Turkish recipes using Dried foods (3) Collection
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| stuffed dried vegetables (peppers, aubergines and courgettes) |
| peppers in tomato sauce |
| stuffed leaves (quince, cherry and bean) |
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| [from turkc-l, the turkish culture list] |
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| preserving the tastes of summer: dried foods |
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| by can kiziltan |
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| as summer makes way for autumn in the towns and villages of turkey, |
| the task of preparing winter foodstuffs begins. this is a tradition |
| that goes back thousands of years. until modern times it was crucial |
| for every household to preserve and store sufficient food for the long |
| winter months, and neighbours still get together to help one another, |
| turning the hard work into an enjoyable social ritual. since large |
| quantities are involved, the work is carried out in the sofas (shared |
| living area of a house), courtyards and terraces. yufka (large, paper |
| thin circles of bread) are rolled out, baked and piled up to the |
| ceiling; flour, yoghurt and spices are kneaded into tarhana dough and |
| spread on clean sheets in the sun to dry for winter soup; vegetables |
| are purchased when they are most plentiful and at their cheapest in |
| the markets for making pickles; sheets of pastry are sliced |
| rhythmically on wooden tables to make dried noodles, the tapping of |
| the knife mingling with the shouts of children playing and the chatter |
| of the women. |
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| green peppers, courgettes and aubergines hollowed out ready for |
| stuffing and hung on strings to dry adorn the house walls and |
| balconies like brightly jewelled necklaces. today, thanks to tinning, |
| shock freezing and the spread of greenhouse cultivation, almost every |
| type of fruit and vegetable is easily obtainable throughout the year, |
| but this has by no means affected the popularity of traditional dried |
| foods. on the contrary they have gained in popularity in recent years |
| due not only to their distinctive and irreplaceable flavour, but to |
| the newly awakening interest in ecological foodstuffs. peppers are |
| perhaps foremost among dried foods, and stuffed dried peppers are |
| truly delicious. indeed some people enjoy them so much, that they even |
| make this dish in the summer. green and red peppers, the latter |
| generally hot, are dried separately. the stalks and seeds of the small |
| green bell peppers used for stuffing are removed, and then they are |
| threaded onto strings and hung in the shade to dry. red peppers on the |
| other hand are hung in the sun. |
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| aubergines are similarly topped and hollowed out with a round ended |
| knife, threaded on strings and hung in the sun hollow side down. the |
| aubergine tops and centres are not thrown away but cut into chunks and |
| also spread in the sun to dry, ready to be used in various winter |
| dishes known as micirik a$i, ba$ kavurmasi or dograma. courgettes are |
| scraped and left to soak in plenty of water, scraped again, cut into |
| 10-12 centimetre lengths and hollowed out with a special corer. then |
| they are sprinkled with salt, threaded on strings and hung up to dry |
| in the sun. tomatoes are either made into tomato paste or dried. for |
| the latter they are cut into two or four pieces, liberally salted, and |
| spread on rush mats in the sun. in the malatya region cherry, quince |
| and bean leaves are gathered in april and may, dried and used for |
| stuffing. so for a feast of sundried flavours in the winter months, |
| try this selection of recipes for turkish dishes made of traditional |
| dried vegetables. |
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| * can kiziltan is a freelance writer. |
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| (ID: 7193) Mirror: rec.food.recipes: Mon, Jun 28, 2004 |