Gözleme

A couple of years ago, we had a wonderful vacation in Antalya, Turkey. Staying at the Titanic Resort was a true pleasure. It was the best holiday location ever, according to our kids. There were plenty of pools to swim in and food/drinks were available all day.

Everyday, this lady made gözleme. Gözleme is a hearty traditional Turkish dish. It's mainly made by women and completely handmade. The fresh pastry is rolled out, filled and sealed and then cooked over a griddle.

Lana doesn't like spinach and she's not fond of feta either. But she would pay you for making her a good portion of spinach and feta gözleme. So maybe I'll surprise her this weekend with one of her favorite dishes.

What do you need?

• 1 sachet of dried yeast
• a pinch of salt
• 300 ml warm water
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup oil
• 100 gr spinach leaves
• 200 gr feta, crumbled

How do we make gözleme?

• Combine the warm water with the yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Stir with a fork. Cover with foil and let it sit in a warm place, until foam appears on the yeast.
• Sift the flour. Add the yeast and 2 tablespoons of oil. Make a soft dough. Knead it real well until you have an elastic dough. Cut the dough in 4 equal pieces, place them on a greased baking tray and cover with a damp cloth. Let it sit for 20 min.
• Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle.
• Top one half of the dough with spinach and feta and season with salt and pepper. Fold over the dough and press to seal.
• Brush one side of the gözleme with oil. Bake that side in a dry, hot pan. Flip it over, after you have oiled the other side. Cook until golden and crisp. Cut into quarters. Serve hot.