Dolma or also known as sarma, stuffed grape leaves are one of the most popular appetizers in the Mediterranean. You can make them with meat or without, I make both, I prefer meatless to be honest. …
Meatless Monday
Fried Zucchini with Honey
When I was a kid my Aunt Angela would make fried zucchini and my cousins and I would eat it with honey! It tasted great! I still love it with honey! I make it every summer with the zucchini from my garden, reason being is I love the ones that have grown to be really big, it makes nice large circles, you can’t find them in the grocery store! Plus homegrown veggies just taste so much better!…
Swiss Chard Burek
This is my first time using swiss chard, I had planted it in my garden just because I liked the way it looked! I didn’t even know if I would like it! It is something that grows well and looks nice in your garden! I noticed that the leaves were huge and ready for picking so I got my garden crocks on and went in there and cut them! Brought them in and thought…now what? What to make with it was the question of the day!
I rinsed the dirt off and started to chop them up as I would with any other greens. Had some filo dough in the fridge and had all the other ingredients needed so I thought hey why not! Swiss chard burek! I took a bite of it first though to make sure it wasn’t bitter and it wasn’t at all! Its a ‘sweet’ green! In fact this burek had to be the best tasting burek I have ever tried! Next year I will be planting a whole lot more Swiss chard in my garden!…
Rigatoni with Beets
I was out in my backyard this morning when I noticed some of the beets were coming out from the ground, they looked small but if I didn’t pull them out I am sure something would get to it before I did…so I pulled out 3 bunches of beets!
I just love beets, when I was pregnant with my son one of my cravings was pickled beets!
The great thing with beets is that not only is the bulb edible but all of it is! The stems, leaves are edible and delicious! Its the perfect veggie that goes a long way….you can even use the liquid from the beets after boiling….haven’t decided yet what will become of that….I will keep you posted….stay tuned!…
Stove Top Burek
Stove top burek, what an idea! An idea that actually worked out! I followed the method on how my mom makes lakror dough, its how the layers of dough become tender and flaky, instead of just rolling it out once. Since this was stove top all I needed was some feta and parsley, as spinach takes time to cook.
I cooked this in my cast iron pan on low heat. It came out delicious! My mom was surprised that it cooked so well on the stove top! My son who happens to be a picky eater and not a fan of lakror or burek…surprisingly (watch him beg for it when he is older;) loved it! He wanted more! So yes even your pickiest eater will enjoy this!…
Lakror
Lakror is Albanian style burek, that is taught by generation to generation and is filled with a variety of fillings. Popular fillings are, spinach and cheese, leek and cheese, ground meat and onion mixture, onion, tomato and pepper like the one in this recipe and more. The dough is a thicker filo closer to yufka depending on how thin you roll it. This dough is thin and flaky as there is no yeast added to it.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial, even if you don’t end up making it! It is a labour of love, takes time and effort and a second hand is always helpful. This is a special dish to me, I remember making it with my grandparents, and now my mom makes it with my girls and hopefully they will pass it on to their children <3
There are two methods of making lakror, one is to make little balls and roll them out individually buttering each layer and attaching them all and rolling into one big sheet, or the easy way… and that is the method I will be sharing with you.
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Green Bean Casserole
Mmmm green bean casserole with homemade mushroom soup….can it get better than that!? I love cream of mushroom soup, and I love green beans this is the first time making it into a casserole! It turned out delicious! I didn’t have any bread crumbs for the top, if you have any on hand just sprinkle some on with Parmesan for a nice crunchy topping.
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Spinach Burek with Gjize
This has got to be the best tasting burek I ever had! Homemade gjize makes such a big difference! Tastes just like my grandfathers burek! I never knew how to make homemade gjize, I knew how to make labne it’s pretty close except for one step which I will explain in the recipe. A friend of mine who makes homemade lakror with gjize taught me how to make it, so glad she did…thank you Voltisa!
The texture for gjize is like ricotta, but the taste is sour as its made from yogurt! You can add salt to it if you like at the end of cooking or leave as is and flavour later….
Lentil and Spinach Soup
Lentil soup or mercimek corba in Turkish is a very common soup in the Mediterranean. I grew up on the brown lentil soup, but when I got married I was introduced to the orange lentils. I learned how to make orange lentil soup from my husbands Aunt, I picked up the addition of adding spinach from my dear friend Hatice! She adds butter to her soup at the end of cooking, which does make it taste so good, but if you want to save on calories then just make as is in the recipe.
I have another lentil soup recipe on here as well under the soup category, both are very delicious soups.
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Cigar Burek
These are little bureks that are pan fried, made with ready made filo called yufka, they are shaped in triangles ready for rolling. You can find them at your local Mediterranean or Middle Eastern store.
The perfect finger food and appetizer. Simple to make and yummy to eat! Best served hot as cheese is nice and warm:)
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