Gözleme
Spinach and Cheese Flatbread
Gözleme is a very thin flatbread, rolled until almost translucent, cooked briefly on a hot griddle, filled with spinach and cheese and returned to the heat until it blisters. It is street food that is easy to make at home with an ordinary frying pan.
The magazine recipe read makes eight flatbreads from a dough of 250 g of flour, a little oil and 160 ml of water, rolled to about 22 cm and part-cooked for 10 seconds in a hot pan, then filled and charred for 30 to 40 seconds.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 250 g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp olive oil or melted butter
- 160 ml lukewarm water
For the filling
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 450 g frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 tsp Turkish red pepper flakes or paprika
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 20 g kaşar cheese or pecorino, grated
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 80 ml whole milk
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Make the dough Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, make a well and add the water and oil. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Divide into 8 balls, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20 minutes.
- Cook the filling Melt the butter in a frying pan and soften the onion and garlic for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the spinach, pepper flakes, nutmeg and cheese and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle over the flour, add the milk and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until thick. Season and cool.
- Roll and part-cook Roll each ball on a floured surface to a thin round of about 22 cm. Heat a dry heavy pan until very hot and cook each round for about 10 seconds, until bubbles form. Stack on a plate with parchment between.
- Fill and finish Spread about 2 tbsp of filling over the cooked side of each round. Return to the hot pan, filling side up, for 30 to 40 seconds until charred in spots. Serve at once, rolled up or folded.
Roll as thin as you can. A thick dough makes a heavy bread.
Squeeze the spinach dry or the flatbreads turn soggy.