It is a frigid Tuesday night in New York City in the New Year 2012, one of the coldest couple of days we are having this winter. I’m not a big fan of the cold weather, I rather take the snow and sleet any day as long as I am not trapped indoors during that time.  Days like these call for hot, body and mind warming soups that comforts your souls.  These last several days, I’ve been into making different variety of soups.  Like yesterday, I made a butternut squash soup since we were not really digging the flavor we winded up having left overs today again.  Unlike the roasted cauliflower soup I made on Sunday, the whole pot was finished during lunch and dinner.  I’ve made this soup several times before and each time I make it tastes better and better!  Maybe it’s the soup or maybe it’s the Creme Fraiche! We’ve yet to decide!

Note: The plate is Lenox the Mediterra Menorca Collection

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP
Slightly Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower  - cut into small pieces
• 3 garlic cloves sliced
• 2 small onions diced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cups of vegetable  broth (or chicken broth)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 – 8 oz Creme Fraiche or 2 cups heavy cream
• Salt for seasoning
• Black Pepper for Serving

It is time for Asure! Here is the link for the Asure recipe!  This past weekend, I walked into my mom’s kitchen and to my delight she has already cooked and cooled her Asure, even before I had began mine!  My mother was extra delighted to see me and already prepared the table so that I can start clicking away! Since I did not know she was making Asure and that she wanted me to take and post the pictures, I took these pictures with the iPhone 4S! They came out amazing, don’t you think so?  Wishing you all a wonderful Asure Day & an even better week!

One of my favorite things to eat when I’m in  Turkey is to devour real authentic Turkish Soups!  The taste is absolutely different then the ones I make at home here in the states.  I honestly don’t know what it is, the ingredients and cooking methods are the same, I say it must be something in the water and in the air.  I’ve yet to solve it, yet again anything related to back home tastes and looks better all the time. Well lets back to the soup.  Recently a good blogger friend of mine Mrs. Ergul’s Kitchen Haven, posted this soup recipe upon her recent return from Turkey and the images of the soup transported me back to my mothers kitchen in Turkey.  It also reminded me that, this is one soup that I have not made in a long long time.

I have to admit this soup is one of my absolute favorite favorite fall/winter traditional and very authentic Turkish soup recipes.  I love all sorts of soups, expect ones that contain tripe and tongue! Yes, we have make soups that contain tripe & tongue. My mother makes a killer tripe soup!  I prefer to stick to the simpler and healthier kinds!

The recipe is very filling as well one of the easiest Turkish traditional soups!  Make a pot full and take extras for lunch the next day!

TURKISH PEASANT SOUP ~ EZO GELIN CORBASI
adapted from Greg and Lisa Malouf’s Turquoise

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons hot cayenne paprika (or non hot)
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper paste (or non hot pepper paste)
  pepper paste can be substituted with tomato paste as well
• 200 grams red lentils
• 900 ml chicken stock
  can be substituted with water or vegetable stock
• 600 ml water, plus more if the consistency is too thick
• 1/4 cup fine bulgur
• sea salt – season as you like

Toppings:

• spoonfulls of olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• dried mint
• lemon wedges

Preparation:

1.  Heat the oil over low heat in a large, heavy-based saucepan.
2.  Stir the onion, carrot and garlic around in the hot oil, then add the cumin and hot paprika, and saute for 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
3.  Stir in the pepper or tomato paste and cook for a minute.
4.  Add the lentils, chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.
5.  Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.
6.  When the lentils have broken down and become creamy, add in the bulgur.
7.  Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes.
8.  When ready to serve, ladle the soup into warmed serving bowls.
9.  Serve with a drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of dried mint toped with juice of the lemon wedges

Note: Thank you Mrs. Ergul!

After dinner during the month of Ramadan, I look forward to drinking my tea and feasting on dessert.  As much as I say my husband loves desserts, I must admit I equally do as well. He prefers milk desserts like pudding and ice creams, my preferences are mostly of cakes, cookies, chocolates and several different traditional Middle Eastern & Turkish desserts.

Revani or Basbousa as known as in Arabic, amongst many other Turkish desserts, happens to be one of my absolute favorite dessert.  Over the summer, I started looking for a good recipe and to my surprise stumbled upon a recipe on Epicurious.com.  This recipe was a bit different from the traditional Turkish recipes as it called for semolina then flour creating a dense sponge cake soaked in syrup.

Even though both Eids have past, this is a great recipe to have and make for anytime of the year. Especially when you are expecting company and want to creat a special dessert.

REVANI
adapted from Epicurious | July 2009
by Carol Robertson  – Turkish Cooking: A Culinary Journey through Turkey

Ingredients:

Syrup:

• 3 cups of sugar
• 4 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Cake:

• 9 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• grated rind from 1 lemon
• 2 cups semolina or farina (cream of wheat)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar (I did not serve with whipped cream)
• 1/4 cup ground nuts or 1/4 cup of dry coconut

To make the syrup:
Bring sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil, simmer 15 minutes. Cool.

To make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Beat the egg yolks, sugar and lemon rind with an electric beater for 5 minutes or until pale yellow.
3. Wash and dry the beater.
4. Fold the semolina and flour into the beaten yolks until well blended. Set aside.
5. Beat the egg whites with the clean beater until stiff.
6. Alternate gently folding the egg whites and the melted butter into the yolk and flour mix.
7. Pour batter into a well greased and floured 9×12 inch or 10×12 inch baking pan.
8. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Pour the syrup over the hot cake. Let it stand for several hours until the syrup is absorbed and the cake is cool.
10. Cut the cake into squares.
11. Serve with whipped cream and sprinkle nuts or dry coconut on tops.