Garlicky Swiss Chard, Quinoa and Poached Egg Recipe

As a friend recently pointed out, the Poles can be a bit sexist when it comes to their produce.

For example, Swiss chard is called mangold in Polish. I have to chuckle a little bit.

Such fresh and lovely produce at the Zielony Jazdów market in Warsaw.  

A few weekends ago, I purchased 50 pln (about $15) worth of fresh veggies from the small Zielony Jazdów market at the top of the Agrykola Park in Warsaw. We got several meals out this wonderful produce, and it lasted 10 whole days for us! You can stop by this local market for fresh, unique produce on the weekends through September.

The mangold doesn’t seem to be very common in Poland, but I’m happy to see it make an appearance. Botanically, mangold is related to spinach and has some of the same nutritional properties such as vitamins C, E and K as well as being rich in manganese, calcium and iron. If you can find some at your local market like I did, I’d recommend grabbing some this fall. Or in a pinch, you could always substitute kale or spinach for the Swiss chard in the recipe below.

 

Hubby was surprised at the spiciness and garlicness of this tasty side dish. I just needed some assistance to perfect the poached egg on top! Who knew that eating healthy could taste so good!

Smacznego!

Garlicky Swiss Chard, Quinoa and Poached Egg

Adapted from this recipe by Fuss Free Cooking

Serves 2-3 as a side dish

Ingredients:

One     bunch              Swiss chard (about 500 grams), washed, trimmed. Stalks and leafy part separated.

1          Tablespoon      olive oil

6          cloves              fresh garlic, roughly chopped

Pinch   of                     Turkish pul biber or hot pepper flakes

1/4       cup                  uncooked quinoa cooked in 1/2 cup of boiling water

1          Tablespoon      pine nuts, toasted

2          large                eggs, softly poached

To taste                       salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small pot, cook the quinoa in boiling water with a pinch of salt. Let the quinoa simmer until the water is mostly absorbed by the quinoa. Turn off the heat and set aside.

2.  In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and pul biber. Let sizzle for a few seconds, but being careful not to burn the pepper flakes. Then, add in the stalks and cook about 7-8 minutes, until tender. I placed a lid on top to help the stalks cook faster.

3. Then, add in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

4. Next, add in the leafy pieces of Swiss chard and sauté until tender over medium-low heat. About 5-8 more minutes, until the greens are wilted. You may need to add a splash of water to help the greens cook. Set aside.

5. Lastly, set up a pan for poaching the eggs. We always follow Alton Brown’s recipe for poached eggs, but set a timer for only 4 minutes because we like runny eggs.

6. To serve, place a spoonful of the Swiss chard mixture in a bowl, topped with the quinoa, followed by the poached egg and toasted pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Step 4: Adding the Swiss chard leafy greens and cooking it all together.

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Heirloom Tomatoes in Turkish Gavurdağı Salatası

When you find really tasty tomatoes, especially heirloom varieties, you want to keep the flavors fresh and simple.

That’s why I fell in love with Turkish cooking because it emphasizes fresh ingredients such as tomatoes and herbs.

Heirloom tomatoes and fresh summery greens at home in Warsaw.

Last week, hubby asked if I could make Turkish kebabs and mezes one night. I said, tabii ki (of course)! So on Wednesday, I went to the BioBazar here in Warsaw and discovered a stall selling the BEST heirloom tomatoes I’ve seen outside of the U.S. The Polish farmer, who spoke excellent English, told me he specializes in unique products like the heirloom tomatoes, herbs and greens (Swiss chard, Italian lettuces and more) and sells many of his organic products to local restaurants.

The BioBazar is open open on Wednesdays and Saturdays in these old pre-WWII factory buildings.

I knew exactly which Turkish dish I would use these heirloom tomatoes in – a Gavurdağı Salatası – a sweet, tangy and slightly spicy tomato-parsley-pomegranate salad that is utterly delicious! This salad is named after the Gavur mountain, part of the Tarsus mountains in Southeast Turkey. It’s one we tried for the first time when we visited Gaziantep, a city in SE Turkey, two years ago.

In Gaziantep, we tried Gavurdağı Salatası at both Imam Cağdaş and Kebapci Halil Usta. The tangy spice, sumac, also was used in these versions.

Some versions of Gavurdağı Salatası add sumac or freshly chopped mint leaves. Other recipes like this one by my friend, Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, include green peppers and more onions than what I like. As salads go, simply taste yours and see what you would like to add or modify.

My version of Gavurdağı Salatası was the perfect summery complement to an evening at home with Turkish kebabs and mezes. Turkish raki included, of course! I hope you’ll enjoy this salad as much as we did!

