Cooking The Books

Turkish Grilled Onion, Pomegranate Molasses and Sumac Salad

My end of London is filled with Turkish ocakbasis, literally filled.  A walk down Kingsland Road (or Stoke Newington High Street, where it changes I'm not too sure), even in winter, is redolent of a British summer, the air filled with smoke and the unmistakable scent of fat igniting as it hits the glowing coals.  Whilst all the restaurants serve the same gorgeous mix of lamb and chicken, off and on the bone, whole or minced into spiced adana, what comes with these kebabs varies between establishments, sometimes within establishments even where one week's grated carrot is another's cucumber, onion and tomato. 

For me the 6 balls plus bonus of this salad lottery is the charcoal cooked onion segments, their sweetness offset with tart pomegranate molasses, sumac adding fragrance and parsley its inimitable freshness.  I thought I'd give it a go at home this weekend and was very pleased with the result, and that was just using the kitchen grill.  If you're blessed with a barbecue I imagine it would be better still and it sits perfectly alongside any flame-grilled meats, Turkish or not.

Turkish Grilled Onion, Pomegranate Molasses and Sumac Salad

1 Large White Onion

A handful of flat-leaf parsley

A tablespoon or two of pomegranate molasses

1/2 ts sumac

Method

Cut the onion into eighths and skewer, either onto metal or bamboo that has been soaked.

Grill or barbecue over a high heat for a few minutes a side until nicely charred and softened through.

Remove onto a plate, breaking the segments up, drizzle with the molasses then scatter the parlsey and sumac on top, adding a sprinkle of salt if you want.

Serve as part of a mezze or any other meal you think it would go with.

Mercimek Corbasi - Turkish Lentil Soup

As I sat mildly hungover on a fantastic cold smoking course on Saturday (more about that to come) the topic of Turkish breakfasts came up and this soup was mentioned.  I love soup for breakfast, especially when hungover as I think a bowlful of piping hot, salty liquid is just what my dehydrated body needs.  This one is perfect for such occasions, the silky smooth liquid especially soothing when you're feeling tender.  I knew that the following day my hangover would be more than mild so I decided straight away that I would be knocking some of this up and was already going through the kitchen inventory in my head to work out if I needed anything extra for it.  I didn't. 

In the Turkish restaurants of Dalston it comes with Turkish bread, olives and pickled vegetables but even without these, just with a slice of any old bread, it's a lovely start to the day, hungover or not.  Don't think you can only eat it at breakfast though, it's served all day and makes a great light lunch or start to a larger meal.  It's very quick and easy too, taking no more than half an hour and using a handful of ingredients

Mercimek Corbasi - Turkish Lentil Soup

Makes 3-4 bowls

1 cup of red lentils, washed and picked over (not that I've ever found a stone)

1 litre of chicken stock (use veg stock if you want a vegetarian soup)

1 small onion

1 clove of garlic

A pinch of cumin seeds

To Serve

Chili flakes, lemon wedges, bread, Turkish pickled veg and olives

Method

Chop the onion reasonably small and then soften in olive oil along with the roughly chopped garlic and the cumin.

Add the red lentils and the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Blitz with a stick blender till smooth and serve. 

A squeeze of lemon counters the sweetness of the soup well and a pinch of chili flakes adds warmth, which is always welcome.