Kefir Cacık with Turmeric Peas

There is a thin strip on the timeline between the slowness of winter and the rapidly changing images of spring. It’s called February, the month when a lot of things are shaping up, whether you are suspecting or not.

February was a month of many changes for me, but I preferred to keep quiet about them on this blog. When things are taking shape, I do lots of thinking, reading as well as talking to my husband and (increasingly) parents. Writing does not come easy then: I do my best writing when I am 100% sure. But here I am .. writing. Not that I know where the changes are taking me, but I feel good being on the road.

There are two big things going on in my life right now - I have started a plant-based cooking certification course at Rouxbe and I am going grain-free and sugar-free since February. Both changes expose me to intensive learning about cooking, food and the way my body responds to a new diet. Let me fill you in.

When I learned that Rouxbe, a pioneering online culinary school, launches a plant-based cooking course, I saw my dream coming true. Since the time I stopped eating meat I have been wondering how vegetarian chefs get their professional training. With such a diversity in the way people eat traditional culinary institutions still teach how to cook for omnivores. I am fine with handling and cooking meat, but what about those who don’t eat meat for ethical reasons: how do they handle the butchering classes at a culinary school? And even if a vegetarian chef training exists, could it be complete? Could a vegetarian chef be as good as his colleague who has been working across the food categories?

With the new Rouxbe course comes the answer. Designed and led by plant-base chef Chad Sarno the course reflects the diversity of demands among the modern day eaters and reflects those demands in a contemporary approach to cooking Rouxbe broadcasts. On top of the regular technique-driven curriculum the course includes plenty of material on whole foods, nutritional aspects of plant-based eating and approaches to plant-based cooking in various national cuisines. The lessons, always to-the-point and ending with the practical tasks, have been keeping me at the kitchen longer than usual playing with new ingredients and techniques. Which brings me to the today’s recipe, but before that..

Before that I’d love to tell you about the second big change: I have been going grain-free and sugar-free since early February. I did make an exception for the two weeks in Morocco. Taking your self-inflicted diet to vacation is silly; when you travel experiencing the local culture not at least comes through food and being too restrictive limits your experiences greatly. But apart from that, I have been following the diet as a part of the Ayurveda therapy I am going through. I hope to be back to the grains in due course, but with sugar it turns out I had been exaggerating my need in all things sweet.

When I heard my Ayurveda therapist mentioning no grains, I thought to myself: how exactly can I be a cooking instructor and follow such a restrictive diet (given I already don’t eat meat)? But then many food industry professionals don’t eat what they cook. I enjoy cooking with others and for others even I don’t always eat the food. Will the way I teach cooking change as a result of my diet experiment? So far it has not, but you never know how things evolve. Because what we eat matters so much that a change in your diet can bring all sorts of new things in your life. After I stopped eating meat I re-discovered cooking, quit my strategy consulting career, moved to Turkey and started my cooking classes and food walks venture in Istanbul.

This time too food is only a part of the deal. I revised my daily schedule to wake up earlier. I started running every morning on top of my regular yoga practice and meditation. I decided to nourish my skin with the equivalent of whole foods I am eating and threw away most of the processed food for skin, i.e. cosmetics (besides this Russian organic brand; they sell abroad including Turkey now). I try to be kinder to my body and pay close attention to its reactions. And my body gives back with more energy, lightness and happiness. Once you know the feeling, it’s hard to go back.

So what I eat daily these days is quite different from my meals previously. The range of ingredients I work with is more limited, but I am exploring them in greater depth: I have never eaten so much beans and greens in my life while I have always loved both. I also tend to apply the new cooking techniques I am learning at Rouxbe and create richer flavors with more spices and aromatics. In addition, I focus on including a variety of tastes, textures and colors in my every meal. Finally, I have introduced a whole range of new foods to my menu.

Take kefir, your fuzzy yogurt drink. I grew up drinking it. Hailing from the Caucasian region this fermented milk beverage has been a big part of the Soviet dairy production. Later when I lived in Norway, a major local dairy producer launched kefir and made it available in every supermarket, big or small. To my shame, I have forgotten kefir after Norway, then happily replaced it with yogurt in Turkey, and it took a German woman to remind me of its existence.

