Appetizer
3523 recipes found
Smoky Eggplant Salad With Yogurt and Mint
This tart Turkish-style salad is meant to be served with triangles of warm pita or other flatbread for dipping. At the market, choose eggplants that are firm and shiny; they will taste sweeter and have fewer seeds. Make the salad several hours or up to a day in advance. Pomegranate molasses can be found at Middle Eastern groceries.
Turkish-Style Lamb Boreks
These irresistible savory pastries go by many names throughout the Middle East. In Turkey, they are called boreks and the best ones have a beguiling, complex filling that features salty, sweet and sour elements. If you can’t find pomegranate molasses, substitute lemon juice and honey, and maybe a splash of sweet vinegar. It’s easy to cut these large boreks into two, three or four pieces, for feeding a crowd.
Tuscan Bread and Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)
Pappa means pap, which is what this soup is. If you ever needed proof that stale bread needn’t go to waste, this soup is it. And this stale bread recipe can be made with canned tomatoes, so you can make it throughout the year. When the weather is hot, you can serve this at room temperature.
Summer Rolls With Black Bean Garlic Dipping Sauce
Back in 2012, Elaine Louie spent time with Tama Matsuoka Wong, a forager for the restaurant Daniel in New York and Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia, to see how she and her family ate. Ms. Louie brought back this recipe, a riff on Vietnamese summer rolls and a Wong family favorite. If it’s your first time making summer rolls, don’t fret too much about appearance. “The summer roll is very forgiving,” Ms. Wong said. “Even if you have a hole in the wrapper, you can roll it up and hide the hole.”
Barley and Herb-Stuffed Vegetables
This dish is based on a Turkish stuffing for vegetables, a delicate sweet-savory rice mixture seasoned with allspice, cinnamon, parsley, and dill or mint. I decided to use barley instead of rice for a heartier dish. Once stuffed, the vegetables are gently cooked in a mixture of water and oil.
Ale, Cheddar and Cauliflower Soup
Mock Cheese Soufflé
Stuffed Baby Artichokes, Izmir Style
Roasted Garlic Jam
Garlic can be subtle and sweet, or it can be a big bully with acrid undertones. Its behavior depends on how it's cooked and in what company. Here, it cozies up with lemon juice, cayenne and parsley, blending fast into a zippy, soft topping for bruschetta, pizza or your favorite grilled meat.
Aloo Kofta (Fried Potato Balls)
Mashed Eggplant With Capers, Scallions and Parsley
Summer is the perfect time to adopt the Mediterranean custom of serving savory little room temperature dishes for casual nibbling, referred to as mezze throughout the Middle East. An assortment of mezze can precede a larger feast, served as appetizers, or you may make an informal meal of mezze, picnic-style, indoors or out. This lemony Turkish-style eggplant dip fits the bill beautifully, spread on baguette toasts or crisp pita bread.
Penne With Tomatoes, Basil and Two Cheeses
Risotto With Peas and Sausage
Vegetables as seasonal as a maypole shape this risotto. There is a bit of veal for those who desire a more substantial plate of food, but it’s optional. For vegetarians, the broth does not have to be chicken. Omit the butter and cheese, and you're in vegan territory. As for the rice, regular arborio works fine though Vialone Nano, the elegant variety that is preferred in Venice for risotto with peas, is my choice for added culture, not necessarily flavor.
Cheddar Cheese Crackers
My son may not be convinced these can substitute for the ubiquitous orange crackers sold commercially, but I’ll take the homemade version any time.
Artichokes With Caviar Sauce
Cold Tomato Soup With Rosemary
Roulade Of Rainbow Trout With Morel Mushroom Duxelles
Grilled Peppers with Garlic Yogurt
This dish is very much in the Turkish spirit of mixing warm vegetables with cool, garlicky yogurt. Various types of peppers will work. This is a typical Turkish way to use grilled peppers. Turkish cuisine features cool, garlicky yogurt with warm vegetables. You can use a mix of peppers for this (in Turkey, longish, thin-skinned green peppers are the norm), and you don’t have to stick to sweet peppers, though I prefer the sweet against the pungent yogurt. Roasted peppers will keep for a week in the refrigerator. They will continue to release liquid, which they can marinate in. Warm the peppers before serving, or serve them at room temperature with the topping.
Chilled Corn Soup With Basil
No-cook, chilled blender soups are so quick to make it almost feels like cheating. This one stars sweet corn that’s been tarted up with buttermilk and lime juice, spiced with garlic and scallion, and imbued with fresh herbs. While straining it isn’t entirely necessary, it will give you a smoother, more elegant soup. But when it’s too hot to breathe, let alone dig out the strainer, you have our permission to skip it. Serve this in espresso cups or shot glasses as an hors d’oeuvre, or in bowls as a first course.
Corn and Crab Cakes
Fennel and Mushroom Salad
Turkish Spinach with Tomatoes and Rice
Not every tradition allows rice during Passover; in this fragrant dish there’s just enough of it to add substance to the vegetables. Some Sephardic Jews have traditionally allowed rice during Passover, whereas many Ashkenazi Jews do not. There isn’t much of it in this Turkish spinach dish, adapted from a recipe in Clifford A. Wright’s “A Mediterranean Feast,” just enough to add substance to the vegetables.
Pasta With Sardines, Bread Crumbs and Capers
This quick and easy version of the classic Sicilian pasta dish comes together in about 20 minutes with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and fridge. You can pick up anything you're missing at the corner deli.