Afiyet olsun!

Gavurdağı Salatası (Tomato, Parsley and Pomegranate Salad)

Serves: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

4-5                              medium heirloom or regular tomatoes, deseeded and chopped small
¼                                 large white onion, chopped small

1          cup                  flat parsley, roughly chopped

1          teaspoon          ground cumin

1          teaspoon          dried mint

1          teaspoon          ground black pepper

Pinch                           crushed red pepper flakes (Turkish pul biber)

To taste                       salt

2          Tablespoons    walnuts, chopped

Dressing:

2          Tablespoons    Turkish olive oil

1          Tablespoon      pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi)

Juice                            from ½ a lemon

1          ea.                    garlic clove crushed with salt in a mortar and pestle

Preparation:

Chop the tomatoes, onions and parsley into small pieces and place in a bowl.

Discard the tomato seeds and extra juice so you don't make your salad too "wet."

Sprinkle the spices on top.

In a small glass jar, add the dressing ingredients and shake to mix well. Pour over the salad when ready to serve. Alternatively, mix the ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk.

Garnish the salad with the chopped walnuts.

Serve the salad with fresh bread or pita so you can enjoy the delicious, spicy juices at the bottom of the bowl.

NOTE: We had about 1 cup of salad left that we finished off the next morning as part of a Turkish breakfast at home. Simply serve with cheese, hardboiled eggs and fresh bread.

I love Turkish mezes like these!

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Polish Bób (Fava Beans) and Burrata Salad

Have you ever traveled too much or had too many guests that you feel like you just can’t keep up?

Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling since our aunt visited us in Warsaw in early May. The last two months have been a whirlwind of trips and guests, and I know I probably shouldn’t complain. At last, we have slowed down…for the time being, and I can catch up on my neglected blog. Sorry guys!

And I’m finally back in the kitchen whipping up a few goodies, so I thought I would share my recent recipe.

Last week, I went to my favorite farmer’s market at Hala Mirowska for the third time that week and decided to purchase a kilo of  already peeled Polish bób (aka: broad or fava beans). I was inspired after having a beautiful burrata salad with fresh Polish bób (funny name) at the cutest wine bar, Ale Wino! (my recent discovery), in the trendy Mokotowska neighborhood. 

Polish bób and burrata salad at Ale Wino! in Warsaw. 

I’ve never prepared the beans this way at home before because the peeling process is a pain in the butt, but I figured I would give it a go…at least once. As I mentioned to my readers on My Traveling Joys Facebook page, I prepared Polish bób perhaps for the first and last time. One kilo of the fava beans = 700 grams of peeled fava beans, which I guess is a much better yield than shelling peas!

I followed these instructions on The Kitchn: How to clean and peel the fava beans. Some readers mentioned that they don’t do the second peeling process, but my beans were looking a bit older and the skins seemed tough.

My dear readers also suggested a variety of ways to cook my precious Polish bób such as this Cold Bób Salad from Lois of the Polish Housewife blog and this Turkish meze from Ozlem’s Turkish Table of Broad Beans Dip with Dill and Red Peppers (Zeytinyagli, Kirmizi Biberli Fava). Using the fava beans in salads seemed to be the most popular option as well as a dip or serving them in a risotto or pasta. In the end, I reserved half of the fava beans to serve with my own version of a burrata salad.

Luckily, we have a fantastic Italian grocery store here called Piccola Italia & Mediterraneo located in Centrum Warsaw where I can stock up on Italian cheeses and meats as well as pasta, ravioli, sundried tomatoes and more. This is where I bought the burrata cheese, which is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It’s divine!

At home, I seasoned the fava beans with fresh herbs from our balcony garden, really good Italian extra virgin olive oil, French fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper. Toss and arrange everything together and you’ll have a beautiful salad bowl that will almost be too pretty to eat!

Smacznego!

Polish Bób (Fava Beans) and Burrata Salad

Yields: A generous portion for 2 hungry people

300-350           grams   cleaned, peeled Polish bób (broad or fava beans)

1                      ball of fresh Italian burrata cheese

12                    cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1                      Tablespoon Italian olive oil and a little more for garnish

1                      Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

¼                     cup      fresh herbs, finely chopped (basil, dill, Italian parsley and a bit of mint)

To taste           salt (fleur de sel) and freshly ground black pepper

Optional:         edible flowers such as chive blossoms, pansies or nasturtiums for garnish

                        1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts

If you have older fava beans like I did, you’ll definitely want to blanch and peel off the second skin.

