Mezzes, Kebabs with Pistachios in Cherry Sauce and Many More – 9th February, Saturday, Turkish Cookery Class & Wisley Gardens on the New Year’s Day

My best wishes for a happy, healthy and delicious 2013 to you all, I hope you enjoyed the holidays and this post finds you all well.

Turkish cookery classes are fun, friendly and it is a pleasure to share Turkish cuisine and traditions.

I have an exciting Turkish cookery class coming up on February 9th, Saturday, from 10 am to 12 noon at Oatlands Village Hall, Weybridge, Surrey and I wanted to share the details with you. We will have exotic, refreshing flavors, such as the delicious fillo pastry rolls with cheese and parsley filling (Sigara Boregi); Ground Lamb & Beef Kebabs with pistachio in tomato and cherry sauce, over flat bread with roasted vegetables and many more. These are the dishes you can easily re-create in your home after the class to share with family and friends.

We will make the fillo rolls with cheese and parsley filling, Sigara Boregi; one of the most popular boreks in Turkey.

I am excited to make another version of  the ground lamb & beef kebabs with pistachios, this time baked in the oven with tomato and cherry sauce. This delicious kebab is a Southern Turkey, Gaziantep Cuisine speciality, rooting back to Ottoman, Persian and Mediaval Arab Cookery, where they enjoyed cooking meat with fruits. The marriage of sweet & savoury cheeries with the meat is marvellous, look forward to sharing.

This is the original meatballs with sour cherries, a specialty in Gaziantep Cuisine. In our class, we will have our kebabs with pistachios but have the kebabs in this delicious cherry sauce. Photo credit: www.gaziantepmutfagi.org

 The classes have a very friendly, feel good atmosphere; previous participants expressed that they had a lot of fun at the class listening the stories from my homeland Turkey, the history, traditions, blended with delicious food. You will not only learn how to cook delicious, easy and healthy food, you will also get to enjoy the food there and take some home to share with others.

This class would also make a wonderful gift to someone, gift vouchers are available. Participation is limited; if you would like to join us, please kindly contact me for registration, thank you.

Date: Saturday, February 9th, 2013, from 10 am to 12 noon

Venue: Oatlands Village Hall (with a wonderful kitchen; St Mary’s Road, Weybridge, Surrey )

Menu:

* Fillo pastry rolls with cheese and parsley filling – Sigara Boregi

* Ground Lamb and Beef kebabs in tomato and cherry sauce, served on Turkish flat bread with roasted vegetables – Visneli, Fistikli Kebap

* Sauteed grated carrots in olive oil with yoghurt & dill – Yogurtlu Havuc

* Semolina Halva with sauteed pine nuts and cinnamon – Irmik Helvasi

* Turkish Coffee

You can find more information on my Turkish cookery classes, photos and testimonials at Ozlem’s Turkish Table / Cooking Classes.

Turkish coffee, Turk kahvesi; the ultimate way to end a Turkish dinner, hope we can enjoy together.

I hope to have a chance to welcome you at the class and share a delicious bite together. If not, I hope the recipes in the blog may still inspire you to create healthy, delicious mezzes, kebabs, vegetables cooked in olive oil and many more.

Best Wishes for a healthy, happy and delicious 2013,

Ozlem

New Year’s Day – Wisley Gardens

We welcomed the new year at the Wisley Gardens, Southeast England. After a long spell of rain, the sunshine was very much appreciated and the gardens looked beautiful.

These spiky colorful stems/branches looked gorgeous, don't know it's name though- any ideas?

This little duck had a nice splash and enjoyed himself, so did we : )

Snow drops already? They certainly looked like to me - please correct me if I am wrong:)