Apparently, kefir is not just a Soviet nostalgia, it is a powerful probiotic. According to the Nobel prize winning Russian biologist Ilya Mechnikov who was the first to scientifically discuss health benefits of kefir, this fermented milk beverage is a secret to the celebrated Caucasian longevity. Mechnikov argued that we age because of the decay in the gut. Kefir, a unique symbiosis of yeasts and lactobacillus bacteria, does not only cleanse the gut, but has an unmatched ability to colonize the gut and therefore maintain its health and promote longevity. In addition, most of the immunity cells in our body are located in the gut, and hence kefir helps us build the immunity. Convinced?

I got kefir grains, soft white particles, from Ulli, my friend and Auyurveda therapist, and started making it daily: 1 tablespoon grains to 1 cup of milk fermented for 12-24 hours gives you a cup of kefir daily. Just drain the grains, collect the kefir, thoroughly wash the grains and place in a clean jar with more milk for the next day.

I drink kefir as is or turn it into a cold soup, in a fashion you’d make Turkish cacık (the classic version or its zucchini variation) or Indian raita, only that I replace yogurt with kefir. I have been experimenting quite a bit with seasonings: sometimes it’s cooked green lentils, sometimes pan-roasted sunflower seeds, sometimes grated raw carrot and almost always a lot of herbs.

As the spring has arrived we start seeing the green peas here and there at the Istanbul markets, and so I thought they would be lovely in this soup. Plus, the green guys are rich in antioxidants (meaning they help preventing diseases) and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Green peas are a good source of vitamin B1 (boosting metabolism and nervous system) and vitamin K (your bone health). While some consider green peas a plain starch, they contain ah-so-desired omega-3 and omega-6 fats.

I cooked the peas by simmering them in a small quantity of water with turmeric, bay leave and olive oil. Turmeric’s sunshine-yellow color is a reason enough to use it more in your cooking. But besides the color it carries a respectable lot of health benefits: it’s a strong anti-oxidant and has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. Not at least, turmeric inhibits growth of bacteria, viruses and fungi, and can be effectively used in healing wounds. The spice cleanses blood and detoxifies liver. Curcumin, the active element in turmeric is fat-soluble, and so I added a bit of olive oil to the broth to extract the benefits of the spice.

Finally, bay leave helps with indigestion, respiratory problems and is believed to boost female’s reproductive function in many cultures. Think of it: all of a sudden the humble green peas dressed up a bit have turned into a health powerhouse.

I would not think to cook the peas with these aromatics before, but then during a recent class at Rouxbe I have learned how seasoning the water has a huge impact on the flavor of the vegetables you are boiling. The peas tasted beautiful, and I drank all the remaining stock.

Kefir, my turmeric-simmered peas, dill and mint made for the soup that has become my favorite snack that I sometimes include in a set of 2-4 dishes I sit down to for lunch or dinner. I know now you will ask me about this 2-4 dishes thing (some already have). I write much slower than I cook, so please bear with me and stay tuned to hear about my health-minded cooking and eating experiments.

Kefir Cacık with Turmeric Peas

Cacık is a favorite Turkish cold yogurt soup (even though my husband still denies its belonging to the “soup” category): refreshing and light it’s a popular accompaniment to heavy meals in summer. My kefir cacık serves the same purpose plus carries numerous health benefits, which practically makes it an edible medicine.

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min

Ingredients

4 cups kefir
1/3 cup finely chopped dill
1/3 cup finely chopped mint
fine sea salt, to taste

For the turmeric peas:
1 cup water
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup fresh peas
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 small bay leaf
1/2 tsp olive oil

dill and mint, for serving

Directions

Cook peas: Pour the water in a medium cooking pot, bring to a simmer and salt. Add turmeric, bay leave and the olive oil. Toss in the fresh peas and gently simmer covered for 7-10 min, or until the peas are soft but not disintegrating. You can either strain the cooked peas and keep the broth for drinking / making stock later or you can add the cooking liquid to the kefir soup.

Make cacık: Stir in the finely chopped dill and mint in the kefir. Ladle the herbed kefir in the serving bowls and divide the cooked peas (and their broth, if desired) among the bowls. Sprinkle with dill and mint and serve immediately.