A few weeks ago, I spent a sunny Saturday at Sule’s house where she runs her 'Gourmet Touch Turkish Cooking Classes'.
Sule takes pride in introducing new tastes to people through the Cronulla and Bundeena markets. Her classes include ingredients that many people may not know how to use and encourages them to create delicious and exciting dishes at home.
When I first arrived there was a table right next to the kitchen set up with an array of colourful and fresh spices in pots for us to try and smell. I was given a recipe folder with Sules recipes for the day and a few extras to try on my own at home. Before I had a chance to sit down, Sule had already offered us a Turkish tea and sigara boregi to start our class off.
The tea was beautiful, light and floral but full bodied with no bitter tea tannins. Sigara boregi is a feta and parsley mixture rolled in a Turkish ‘filo’ pastry, wrapped like a cigarette and grilled with some butter. It was so perfect that I had to have 2!
The Turkish music started to play and we knew it was time to jump into the kitchen and cook something ourselves. First up we made a red lentil soup with spearmint butter. The flavours were amazing and as Sule danced her way around the kitchen to the music she explained tips and tricks that you will have to go to her class to learn! As the soup simmered away we moved on to our next recipe.
Stuffed Eggplants! Sule had already pre-prepared our ingredients so we jumped straight into cooking our onions and garlic with lots of tomatoes and spices. Making a small well in the eggplants that Sule had also pre-cooked we scooped the yummy mixture on top and placed them into the oven. We also made a rice dish and a couscous dish to go with our main course of stuffed eggplants.
We polished off our meals with a thick brew of chocolaty Turkish coffee. When we finished, Sule did a ‘Coffee Cup Reading’ for us.
If you would like to attend one of Sule’s Turkish Cooking Classes, which I know you do, follow the link https://thegourmetouch.com! Take a look around her website and cruise through her recipes and foodie facts. Sule also does catering and sells produce at local markets around Sydney.
Do you have any cooking courses you would like me to try before you buy?