Turkish Picnic in the Park

We’re working very, very hard on finishing our upcoming cookbook – the Dutch edition will be out this Fall and who knows, maybe in English sooner than we think! We dedicate four pages to one of the most favorite hobbies of all Berliners: having a picnic in the park. If permitted, most people will light up their barbecues as well. And to be honest, there where Turkish families gather around their barbecues, it always smells the best. My Turkish friend Bedriye is a very good cook and I love to look over her shoulders when she’s cooking some of the dishes she learned from her mother. One day, she told me to sit down and take notes so that I could make all those dishes myself at home too. Starting with this classic Kofta Kebab grilled meat on a skewer with lots of flat-leaf parsley. Parsley is as essential for Turkish cooking as salt and pepper. For this dish you will be chopping a lot of herbs and onions, but it’s worth it!

Side dish, serves 8
Action Time: 20 minutes + 10-15 minutes on the grill

2.2 lb/1 kg (organic) ground beef and/or ground lamb
1 egg
4-5 onions, diced
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves very finely chopped
oil for greasing
Extra: 8 long metal barbecue skewers

1. Prepare the barbecue and do not start grilling until all the charcoal has turned grey and all flames have vanished.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the ground beef, egg, onions and parsley until well mixed. Add 2 tsp of salt and black pepper to taste. Form the mixture into 8 small rolls of 1 inch/2 cm thick and 6 inches/15 cm long. Shape the rolls around the skewers. Lightly oil the kebabs and place on the barbecue. Grill the kebabs in 10-15 minutes until done and brown. Serve with a yoghurt-cucumber dip.

YOGHURT-CUCUMBER DIP

Dip, serves 6-8
Action Time: 10 minutes

17 fl.oz/500 ml full fat, Turkish or Greek yoghurt
½ cucumber, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, pressed
half a bunch of mint, leaves chopped
olive oil to serve

In a bowl, mix the yoghurt together with the cucumber, garlic and mint. Season with pepper and salt. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

P turkse picknick_MG_8945

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2 Comments on Turkish Picnic in the Park

  1. Ingrid
    June 21, 2015 at 10:30 am (9 years ago)

    Een kookboek? Wat gaaf!!! Ik ben zo benieuwd. Staan er ook mooi plaatjes van DC in? (Sorry Petra, ben nou eenmaal gek op die stad ;)).

  2. Petra De Hamer
    June 29, 2015 at 4:18 pm (9 years ago)

    Heel veel mooie plaatjes van DC Ingrid ;) Maar ook van Berlijn, haha! En heel veel lekkere recepten, we zijn er heel blij mee. Benieuwd wat jij er straks van vindt!

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