Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F

Step 2

First make the dough. Sift the flour and salt into a wide bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the beaten egg and the water and using your hands, draw the flour into the liquid and mix to dough. Pour in the olive oil and knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Manti dough needs to be quite hard; cover the dough with a cling film or kitchen towel and leave to rest in a cold place or in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, beat the yoghurt with the garlic and season with salt to your taste. Cover and set aside to bring to room temperature.

Step 4

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Finely chop the onion. Heat the 30ml/2tbsp olive oil in a heavy, wide pan and stir in the onions. Sauté for 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix well. Stir in the chopped parsley and combine well, turn the heat off to cool.

Step 5

Place the cooked and rinsed chickpeas in a large bowl. Mash them with a potato masher (I like to go hands on and mash and knead with my hands but if you find this labour intensive, you can mash in a food processor too). Stir in the cooled sautéed onions, 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil, cumin, pul biber or red pepper flakes. Season with salt and ground black pepper (this filling needs good seasoning, and its being vegetarian, you can taste the filling and adjust the seasoning to your taste). With clean hands, knead the mixture for a couple of minutes and combine well. The filling is ready.

Step 6

Cut the dough into 3 balls. Working one piece of dough at a time (and cover the rest of the dough balls with a cling film in the meantime so they don’t dry out), roll the dough as thinly as you can into a sheet, on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into small squares (roughly 4cm/1 ½ in). Spoon a teaspoon of the filling, rounded at a size of a chickpea into the middle of each square. Pinch the opposite corners to form a little a little pouch and press the seams together to seal firmly. Make sure to lightly flour your hands if handling the dough becomes sticky, so that you can seal the manti well.

Step 7

Repeat with the rest of the dough and place the stuffed dumplings in a greased oven proof dish, stacking them next to one another in one layer. Bake uncovered for 8 - 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get a light golden colour. Take them out of the oven and let the manti cool. You can freeze some of this baked manti at this point, in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks.

Step 8

Pour the hot water and pinch of salt to a large pan and bring to the boil. Place the baked dumplings gently to the boiling water and simmer for about 8- 10 minutes, until they are cooked. Once cooked, drain the water and return the manti to the pan. Drizzle a little oil over them so that they don’t stick together.

Step 9

While manti is cooking, prepare your sauce. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the hot pepper paste, biber salcasi or the tomato paste. Stir in pul biber or red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac, combine well and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Step 10

Arrange manti on a serving dish and spoon the garlic yogurt over them. Then drizzle spices infused olive oil with the tomato/red pepper paste sauce over the garlic yoghurt. You can decorate with extra red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac and serve immediately.

Step 11

Afiyet Olsun.

Step 12

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F

Step 13

First prepare the eggplants (aubergines). Cut the aubergine in quarters and then slice into 1cm with pieces. Layer the aubergine pieces on a tray and sprinkle salt over them, leave them aside for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, dry the aubergines with kitchen or paper towel thoroughly.

Step 14

Spread the aubergine slices in a baking tray and pour in the 60ml/2floz olive oil over them. Using your hands, make sure that all aubergine slices have a nice coating of the olive oil. Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes in the preheated oven at 200C / 400F. Aubergines will start to get crispy around the edges, a nice color and soften up (you can alternatively sauté your aubergines on a pan with olive oil, though I find the baking easier and healthier).

Step 15

Heat the 2tbsp/30ml olive oil in a heavy, wide pan and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes, until soft and they begin to color. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, red pepper paste, can of chopped tomatoes, Turkish red pepper flakes, pul biber and combine well.

Step 16

Toss the sautéed aubergines to the pan and gently combine.

Step 17

Now stir in the rinsed bulgur and freekeh to the pan and mix well. Pour in the hot water and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, combine well. Reduce the heat to low for simmering.

Step 18

Place the tomato slices over the top, cover and cook for 30 minutes, until the liquid is evaporated and the grains are cooked (add a little more hot water if needed). Check the seasoning and add more salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Turn the heat off. I like to rest the dish and settle the flavours for 10 minutes before serving.

Step 19

Serve with refreshing Shepherd’s Salad, Coban Salatasi and/or Cacik dip with cucumber and yoghurt aside.

Step 20

First prepare your bulgur balls. In a large bowl, combine the fine bulgur, flour, cumin, red pepper paste. Season with salt and ground black pepper to your taste (bear in mind that the red pepper paste is quite salty). Pour in the hot water over the mixture and combine well.

Step 21

Wet your hands with the warm water bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, and knead the bulgur mixture with your hands for 5 minutes, wetting your hands a few times. You will reach a smooth elastic bulgur dough at the end.

Step 22

Again wet your hands and take a cherry size bulgur dough and shape as a little ball. Have a wide plate or tray near you and place the bulgur balls you have made from the bulgur mixture.

Step 23

Have boiling water in a large pot, stir in a pinch of salt. Gently drop the bulgur balls in to the pan and let it cook, uncovered, on a medium heat, for 8 minutes or so. Take out the cooked bulgur balls with a slotted spoon and place on a large plate. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons olive oil over them and gently shake the plate so that they would have a nice olive oil coating. Set aside until the vegetable sauce is ready (you can make your bulgur balls ahead of time and keep in the fridge too).

Step 24

Pour in the 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan. Stir in the sliced onions and peppers and saute over medium to high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped leafy greens (please remove the hard stalk for the Swiss chard and spring greens) and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and ground pepper to your taste. If you like, sprinkle Turkish red pepper flakes, pul biber and combine well.

Step 25

Gently stir in the cooked bulgur balls to the vegetable mixture and combine well over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the bulgur balls warmed up. Serve warm, with wedges of lemon by the side to squeeze over.

Step 26

Afiyet Olsun.