Broccoli and Stilton Soup a la California

My very good friend Sharon from California has been living in London for the past year--after almost three years in Aceh Indonesia. She is an amzing cook and we've created many recipes together. Soup is her thing these days and here is her take on a British classic. Enjoy:

50g butter
2 large onions
600 g broccoli, trimmed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1.2 litres weak vegetable stock or chicken stock
3 tbsp double cream
150g blue Stilton, crumbled (or any other blue cheese)


1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Sautee onions, broccoli, salt,
sugar and nutmeg. Stirring, 5 - 7 minutes

2. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat
immediately and simmer for 10 minutes. Don't over simmer, as broccoli
will turn brown/yellow.

3. Use hand blender or regular blender in batches until smooth.

4. Return to the pan and stir in the cream and Stilton. Stir over a
low heat until the cheese is well combined.

The food or the view

Great views always inspire creativity. Here is the view from my apartment in Beylerbeyi Istanbul where I host my dinners with friends. There is a little fishermen's port where one get daily caught fresh fish. Here is how Timeout Istanbul (unjustly in my view) describes my neighborhood as:

Just beyond the first Bosphorus Bridge stands Beylerbeyi Palace, last of the great ugly Ottoman palaces. Facing north-west, it gets little direct sunlight - the place was intended as a summer annexe to the main palace at Dolmabahçe. Beylerbeyi didn't even have its own kitchen: food was brought over from the European shore by boat. After being deposed in 1908, Sultan Abdul Hamit II spent the last years of his life here...The village of Beylerbeyi boasts a pretty harbour with tea houses and a few pleasant restaurants. The nearby Hamidievvel Mosque is unusual in having a rose garden. At weekends, the area by the ferry jetty gets taken over by craft stalls.

Honey rosemary glazed 15 minute rack of lamb

Rosemary honey-soy rack of lamb-- in a toaster oven!

This is very quick and tasty dish with a great display. I had to quickly prepare a tasty meal for a few meat loving friends who were coming over with great expectations. My idea to use a toaster oven to save time and gain control over the food was initially dismissed but proved to be a very practical one. Toaster ovens heat quickly and give you full control of the crusty glaze.

1 rack of lamb (about 8 chops)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dry rosemary
2 tbsp fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the lamb to room temperature. You can do this simply by leaving the lamb outside while you prepare the glaze. Crank up the dial of your toaster oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the honey, olive oil, soy sauce, dry rosemary together with salt and pepper to your taste. Coarsely cracked fresh black pepper is a great addition! Rub the mixture generously on the lamb. Place it into your toaster oven, with the fatty side up (this will ensure the lamb is juicy). If your oven has a "toast" button, or a broil button, press the button as soon as you place the lamb in the oven. This will give the lamb an initial seal and start forming the crust. Bake for 15 minutes for medium rear. Press the toast button once more before you take the lamb out to finish the crust (if it hasn't already formed). And voila.

Place on a large cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary to dress it up, and slice the chops on the dinner table. Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies such as asparagus.

Ezogelin soup

Ezogelin Soup!
I eat this soup at least once a weak. It's a typical soup you can get at any restaurant in Turkey. Over the weekend I took a Turkish cooking lesson. It was a perfect occasion that brought together food lovers from different circles. We learned how to make Ezogelin soup (a traditional lentil soup with pepper paste and dried mint), Yaprak Sarma (rolled grape vines), Imam Bayildi (a famous egg plant dish with looooots of onions), Mucver (zucchini fritters), and last but not least walnut stuffed figs cooked in light clove infused syrup.

Here is the recipe for the soup:

6 cups red lentils, washed but NOT soaked!
1 cup coarse bulgur
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp dried mint-- fresh mint will not work!
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
5 cups of chicken stock
4 cups water
1 tsp flour

Simmer the lentils for 15-20 minutes in about 4 cups of water, until they disintegrate and turn into mush. Set aside. Don't worry if they start drying. In a large boiling pot, melt the butter together with the oil (the oil will prevent the butter from burning). Add the flour to the melted butter to prepare a light roux. Mix in the mint, the tomato and pepper pastes, and the red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add in the chicken stock and the lentils, bring to boil, and mix in the bulgur. Simmer for 10 more minutes and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

If you are in the US, you can buy most of the Turkish ingredients for very reasonable prices online at Tulumba.