Greek Spinach & feta filo pie - Delicious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Method

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cook the onions in a large knob of butter until soft and turning golden. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Cool, then tip into a bowl (leaving behind any excess liquid from the spinach) and mix in the nutmeg, feta, eggs and season.
Melt 30g more butter, and butter a non-stick springform cake tin, about 20-22cm. Put the first sheet of filo in the tin and brush with butter, letting the excess hang over the sides. Keep going with the rest of the sheets, turning a little before adding each additional pastry sheet and brushing all over with butter. When all the pastry is used up, tip in the filling and fold over the excess pastry to cover. Butter the top then bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the filo is crisp and golden. Leave for 5 minutes before turning out and cutting into wedges to serve. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

2 onions, halved and sliced
butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
grating nutmeg
200g feta cheese, cumbled
2 eggs, beaten
4 large sheets filo pastry

Indian Spiced roast side of salmon Delicious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Method

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a big roasting tin with baking parchment or foil – this helps to prevent the fish from sticking to the tin as it cooks. Brush the salmon skin with oil and place it, skin-side down, on the paper.
Mix the ground ginger with the paprika, pepper, mustard, honey and 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread it evenly over the fleshy side of the fish.
Roast, uncovered, for about 20 mins until the salmon is cooked through – check by poking a knife into the fillet and making sure the fish flakes easily. Serve directly from the tin, or use a couple of fish slices to carefully lift the salmon onto a big plate. Slice into portions and serve with lemon wedges on the side. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

1½ kg side of salmon, skin on
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp coarsely ground black peppercorns
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp honey
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Japanese Green tea frozen yogurt with sesame brittle shards vedat şafak yamı

Method

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, sugar and matcha powder well until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and chill for 1 hr or until the mixture is very cold. Pour into an ice-cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions. Scrape into a freezable container and freeze for 4-5 hrs until firm.
To make the sesame brittle, line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Heat the sugar in a medium saucepan. Leave to melt, without stirring, for about 5 mins until bubbling and golden. Stir the sesame seeds into the light caramel, boil for a few secs, then pour the mix onto the baking sheet, spreading as thin as possible. Once hardened, bash the brittle on the counter to crack into pieces. Can be made 1 week in advance and stored in an airtight tin. Remove the frozen yogurt from the freezer 1 hr or so before serving, to soften slightly. Spoon into small bowls with the sesame brittle scattered over. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

2 x 500g pots 2% Greek yoghurt
200g caster sugar
2 tbsp green tea matcha powder
For the sesame brittle
200g caster sugar
4 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Caribbean Jerk chicken with rice & peas Delcious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Ingredients

12 chicken thighs, bone in

1 lime, halved

hot sauce, to serve (optional)

For the jerk marinade

1 big bunch spring onions, roughly chopped

thumb-sized piece ginger, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

½ a small onion

3 scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded if you want less heat

½ tsp dried thyme, or 1 tbsp thyme leaves

juice 1 lime

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp ground allspice

For the rice & peas

200g basmati rice

400g can coconut milk

1 bunch spring onions, sliced

2 large thyme sprigs

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp ground allspice

2 x 410g cans kidney beans, drained

Method

To make the jerk marinade, combine all the ingredients in a food processor along with 1 tsp salt, and blend to a purée. If you’re having trouble getting it to blend, just keep turning off the blender, stirring the mixture, and trying again. Eventually it will start to blend up – don’t be tempted to add water, as you want a thick paste.

Taste the jerk mixture for seasoning – it should taste pretty salty, but not unpleasantly, puckering salty. You can now throw in more chillies if it’s not spicy enough for you. If it tastes too salty and sour, try adding in a bit more brown sugar until the mixture tastes well balanced.

Make a few slashes in the chicken thighs and pour the marinade over the meat, rubbing it into all the crevices. Cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

If you want to barbecue your chicken, get the coals burning 1 hr or so before you’re ready to cook. Authentic jerked meats are not exactly grilled as we think of grilling, but sort of smoke-grilled. To get a more authentic jerk experience, add some wood chips to your barbecue, and cook your chicken over slow, indirect heat for 30 mins. To cook in the oven, heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin with the lime halves and cook for 45 mins until tender and cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice & peas. Rinse the rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans. Season with salt, add 300ml cold water and set over a high heat. Once the rice begins to boil, turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 mins.

Add the beans to the rice, then cover with a lid. Leave off the heat for 5 mins until all the liquid is absorbed. Squeeze the roasted lime over the chicken and serve with the rice & peas, and some hot sauce if you like it really spicy. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2012