Meatballs on Bread Dipped in Beef Stock

500g (1 lb) medium ground veal,2 slices of Turkish bread crumbs without the crust (1 cm thick),1 medium o grated onion, 1/2 tsp all spice,1 tsp cumin,Salt,Pepper

Beef Stock Sauce:

3/4 cup beef broth,1 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne,1 tbsp olive oil

6 slices of Turkish rustic bread, 1 or 2 days old

Cubanelle peppers,Tomatoes

Knead all the ingredients for about 5 minutes. If possible, grind the meat twice in a meat grinder together with all the köfte ingredients. Form meatballs from the meat mixture and give them a oblong shape by pressing on them with two fingers.

Meanwhile, mix all the beef broth sauce ingredients in a shallow wide pan. Quickly dip the bread slices in it, coating both sides. Place them on the grill along with the meatballs, cubanelle peppers and tomatoes. Grill both sides of the köfte and bread slices.

Place the bread slices on a serving platter. Arrange the meatballs on them. Serve with roasted peppers and tomatoes on the side. When serving, start with a layer of bread topped by the meatballs, then top with the grilled tomatoes and peppers.

Makes 12-13 Islama Köfte.

CANDIED PUMPKIN DESSERT WITH WALNUTS

1kg/2 ¼ lb. pumpkin flesh, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunky cubes or rectangular blocks (about 3” long),250gr/9 oz. / 1 ½ cup sugar

225gr/1 cup crushed walnuts to serve

Turkish clotted cream, Kaymak or clotted cream to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Line the bottom of a large baking dish with the prepared pumpkin pieces and sprinkle sugar over them evenly. Then layer the rest of the pumpkin chunks and pour the remaining sugar evenly over them. Cover the dish and let it rest overnight.The next day, you will notice that the pumpkin has released all its juices and that the pieces are nearly covered with all that wonderful juice. This liquid is all you need to bake the pumpkin, no need to add any extra water.Bake the pumpkin in the preheated oven, uncovered. Every 20 minutes, spoon the syrup in the baking dish over the pumpkin pieces so that they all absorb the syrup and start glistening. After 45 minutes of baking, check the sweetness of the pumpkin; if you like it sweeter, you can sprinkle a few more tablespoonful of sugar. Also, after 45 minutes of baking, turn the pumpkin pieces around so that all pieces keep moist with the juice. Bake for about an 1 hour to 1 ¼ hours in total, until all the syrup is absorbed and the pumpkin pieces are cooked and candied.Let the pumpkin dessert cool down. Decorate the candied pumpkin pieces with crushed walnuts just before serving.

The Rolled Borek

1 tablespoon olive oil,1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped ,1 pound ground beef, 1 teaspoon allspice, 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste1 box phyllo pastry sheet (12 inches x 17 inches)3/4 cup butter, melted

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low to medium heat and add the oil.Sauté the onion until soft, and then add the ground beef, allspice,paprika, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until the meat is crumbly but not dry. Cool completely before you continue.While ground beef mixture is cooling, preheat oven to 375 F.Once cooled, lay one sheet of phyllo dough on the counter. Keep the remaining sheets of phyllo dough covered with plastic, and work quickly to prevent it from drying out.Brush sheet with some of the melted butter. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of meat mixture on the sheet along the long side, 2 inches from the edge.Fold the bottom over the meat mixture and roll into a snake shape. Cut the roll in half and coil each roll into a snail shape.Place rolled dough and ground beef pinwheel on a nonstick baking sheet and butt the end up against the edge of the pan to prevent uncoiling. Brush with additional butter. Continue until you've used all the ground beef.Bake in a preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes or until just golden.

Turkish Stuffed Eggplant

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided;4 medium eggplants,1 yellow onion, diced;1 pinch salt,1 pound ground lamb,4 cloves garlic, crushed;1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper,1 teaspoon ground cumin,1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon,1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper,1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary,1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley,2 tablespoons tomato paste,1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided;3/4 cup diced poblano peppers,3/4 cup diced Fresno chile peppers,1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional),1 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush some olive oil over the bottom of a baking dish.Peel 4 strips, spaced evenly apart, from each eggplant. Place eggplants in the prepared dish.Bake in the preheated oven until eggplant just start to soften, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with some olive oil. Leave oven on and let eggplant cool.Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt; saute until onions are translucent and slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add lamb and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes.Add garlic, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, rosemary, parsley, tomato paste, and 1 teaspoon salt to the lamb. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add poblano and Fresno chiles. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Add Pecorino cheese.Slice an opening into each eggplant through one of the peeled strips. Spread eggplant 'bellies' open with two spoons and remove excess seeds if desired. Season insides with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and fill with the stuffing. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top; pour chicken broth into the dish.Continue baking until eggplants are very soft and tender, about 45 minutes. Spoon pan drippings on top to serve.

RED LENTILS KOFTA

1 cup red lentil,1/2 cup fine bulgur,1/2 cup olive oil,2 cups of water,1 medium onion, very finely chopped;1 tsp cumin,1 tbsp tomato paste + 1 tbsp red pepper paste (if you cannot find red pepper paste you can use 2 tbsp tomato paste),1 tsp salt,juice of half or 1 lemon (depends on how you like it: sour or not so sour),1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped;1/2 bunch green onion, finely chopped;curly leaf lettuce.

Wash lentils and boil them in 2 cups of water until the water is almost gone.Once you turn it off, add bulgur and salt. Mix once and cover to let the bulgur expand. Let it cool off.Heat oil in a pan and add the onion (not the green one!) and cook until soft.Add tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes.Add cumin and stir once you turn it off.Add this to the lentils which should be cool by now.Add lemon juice and half of finely chopped parsley and green onion (we're saving the rest of parsley and green onions to garnish) to the lentils. Mix all well.Take walnut size pieces and give them kofte shape in your hands. Keep a little bowl of water close by to wet your hand frequently during this process since the kofte mixture will get stuck on your hands.You can either place lettuce leaves on a serving plate and put koftes on top as in the picture, or serve koftes and lettuce leaves separately, or skip lettuce leaves completely; however, they reallly go well together.