Fırın Mücveri – Baked courgettes with feta, herbs

I love our crispy mücver fritters, though I equally enjoy this easy baked version, from my new cook book ISTANBUL; it is packed full of flavour, freshness and lighter too. My dear mum, Gülçin, made this often for us when I was growing up; it suited our busy weekday suppers perfectly in Istanbul, now it is a regular feature in my home too. They are softer in texture (sort of like a crustless quiche) and a great way to finish up other vegetables in hand – try using grated beets, squash here, as variations. You need to squeeze out the excess moisture from the grated courgettes so that your Fırın Mücveri won’t be soggy.

Prepare ahead: You can bake Fırın Mücveri a day ahead and keep in the fridge, covered. You can also freeze baked slices in one layer, covered. To reheat, place baking paper on a baking dish and place the Fırın Mücveri slices on to warm up  for 15- 20 minutes at a preheated oven at fan 180C/200C/400F.

I hope you enjoy this delicious bake, great to use up zucchini (courgettes), as well as other veg and herbs in hand. This and over 80 delicious, easy to make recipes (over 50 of them vegetarian) are at my new cookbook ISTANBUL, Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City. You can get a copy here worldwide.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem x

Fırın Mücveri – Baked courgettes with feta, herbs

 

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian

Cuisine: Turkish, Mediterranean

• 3 medium courgettes (about 640g/1lb 6oz), trimmed and grated
• 1 medium carrot (115g/4oz), trimmed and grated
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 15g/1/2 oz fresh dill leaves, finely chopped
• 28g/1oz flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• 225g/ 8oz beyaz peynir or feta, drained and crumbled
• 100g/3 ½ oz all-purpose plain flour (use gluten-free flour if preferred)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 4tbsp olive oil (plus 2 tbsp for greasing)
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• For the garlic yoghurt:
• 425g/15oz plain (preferably) whole milk yoghurt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt and finely chopped

1. Preheat oven at fan oven 180C/200C/400F.
2. Gently press to squeeze out excess moisture from the grated carrots, using a clean tea towel or sturdy paper towels and place in a large mixing bowl. Place the grated courgette in a colander, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain for 10 minutes. Using a clean tea towel, or sturdy paper towels, and really squeeze out any excess juice from them and put in the large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and 4tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and ground black pepper to your taste, bearing mind that the feta or beyaz peynir is salty too. Using your hands, combine everything well homogenously.
3. Cover a 26-27 cm diameter round baking dish with 5cm height (or other shapes available) with baking paper, covering the sides. Pour 1tbsp olive oil and brush the base and sides. Pop this dish to the oven to heat for 4-5 minutes. Take the hot dish out of the oven and promptly spoon the prepared mixture over, in a smooth layer. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
4. Grease a slightly larger round baking dish or a tray with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Using oven gloves, carefully turn the Fırın Mücveri over this dish and peel out the baking paper. Return this to the oven and bake further 25-30 minutes, until this side is golden brown and crisped around the edges too. Take out from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.
5. For the garlic yoghurt; peel the garlic cloves by crushing them with the flat side of a knife and the heel of your hand. Finely chop and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Using the flat side of the knife, gently squash the chopped garlic to turn it into a fine paste. In a medium bowl, combine the yoghurt with the garlic paste. Check the seasoning, adding a little more salt if needed.
6. Once rested, slice Fırın Mücveri and serve warm or at room temperature with garlic yoghurt. Pickles and a refreshing salad, for instance Turplu Yeşil Salata from ISTANBUL cookbook would be lovely aside too.

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