Ingredients
Serves 6
Peach Salad
6 ripe yellow peaches
3 cups watercress
200 g feta cheese or goat’s cheese, crumbled
½ cup hazelnuts, roasted, peeled and chopped
Optional: Bastourma (cured, salted beef)
Dressing:
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp pekmez
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted and crushed
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pancakes
Makes about 22
1 pinch sugar
1 tsp dried yeast
1½ cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fine semolina
2 tbsp caster sugar
Butter, for cooking
Chopped pistachios, for sprinkling
Ricotta cream:
1 cup firm fresh ricotta cheese
½ cup icing
Sugar, sifted
Seeds from 6 cardamom pods, crushed
1 cup pouring (whipping) cream
Honey-rosewater syrup:
1 cup honey
1tsp rosewater
Method
Pekmez Roasted Peaches, Feta, Watercress and Hazelnut Salad
Cut the peaches in half lengthways and remove the stones. Slice lengthways.
To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, garlic, pekmez and cumin in a small bowl and whisk well to combine.
Whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream, then season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spread the watercress over a serving platter then scatter over the peach, cheese, hazelnuts and bastourma (if using). Drizzle the dressing over the top and serve.
Yeast Pancakes with Ricotta Cream and Honey-Rosewater Syrup
Syrup:
To make the honey-rosewater syrup, combine the honey with ½ cup water in a saucepan over medium–low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, without stirring, for 20 mins or until reduced and deep golden. Cool slightly and stir in the rosewater. Set aside to cool.
Ricotta Cream:
Combine the ricotta and icing sugar in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cardamom and cream and use the pulse button to process until the mixture is thick - do not over process or it may curdle. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Yeast Pancakes:
To make the pancakes, put the sugar in a bowl with ¼ cup lukewarm water and stir to dissolve, then sprinkle over the yeast. Set aside for about 8mins, or until foamy, then add 1¼ cups lukewarm water and mix well. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and stir in the semolina and caster sugar. Add the yeast mixture and whisk well until a smooth batter forms, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30min, or until slightly bubbly. Heat a large, heavy-based cast-iron frying pan over medium-low heat. Add a little butter and swirl to coat the base of the pan. Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan and cook, in batches, for 3-4mins each side, or until risen, light golden and cooked through, adding extra butter to the pan as necessary. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean tea towel while cooking the remaining pancakes. Serve warm or at room temperature, with the ricotta cream spooned over the top, drizzled with the honey–rosewater syrup and sprinkled with the pistachios.