Recipe of the month: Gözleme with Spinach & Feta Cheese

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating

May the Year of the Tiger bring you and your loved ones joy, hope and good fortune 🐯

And now, with a (sorta) long weekend lazily stretched out for the folks living in my part of the world, let's talk about food, shall we? 

For reasons unknown to me, it appears as if I posted more recipes for desserts than savoury dishes on the blog last year. It is surprising since I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I only make desserts once in a while. This year the trend ought to be reversed and in my head, I already have a list of savoury recipes that I would like to share with you. Oh! but now that I think about it, Valentine's Day is coming up and I foresee an amazing dessert and (possibly) a recipe post in the near future 😛

If you have been consistently following my blog, you may recall that I posted a recipe for Turkish pide after attending a Turkish cooking class sometime late last year. The recipe that I have for you today has been adapted from the same class. My love for Turkish food and beverages is well documented so I am not going there today. 

Gözleme is a savoury Turkish stuffed turnover. The word gözleme is derived from the Turkish word közleme, meaning "to grill/cook on the embers". 

The dough is usually unleavened and made only with flour, salt and water but gözleme can be made from yeast dough as well. The dough is rolled thin and then filled with various toppings, sealed and cooked over a hot griddle. This crispy, golden flatbread is stuffed with tasty fillings that vary by region and personal preference. Once can choose from a variety of spiced meats (minced beef, chopped lamb, fresh or smoked seafood, sujuk, pastirma), vegetables (spinach, zucchini, eggplant, leeks, peppers), mushrooms (porcino, chanterelle, truffle), tubers (potatoes, yam, radish), cheeses (feta, Turkish white cheese, lavaş, Beyaz peynir, çökelek, Kasseri, and Kashkaval) as well as eggs, seasonal herbs, and spices. 

Originally a breakfast item or light homemade snack, the comfort food nature of gözleme has allowed it to achieve fast-food status in Turkey in the later part of the twentieth century. One can find both simple and gourmet preparations ranging from the traditional (sautéed minced beef and onion; spinach and feta; potato and chive) to the contemporary (chocolate and orange zest; walnut and banana with honey; smoked salmon and eggs) proliferating across the country's restaurants, cafes, and food carts. 

This particular recipe for gözleme consists of a yeast dough and a classic spinach and feta filling. It turned out to be a super easy recipe and my family loved the delicious flatbreads. This recipe yields 8 fairly large gözleme. Toss up a simple salad and make eggs of your choice and you have a great brunch right there.

If you want a variation, you can make the same quantity of dough as mentioned in the recipe but make only half the amount of spinach-feta filling. You can then make 4 gözleme and use the rest of the dough to make 4 Turkish pide (get the recipe here). Two dishes for slightly more than the effort of one - that's a win in my books.  

This is from the time that I did both 😊

If this Turkish flatbread is something you have never tried before I hope I have inspired you to do so.

Gözleme with Spinach & Feta Cheese

Preparation time: 1 hr 15 min

Cooking time:~25-30 min

Makes: 8 large gözleme: Serves 8-10 as a main

Recipe category: Breakfast or Appetizer/Turkish

Recipe level: Easy

Recipe source: Adapted from a recipe by Chef Serdar Yener

Ingredients:

For the dough:

550gm bread flour

1 tsp refined sugar

1 tsp dried yeast 

350ml lukewarm water

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

For the filling:

4 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Lemon wedges to serve, Optional

Method:

1. Add the bread flour to a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the sugar, yeast and half the quantity of lukewarm water. Mix within the area of the well and cover it up with the rest of the flour and pat down. Keep aside uncovered for 20-25 min. 

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine all the ingredients for the filling except the extra virgin olive oil. 

BTW, this is the brand of feta cheese I use in Singapore. I like the flavour and the texture of this brand

Get your (clean) hands in there and give the ingredients a good squishing/squelching. Sorry if that sounds gross but just do it okay? Taste to adjust seasoning. Stash in the fridge until use. 

3. If the yeast is active, you will see cracks start to appear on the surface of the flour. Add the remaining water, salt and olive oil. Knead until the dough is pliable and smooth. Oil the bowl and leave the dough to rest covered for about an hour to double in size. 

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a few more minutes and shape into a log. Cut into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls. Make sure you knead each ball well. Cover the balls with a damp cloth. 

5. There are two ways you can roll and manipulate the dough. 

The first method: With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a circular shape. Sprinkle a little flour while rolling. Put 3 tbsp of the spinach-feta filling onto half of the dough, spread it out a little, fold the other half over to form a semicircle and seal the edges firmly with your finger tips or crimp with a fork. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Drizzle a little olive oil. Cook the gözleme in the pan, 2-3 minutes on each side.

The second method: With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a larger circular shape. Sprinkle a little flour while rolling. Put 3 tbsp of the spinach-feta filling in the middle, spread it out a little, fold two opposite edges over the filling so that they overlap each other and then the other two opposite edges so it looks like a rectangular package. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook the gözleme in the pan, 2-3 minutes on each side.

6. Transfer the cooked gözleme onto a large plate. Brush with more olive oil if desired. Cover with a paper towel to keep warm. 

7. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough and filling. Serve whole or cut with a sharp knife or pizza cutter into quarters. Serve with lemon wedges.

8. Enjoy

Notes:

• You can also add fresh parsley and fresh mozzarella cheese into the filling
• You can add red chilli flakes instead of black pepper
• If you don't have onion powder you can skip it. If you don't have garlic powder then just used 2-3 pods of finely minced fresh garlic

Cheers,

Megha