in separate containers in the refrigerator.

1/2 English cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 heirloom tomato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cob of corn, cooked, or 3/4 cup of frozen corn, defrosted
1/8 medium red onion chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 avocado, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 chicken breast, cooked
juice of 1 large lemon
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp fresh basil, julienned

 

 

1. Layer all ingredients on a large plate or small platter.

2. Drizzle salad with lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lightly toss and serve.

Serves 2

Total Prep Time: About 15 min

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

This truly wonderful soup recipe by Melissa Clark was originally published in the New York Times in the dead of winter. But, for those of us who live in San Francisco, the summer months of June and July are also soup weather (we are rewarded later with a beautiful Fall and a lack snow in the driveway during the actual Winter). Do not under any circumstances leave out the lemon juice at the end, it highlights the flavor of the lentils and spices.

 

3 tbsp olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
1 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
juice of 1 lemon, more to taste
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (or basil)

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering.  Add onion and garlic, and saute until golden, about 4 minutes.

2.  Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and saute for 2 minutes longer.

3.  Add broth, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low.  Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.  Taste and add salt if necessary.

4. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, puree half the soup then add it back to the pot.  Soup should be somewhat chunky.

5.  Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro (or basil).  Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired. 

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 45

Wild Greens Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs

This simple salad makes for a delightful lunch (especially if it accompanies a glass of chilled white wine). Use the freshest, wildest greens you can find (Real Foods and Whole Foods tend to have the best selection). We used meyer lemon olive oil from DaVero, in the vinaigrette, because it is one of our favorite products, and brightens any food it touches. Our technique here is great if you want to make just enough vinaigrette for a large bowl of salad. You can, of course,  prepare the vinaigrette in a separate container if you don't want to use all of it at once. For a crunchy, salty touch you can add 2 ounces of crisped pancetta. Click here for tips on hard-boiling eggs.

1 clove garlic, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
4 Tbsp meyer lemon olive oil (regular olive oil can be substituted)
12 cups greens, such as arugula, spinach and frisee
4 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters

1. Place chopped garlic into a wooden salad bowl. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Use the back of a spoon to grind them into a coarse paste. Add the mustard and the vinegar and mix to combine. Add the olive oil and stir again.

2. Add the salad greens just before salad is to be served. Toss to coat leaves with the vinaigrette. Arrange hard-boiled eggs on top and serve.

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes