Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Go Gozleme!

Leaving the Topkapi Palace turn right. Then turn left and start walking. There is a restaurant with an open window. Inside are women making stuffed griddle cakes on a saç -- an enormous, gas-heated, upside-down, slightly convex contraption. I had seen versions of this in Morocco and India, but never in a restaurant. Since I can't resist a food show, I stopped and watched. One woman pinched off hunks of dough and formed them into balls. The balls were rolled extremely thin with a dowel-like rolling pin into large (about 18-inch long) ovals, and filled with cooked ground beef, onions, cheeses, spinach or a combination of these. The fillings were spread over each of the flat circles and then the whole thing was folded, cooked and cut into nine pieces. 

I made a beeline for the door, was seated, reclining on Kilim cushions and ordered my Gozleme -- that's the name of these filled griddle cakes -- filled with spinach and  gooey cheese (they called it yellow cheese, but it was very creamy, like Meunster or Brick cheese.

Folks, these were delicious and right up my alley.  These pancakes satisfied  all my eating sensibilities since they are from one of my favorite food categories; hot stuffed dough.

Restaurants all over Turkey serve Gozleme, I cam to find out.

Since taking a saç griddle home with me in my carry-on didn't seem likely, I re-imagined these made on my crepe machine. 

I couldn't begin to figure out  a recipe for these, so I found one online that looks mighty good. When I get home to try this, I'll see for myself it this works. Below is the link and the recipe.





Gozleme http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/172/Gozleme

Sammi from Rozelle Markets shares her special gozleme recipe with Food Lovers Guide to Australia's Joanna Savill and Maeve O'Meara.

For a tasty variation on gozleme, try Mary Gavalas' gozleme recipe. Also, browse ourTurkish recipes for more gourmet inspiration.

Ingredients

The Dough 
2 cups plain flour, unbleached
2 cups wholemeal flour
Some extra plain flour for dusting
1 tsp salt luke warm water
½ cup vegetable oil e.g.canola
(Makes six gozleme)

The Filling
2 cups grated feta cheese or a mixture of feta and another cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta)
2 cups finely chopped silver beet or spinach leaves (no stems)
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
½ cup chopped spring onion
½ cup diced brown onion

Mixed with the following:
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp mixed dried herbs (e.g. oregano, sage) 

Minced Meat Filling (optional)

½ kg minced lamb
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika (hot or mild) pickled or fresh red chillies (to taste)
1 medium carrot grated
½ cup of pureed tomato or juice olive oil for frying

Preparation

DoughSift the flours and salt and mix with 1 ½ cups of water in an electric mixer with a dough hook or knead by hand for at least ten minutes.

Keep adding more water a little at a time until you get a very pliable, elastic dough that is easy to knead, but not so watery that it is too sticky to handle. Rubber gloves dusted in flour make the handling easier.

Dust frequently with the extra flour.

Allow the dough to stand, covered, overnight (at least 10 hours).

When ready to cook, divide the dough into six round portions. Dust with flour.

Roll one of the rounds flat with a rolling pin on a flour-dusted surface, into a rectangle shape, as thinly as possible.

Sprinkle on about a teaspoon of oil, then fold over into a square. Fold over twice more into a square. Repeat the dusting, rolling out to a large rectangle, folding, oiling, dusting process three more times.

Repeat the entire process for each of the six rounds. You should end up with six neatly folded, labour-intensive squares! 

Filling and Cooking

Take one of the folded dough squares and roll it out very thinly for the final time, into a large square. Sprinkle on the filling sparingly - as you would for a pizza topping but on half of the square only.

Start with a layer of cheese. Mix the spinach, mint, spring onion and parsley together in a bowl, and add some of this as the next layer. Top with some of the herb-spice-onion mixture.

If desired, add a little of the cooked savoury minced lamb mixture, as the last layer. (For the lamb - pan fry the mince in a little oil until browned, add the other ingredients and continue cooking until the carrot has softened. Add the tomato juice as the mixture begins to dry out. Continue to cook on a low heat for another five minutes.)

Fold over the uncovered half of the square to cover the filling. Press down lightly all over. Cook on pre-heated oiled BBQ hotplate or large skillet, but not too hot, because it should take about ten minutes to cook through, without burning. Turn often. Cut into smaller squares and serve with lemon wedges.

1 comment:

  1. Yum! My stomach is growling! I may have to try this on the big green egg.

    ReplyDelete