If your fava beans seem a little too al dente after you peel them, you’ll need to simmer the beans 2-5 minutes in boiling, salted water. Mine seemed tender enough after I peeled them so I skipped this step.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the herbs.

Place the seasoned fava beans in a large salad bowl. Toss the cherry tomatoes into the previous bowl. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Then, place the burrata in the middle of the fava beans. Arrange the seasoned tomatoes around the cheese.

Drizzle a bit more of olive oil over the burrata. Garnish with edible flowers and toasted pine nuts.

To serve, divide the burrata in half and disperse the beans and tomatoes between two bowls. Enjoy!

This burrata salad is hubby approved!

This is just one of my herb containers on our balcony. I love having my fresh herbs and these cherry tomatoes right outside our kitchen!

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Making a Turkish Feast at Home in Warsaw

It only seems appropriate that I post about Turkish food today as I’m headed to Istanbul this afternoon.

I know it’s only been two months since my last visit when I enjoyed my Breakfast by the Bosphorus, but I simply cannot stay away! Like a first love, Istanbul completely stole my heart when we lived there, and I miss my friends.

Funny enough, I probably have cooked more Turkish food at our home here in Warsaw than I even did in Istanbul. I no longer can call up Ali Baba and get a quick dinner delivery or stop by the kebab vendor down the street. If I want Turkish food, I best make it myself.

Sure, Warsaw is full of döner kebab vendors all over the city, but it’s definitely not the same. I don’t want some strange tomato or yogurt sauce in my döner.

I’ve always loved Turkish mezes! So a few weeks ago, I invited a new couple over for dinner and decided to make kabak yoğurtlu (zucchini with yogurt), patlıcan salatası (roasted eggplant with yogurt) and Turkish shakshuka/şakşuka (fried eggplant with tomatoes and yogurt). Luckily, I’ve found several brands of thick Greek yogurt here that works quite well to substitute for Turkish yogurt.

Here are my meze dishes of  patlıcan salatası and kabak yoğurtlu.

I turned to three of my favorite Turkish food bloggers for my recipes and inspiration – Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Ilke of Ilke’s Kitchen and Ozlem of Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Luckily, I’ve met all of these lovely ladies in person when I lived in Istanbul and love reading their blogs from afar. I highly recommend checking them out for delicious Turkish recipes!

I used a combination of recipes for the shakshuka/şakşuka from Ozlem and Claudia. Check out both recipes here: Fried aubergine eggplant, courgette and peppers with tomato sauce and Shakshuka Aubergine Meze.

Be sure to serve plenty of bread with this meze as you'll want to eat every last drop of it!

We can find decent eggplant here in Poland so I’ve used Claudia’s recipe several times now to make my own patlıcan salatası. So simple and so delicious! I use a mortar to crush my garlic with salt before mixing in with my yogurt.

My market haul to make to make this Turkish meal at home.

For the third meze, I used Ilke’s recipe for kabak yoğurtlu. This is another simple, but delicious recipe.

For a salad course, I made this summery Turkish tomato-pomegranate salad called gavurdağı salad. I realize we also tried this yummy salad when we were on our southeast Turkey road trip last year in Gaziantep.

Finally, for our main course, I made stuffed peppers Turkish-style…otherwise known as biber dolması, which is my version. I’ve made these dolmas so many times now that it’s easy enough to make vegetarian versions as well as differently spiced ones depending on what I have at home.

Looks like no matter, where I live, I’ll always find a way to make some of my favorite Turkish recipes too.

Smacznego!

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Roasted Turkish Figs with Polish Honey

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Turkish figs at a gourmet grocery store here in Warsaw.

What?

Yep, I found several boxes of sublime, purple figs from Antakya, Turkey, at my neighborhood Piotr & Pawel, which is kind of like a local Whole Foods store. Antakya is a city in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, and is located more than 3,000 km away from Warsaw!

Ecstatic, I purchased several of these luscious, rare treats at 1 PLN each (60 Turkish kuruş or .30 U.S. cents). In Istanbul at the pazar, I normally could buy a whole kilo of these for just 5 TL! Still, the price here in Warsaw is much better than what I would pay on the East Coast back home.

August and September always seemed like peak fig season in Turkey. The pazar stalls would be filled with perfectly stacked figs. This year, I’m missing out since we moved to Poland. However, to keep looking on the bright side, I have enjoyed the bountiful berry season in my new home. I try to keep my complaints at a minimum.

Once home, I was unsure what to do with my precious fig cargo. Dessert or salad?

