Iskender casserole with feta cheese sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g veal or turkey, shredded
• 2 red bell peppers, quartered and cut into strips
• 1 onion(s), quartered and cut into rings
• 1 garlic clove(s), ground into a puree with a little salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Thyme
• oregano
• Mint, as desired
• salt and pepper
• 1 can of tomatoes, good quality
• 1 tsp honey
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• ½ tsp paprika (Pul biber, Turkish flat paprika, very hot)
• 200 g sheep’s cheese
• 200 ml milk
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 garlic cloves, ground into a puree with a little salt
• salt and pepper
• Parsley, as desired
• ½ flatbread(s), Turkish
• olive oil
• Olives, black
• Parsley, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

Variation of the traditional Iskender Kebab in a casserole dish

We put the meat in a bowl with bell peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, and spices, and let it marinate, covered, for at least 2 hours. The longer you marinate, the more intense the flavor will be. I usually do this in the morning for dinner. Then we briefly sear the meat and vegetables in a pan. Transfer the tomatoes for the sauce to a bowl and roughly chop them with a knife. Then we add the spices and honey. The sauce is seasoned to taste and left to cool. For the feta cheese sauce, we take a little milk and mix it with the cornstarch. Melt the crumbled feta cheese in the remaining milk over low heat, season with garlic, salt, and pepper. While stirring, we bring the sauce to a very brief boil, add the mixed cornstarch, and let it simmer briefly. It doesn’t matter if there are still a few tiny bits of cheese left—quite the opposite. Finally, we stir in the chopped parsley. We cut the flatbread into strips about 2 cm thick, brush them with olive oil and roast them in the oven until crispy and golden yellow. Up to this point, the individual components can be prepared very well and then, while the oven heats up to 200°C (top and bottom heat), we begin layering the casserole: First, the toasted bread goes into a casserole dish, followed by the seared meat and vegetables, then the cold tomato sauce and finally the feta cheese sauce. Now the casserole goes into the preheated oven at 200°C (top and bottom heat) for about 15 minutes and can then be served immediately. You can garnish with a few black olives and parsley. You can read more interesting information about this casserole in the forum at http://www.chefkoch.de/forum/2,32,523864/Iskender-Auflauf-mit-Schafskaesesauce.html, including suggestions for suitable starters and desserts.