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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September

'Not even a hazelnut will I eat without you,' declares a minstrel from the Black Sea region. These delicious nuts have been a valuable source of nourishment since ancient times, and modern dieticians recognise their important role in a balanced diet. If an ideal food were to be invented, it would probably be very like the hazelnut. The benefits encapsulated in this small nut are enormous. It contains numerous minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and potassium, and a handful of hazelnuts (equivalent to 25-30 g) provides the body's entire daily vitamin E requirement. Hazelnuts are also good for the heart, since the oil consists of 83 percent oleic acid (unsaturated acid), which prevents high cholesterol levels in the blood, adjusts blood sugar, and so protects against cardiovascular diseases. Moreoever hazelnuts are rich in fibre, adjust blood pressure and strengthen the bones, while the high levels of B group vitamins (B1, B2 and above all B6) that they contain adjust the body's carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism and strengthen the nervous system.

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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September

Hazelnuts grow on fifteen species of bushes or trees belonging to the genus Corylus of the beech family, and are thought to be native to the Black Sea coast, Thrace and Macedonia. The hazelnut was introduced into Central Europe in 1582 when the plant was taken to Austria from Istanbul, and this species therefore became known as the Turkish hazelnut, which can grow to a height of 22 metres. Turkey is the world's largest hazelnut producer, accounting for 75 percent of total production. The coutry'si finest hazelnuts come from the province of Giresun on the Black Sea, and the finest of Giresun's hazelnuts grow in Karakaya in the district of Tirebolu. These hazelnut groves produce plump oily nuts with thin shells. Another esteemed variety is the Degirmendere hazelnut, which is longer and less oily, and mainly eaten fresh. As well as being eaten as a snack, hazelnuts are widely used in bakery and confectionery, and in the manufacture of hazelnut oil, which is used in the pharmaceutical and perfume industries.

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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September
Hazelnut oil is also a healthy and delicious cooking oil, the cold-pressed variety being preferred for its flavour in salads, biscuits and cakes. Hazelnuts also enhance the taste of soups, salads and hot dishes. The recipes given here have been chosen from a book entitled World Hazelnut Flavours. These reflect the way in which hazelnuts can be used to create memorable culinary experiences. As another Black Sea minstrel said: 'I am going to the mountain pastures / With two horses and a mule / I have sent you hazelnuts / Eat them and remember me.'

This article and the recipes are compailed from World Hazelnut Flavours, a book published by the Hazelnut Promotion Board. Photographes of recipes courtesy of Hazelnut Promotion Board Archive.

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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September
HAZELNUT SOUP
Serves 8 Ingredients: 1 large onion 1 clove garlic 4 tablespoons hazelnut oil 4 slices stale brown bread crumbs 1/2 cup white wine 12 cups meat stock 1/2 cup cream 1.5 cups roasted ground hazelnuts 1/2 cup parsley 1/2 cup sweet basil black pepper salt
Method: Fry the grated onion and crushed garlic in the hazelnut oil over a medium heat until coloured. Add the brown bread crumbs and continue to fry, then pour in the white wine and stir until well blended. Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the cream, ground hazelnut, black pepper and salt. Blend in a food processor, add a little water if necessary, and replacing in the saucepan stir over a gentle heat for a couple of minutes. Garnish each serving with some chopped parsley and sweet basil. Dried basil may be used instead of fresh, white bread instead of brown, and olive oil instead of hazelnut oil. This recipe contributed by Ursula Yazici won first prize in the Cooking with Hazelnuts Competition.
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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September
GREEN CABBAGE PURÉE
serves 4 Ingredients: 1 kg green cabbage 500 g green beans 4-5 cloves garlic 2 cups coarsely chopped hazelnuts 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon maize flour 1/2 teaspoon flaked chilli pepper 2 teaspoons salt
Method: Coarsely chop the cabbage leaves and beans, and toss into sufficient salted boiling water to cover. Cook for approximately 40 minutes until tender, and mash roughly. Add the crushed garlic and 1.5 cups of hazelnuts. Bring to the boil. In a separate pan melt the butter, stir in the maize flour, chilli pepper and the remaining chopped hazelnuts, and stir over the heat for a few minutes. Pour this mixture into the cooked cabbage and simmer to the right consistency. This recipe was contributed by Ayse Bulam, one of the finalists in the Cooking with Hazelnuts Competition.

HAZELNUT BOREK serves 4 Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts 1 medium onion 4 tablespoons butter 3 mild green chilli peppers 2 tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon paprika
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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts 3 yufka (large circles of strudel pastry) 1 egg white salt and black pepper
Method: Boil the chicken in 2-3 cups of water until tender, and cut into cubes. Save the stock. Grate the onion and fry in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the finely chopped green peppers and grated tomatoes, and stir over the heat until the juice has evaporated. Add the chicken, salt, pepper and paprika, continue to stir for a moment or so, then set aside to cool. When cold stir in the hazelnuts. Spread out the yufkas one by one and brush with butter softened at room temperature. Bake separately in a preheated oven at 160° Centigrade until golden. Place the baked pastry circles in a large circular baking tray and pour two cups of warm chicken stock over them. When they have absorbed the stock and softened, spread the filling across the centre of the uppermost yufka (leaving a space at the edges), tuck the sides in over the filling and roll all the yufkas up together. Twenty minutes before serving heat in a preheated oven at 160° Centigrade,
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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September
cut into portions and serve warm. This recipe contributed by Senay Asena won first prize in the Cooking with Hazelnuts Competition.

LAZ BOREK
serves 8 Ingredients: 14 sheets of baklava pastry 1.5 cups melted butter for the filling: 4 cups milk 2 tablespoons ground rice 2 tablespoons cornstarch 5 tablespoons sugar 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts 4 egg yolks for the syrup: 3 cups sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method: First prepared the filling by mixing the milk, ground rice, cornstarch and 5 tablespoons of sugar in a saucepan. Place over a medium heat and stir until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the hazelnuts and beaten egg yolks. In another saucepan prepare the syrup by bringing 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water to the boil and simmering for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice and set aside to cool.
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Flavours Fit for Feasts Hazelnuts
2003 / September

Brush seven of the paper thin baklava sheets with melted butter and place one on top of the other in a large circular baking tray. Spread the custard filling evenly over the top and cover with a further seven baklava sheets brushed with butter. Cut into triangular portions and brush with the remainder of the butter. Cover with a sheet of aluminium foil and bake in a preheated oven at 200° Centigrade for 40 minutes. Pour the cold syrup over the top and serve
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