I started thumbing through my Turkish cookbooks. In Aegean Flavours, Istanbul chef Didem Şenol, owner of Lokanta Maya restaurant, roasts Turkish figs with honey, crushed almonds and rosemary. I took that idea and simply tossed my figs with Polish honey and roasted them in the oven until they were softened.

For an afternoon tea-time snack, I took a few of these still warm figs and topped them with dollops of whipped vanilla cream and crushed Turkish pistachios.

Last night, I took the remaining roasted figs, added them to an arugula-tomato salad and drizzled them with Turkish nar ekşisi. Italian balsamic vinegar would work well here too. Unfortunately, the leftover figs did oxidize so they didn’t look the best, but still tasted wonderful.

Sometimes simplicity really is best in cooking.

Smacznego!

A delicious afternoon snack with a glass of Turkish tea at home.

Roasted Turkish Figs with Polish Honey

Figs – washed, sliced in half

Honey

Pinch of sea salt

Simply, place the halved figs in a bowl. Drizzle a few tablespoons of honey over the figs and add a pinch of sea salt.

Place in a glass baking dish or on a tray covered with baking paper. Bake at 350F/176C for 10-15 minutes until figs are softened.

Let cool slightly before using in a salad or serving for dessert.

For dessert, whip a bit of heavy cream with a pinch of vanilla or plain granulated sugar in a bowl. Place dollops of sweetened cream on top of the figs. Garnish with crushed pistachios or nuts of your choice.

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Garden Arugula Salad with Cypriot Halloumi Cheese

Today’s post and recipe is a shout out to our dear Cypriot friends in North Cyprus.

I keep telling Umut I just might head down there in the fall and help out with his family’s olive harvest. By October, we could have snow already here in Warsaw so I think I should have a backup plan that includes sunshine.

This week, I finally harvested my first batch of arugula grown on our spacious 40-meter terrace. I have so much space I don’t know what to do with it all, which is drastically different from my Apartment Gardening in Istanbul. I started the arugula seeds in May shortly after we moved in, and seven weeks later they have been growing like weeds from all the rain.

What goes great with homegrown arugula? Why grilled halloumi cheese from Cyprus, of course! Luckily, we recently discovered the cutest cheese shop near our apartment called La Fromagerie, which specializes in imported cheeses.

Halloumi is a traditional semi-hard cheese in Cyprus that has a high melting point, so it can easily be fried or grilled. It’s a popular cheese in Greece too.

While I do love halloumi cheese, I especially was excited to find a familiar food from our Turkey trips. I’ve been missing our Turkish friends, Turkish food and just about everything (except the traffic) from Istanbul. I laughed when my husband noticed the label said the cheese was from Nicosia, Cyprus.

For dinner, I make a fresh salad nearly every night. I used a generous cutting of arugula, plus sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and the grilled halloumi cheese topped with a garlic-nar-olive oil dressing. We liked this salad so much I made it two nights in a row.

Whether you are in Poland, Turkey or America, I hope you enjoy this summer salad as much as we did!

Smacznego! (Bon appétit in Polish)

Arugula Salad with Grilled Cypriot Halloumi Cheese

Serves 2

Ingredients:

A good bunch               fresh arugula

2          medium           tomatoes, diced

1          ea.                    cucumber, sliced

100      g.                     Halloumi cheese

As needed                   olive oil and dried oregano

For the dressing:

1          ea.                    garlic clove, finely minced

1          T.                     Turkish olive oil

1          T.                     nar ekşisi sosu (pomegranate molasses)

To taste                       salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Alternatively, you can emulsify the ingredients better if you pulse in a small food processer for a minute.

2. Then heat a kitchen grill or frying pan over medium-high heat.

3. Slice the halloumi cheese about ¼-inch thick. Set aside on a cutting board. Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with dried oregano.

4. Place the halloumi in the hot grill pan, giving the slices a minute or two on each side. The cheese will soften slightly as it cooks and get slightly browned.

5. In a medium-sized salad bowl, toss the arugula, tomatoes and cucumbers with the dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Serve the pieces of halloumi over the salad and eat immediately.

Location:

La Fromagerie

Ul. Burakowska 5/7

01-066 Warsaw

Poland

Phone: (22) 465 23 24

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Taze Kereviz, Rezene Salatası/Fresh Celery, Fennel Salad

Fresh celery and fennel are two vegetables in Turkey that are quite difficult to find.

So imagine my surprise, when I found both these items at a pazar stall two weeks ago! And the sign said bahçede (from the garden).

