TurkishGözleme with spinach and feta
Ispanaklı peynirli gözleme: thin griddled flatbread with a spinach and white cheese filling
On roadsides and at weekly village markets across central Anatolia, women sit cross-legged by a domed iron griddle (saç), rolling dough paper-thin with a long thin rolling pin (oklava), filling it and cooking it to order. This is gözleme: a soft, blistered parcel of unleavened dough wrapped round spinach and salty white cheese, brushed with butter as it comes off the heat. Eat it hot, folded in paper, with a glass of ayran. A big frying pan or flat griddle at home does the job. Chef's tip: roll the dough so thin you can almost see the worktop through it; thick gözleme tastes doughy and the filling stays cold.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 540 kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
- 14 oz plain flourplus extra for rolling
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the filling
- 10 ½ oz fresh spinachwashed, dried and finely chopped
- 1 onionsmall, finely chopped
- 7 oz Turkish white cheese (beyaz peynir) or fetacrumbled; choose one made with vegetarian rennet
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
To cook
- 1 ⅜ oz buttermelted
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour and ⅞ tsp salt in a bowl, add 1 cup warm water and 2 tbsp olive oil and bring together. Knead for 5 minutes until soft, smooth and slightly tacky, like an earlobe.
5 minStep 2: Divide into 4 balls, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20 minutes. Resting relaxes the dough so it rolls out thin without shrinking back.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile put 10 ½ oz fresh spinach and 1 onion in a bowl with the rest of ⅝ tsp salt and squeeze and rub them with your hands for 1–2 minutes until the spinach has shrunk by half. Squeeze out all the green juice. A wet filling is the most common mistake: it soaks and tears the thin dough.
3 minStep 4: Mix the squeezed spinach with 7 oz Turkish white cheese (beyaz peynir) or feta, 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (pul biber) and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
Step 5: On a floured worktop roll one ball into a thin round about 40 cm across, turning and dusting it so it doesn't stick.
Step 6: Spread a quarter of the filling over one half, leaving a 2 cm border. Fold the other half over and press the edges to seal, giving a half-moon. Make the rest the same way, keeping finished ones under a cloth.
Step 7: Heat a large, dry frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Cook one gözleme for 2–3 minutes until it puffs in places and has brown blisters underneath.
3 minStep 8: Brush the top with 1 ⅜ oz butter, flip, and cook for 2 minutes more until spotted brown on the second side. Brush with a little more butter as it comes out. Repeat with the rest.
2 minStep 9: Cut into wide strips or squares and serve hot with lemon wedges and ayran.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 540 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 75 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gözleme with spinach and feta take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fresh spinach?
- Frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed: about a third of the weight.
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