Sunday, August 31, 2008

Stromboli Turkish Style

Sunday, August 31. 2008





I'm back from Kentucky, had a great time there, unfortunately the hubby is still there till the end of September. Came back on Sunday night, and it pretty much took me a week to re-coop! I think I am getting old!

I so wanted my first blog back to be a dish traditional to Kentucky, but I'm not kidding when I said I needed to re-coop.So you are going to have to wait till the next entry for a Kentucky meal. The kids had taken out some ground beef for burgers the other day , then plans changed and the ground beef was left in the fridge.

As the summer is winding down and I didn't particularly feel like a burger, I thought a Stromboli would be a nice change and could be eaten at any time. ( The boys would be coming home in the wee hours of the morning and I knew they would be looking for a little something to eat.

Traditionally a Stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses and Italian meats or vegetables, and the dough is an Italian bread dough. As I had neither the cheeses nor meats and wanted something flavourful to spice the meat with I thought of those flat breads that you can get in the stores that sell Arabic delicacies that have those excellent meat mixture on them made with cumin and cinnamon and decided to improvise. Actually, I am sure all cultures must have their own version of a Stromboli. I know that the Ukrainians make smaller dough buns filled with different sweet and savory fillings called Pyroshki. But I digress. Here is my version of a Turkish meat roll/stromboli.
Ready to be baked at 375 degrees
Out of the oven and ready to slice.


Dough


1/2 cup of warm water


1 pkg. yeast


1tsp. sugar


21/2c. flour


1/2c. milk


1/2c. vegetable oil


1tsp. salt


1 egg beaten to brush on rolls


sprinkle of sesame and or poppy seeds (optional)




Filling


good drizzle of oil


1 large onion, chopped


1lb. ground beef


1/2c. finely ground walnuts


1tsp. cumin


1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt and pepper




Mix yeast, sugar and warm water let rise and bubble for about 15 min.


Sift the flour,add milk, oil and salt to flour and incorporate the yeast into this mixture.Dough should not be sticky, so you might have to add a wee bit more ( I didn't have to.) Place dough into an oiled bowl , cover and place in a warm place and let rise until twice its original size. When doubled divide dough in half and roll out dough into a rectangle . Fill with meat and roll up . Place seam down on baking sheet . ( Will make 2 rolls).


For filling drizzle oil in hot skillet and fry onions and ground beef. Drain if too liquid, or continue to saute until all liquid evaporates. Remove from heat, coll slightly and then add walnuts and spices.


Place half of the filling on one dough rectangle, and roll up and seal ends. Place on baking sheet seam down, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame/poppy seed. Repeat with second dough rectangle.


Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown about 45-60 minutes.


Enjoy for lunch or a midnight snack!


PS. Made those Pyroshki's also but will post them at a later date.




Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Heirloom Tomatoes


Tuesday, August 5, 2008. German Stripe Heirloom Tomato.
I am still in Lexington, Kentucky, ( the horse capital of the world) struggling with the 93 degree temperatures outside and then dealing with the 60 degree temperatures inside!! But thoroughly enjoying this beautiful bluegrass state. Yesterday, while driving through Somerset i stopped at a roadside vegetable stand and purchased some Georgia peaches (they were the juiciest i have ever had) and some heirloom tomatoes. I have to apologize for the poor quality of the photo,it really doesn't do justice to this delicious tomato. This Old German Stripe Heirloom Tomato is locally grown and a 75 day tomato. It is a Mennonite heirloom tomato that is also very popular in the Ozark Region (Arkansas). It is a yellow fruit with red spots, speckles and splotches.This tomato was so sweet , what more can I say...try one .