Since we’re housesitting for a friend near the Emirgan Korusu, we’ve been shopping at a different Saturday pazar located at the Istinye Dereçi bus stop. The pazar is quite large, but quiet as it’s tucked back in a small corner of the Istinye neighborhood in Istanbul.

Well, I had to buy the fresh celery and 1 bulb of fennel just because I could. Although, I wasn’t sure what I’d do with the veggies yet. (Sometimes you can find celery at the larger grocery stores as well as fennel at Macro Center in Istanbul.)

This is what fresh celery (kereviz) looks like in Turkey.
I save the leaves in a plastic bag, freeze them, and use them
 later to make stocks.

Over the weekend, we planned to grill outside with our friends. So I decided to make the chicken with a jerk marinade and use the fresh celery and fennel in a salad.

Once I thinly sliced the celery stalks and fennel bulb, I only had enough for 2 cups. When I rinsed off the celery and fennel together, they smelled like a bowlful of Turkish raki!

Then, I julienned two green apples and chopped up some of the fennel fronds and celery leaves. I made a quick vinaigrette. And voilà you have a sassy summer salad!

The salad perfectly complemented the somewhat spicy chicken breasts. I was content!

Of course, when we back to the pazar this Saturday, the same stall did NOT have any fresh fennel. Maalesef!

Well, if you live some place where you can readily get fresh celery and fennel, I’m sure you will enjoy this salad.

Afiyet olsun!

How to get to the pazar:

Istanbul IETT bus lines numbers 22 and 29S end at the Istinye Dereçi bus stop.

You can see the IETT map here.

Very green and fresh! Taze Kereviz, Rezene Salatası/Fresh Celery, Fennel Salad ready to serve.

Taze Kereviz, Rezene Salatası/Fresh Celery, Fennel Salad

Ingredients:

1            small            fennel bulb, sliced thinly

1             head            Turkish celery stalks, sliced thinly at an angle

2            ea.                green apples, julienned into strips

½            c.                 celery leaves, roughly chopped

2            T.                 fennel fronds, finely chopped

3            T.                 olive oil

2            T.                 apple vinegar

¼            tsp.              sugar

To taste                      salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

Add the vegetables and the apple. Toss to coat.

Season to taste again with salt and pepper.

NOTE: only dress the salad right before you are ready to eat or it can get soggy. I prepped my celery and fennel the day before and stored in airtight container in the refrigerator. Then, all I had to do was julienne the apples and toss the vinaigrette together.

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Yeşil Mercimek Salatası (Green Lentil Salad)

Since I did very little cooking these past two weeks, I wanted to make something healthy for dinner tonight.

My first inspiration came from right outside our apartment windows. My basil plants finally have grown big enough so I could harvest some of the leaves. I decided to make a summer salad based on lentils, tomatoes and fresh herbs that I often made when I lived in Kansas.

Thanks to the thriving local farmers market and a co-op grocery store in Lawrence, Kansas, I discovered a local cookbook, Rolling Prairie Cookbook, by Nancy O’Connor. The cookbook features fresh fruits and vegetables and utilizing them as much as possible in the kitchen. I fondly looked to a dog-eared page of the “Lentil and feta cheese salad” to refresh my memory.

As with any salad, you can really utilize whatever fresh ingredients you have on hand. Today, I went to the Ulus pazar so my refrigerator was stocked up with plenty of fresh herbs and vegetables. My recipe is not a traditional version of a Turkish yeşil mercimek salatası.

My only advice is to be careful cooking the lentils so as not to overcook them, and to let the lentils thoroughly cool down before you add the herbs and veggies.

Afiyet Olsun!

Yeşil Mercimek Salatası (Green Lentil Salad)

Ingredients:
1 c. green lentils (yeşil mercimek), rinsed
2 c. water or chicken stock (I used the stock to give the lentils more flavor.)

2 medium tomatoes, medium chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced in circles
½ small red onion, finely diced
12 Turkish black olives, roughly chopped (Tip: I used a cherry pitter to easily pit the olives.)
2-3 T. fresh basil, chiffonade
2-3 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2-3 T. fresh dill, chopped
TT salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 T. nar ekşili sos (pomegranate molasses)

Optional: add crumbled beyaz peynir to the salad right before serving.

1. In a medium-sized pot, add the lentils and water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking, prep the vegetables and herbs. Mix everything together, season with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and nar ekşili sos. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the ingredients. Set the mixture aside in the refrigerator.
4. When the lentils are done cooking, rinse with cold water. Strain. Let the lentils cool completely before mixing with the fresh ingredients. Refrigerate the mixed salad for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to mingle together.

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