Broccoli Soup

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Broccoli has never been that kind of vegetable we have always or even see in markets, but thanks to globalisation and the world being a small village we know it, cook it,, and love it :)

Broccoli soup (slightly adapted from here)

Ingredients:

250 gm fresh broccoli chopped

3 tbs butter

3 garlic gloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

salt

pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1.5 cups milk

1/4 cup flour (mix it with the milk)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded

1-2 cups water

Method:

• In a deep pan , melt butter and add onion to it, let it cook for around ten minutes
• Add the mashed garlic and cook for two minutes
• Add the broccoli and water, let it cook for few minutes, add salt, pepper, and cinnamon
• After whisking the flour into milk, add it to the soup, stir till soup becomes thick, this takes around 5-10 minutes
• Now add the shredded cheese and stir till it melts
• Serve while still warm.

Turkish Cuisine

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيــم

Iskender Kebab, famous from Bursa, a must when visiting Bursa

I am back, but not with a recipe this time, but with some photos of things I've enjoyed eating

 in my visit to Turkey...I wrote briefly about Turkey in my English blog. The food has been a wonderful whole experience in itself.

pickles

doner

pomegranate juice

In the Gulf region, we've been introduced to some dishes from Turkey, so it is not totally exotic to me. However, some dishes were not the real version at all. For example, shawarma is so popular in the gulf region and it is not even called shawarma anymore in Turkey, although it is a Turkish/Greek word meaning turning. Turkish diet is rich in vegetables fresh and cooked, dried fruits (figs, grapes, apricot etc), marmalade, honey, bread, diary products specilly yogurt and Ayran , and meet consumed as doner kebab, Sucuk (sausage) or kofte.

Sweets in Turkey are similar to sweets of the other Mediterranean Arabic countries (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine), such as baklava and kunefe.

Spices and herbs

Turkish tea is a must after any meal in Turkey, and there is the heavy dark sweet Turkish coffee that is served with sweets beside a glass of water.

olives

marmalades