Every culture has some sort of hand pie it seems. Gozlemes are a Turkish flatbread typically stuffed with a savory filling and grilled until golden brown. The stuffings range from minced lamb to chicken to various vegetables and cheeses, depending on the preferences of the cook and what may be available. The ones I’ve made here are stuffed with leftover potatoes, spinach, onions and cheese.
No special bread making skills are needed to make gozlemes.
You start with what may be the easiest flatbread dough ever. It’s just flour, salt and water. The dough has time to rest while the filling is prepared. For a fat free dough, the end result is nice and flaky, almost like pie crust. You can tell it’s going to be good just by looking at it.
What fillings can I use?
The flatbreads are placed on top of a griddle to cook the dough and warm the filling once assembled. Since the filling is prepared ahead of time, gozlemes are a great way to use up leftovers. Traditional fillings include:
- ground beef or lamb with crumbly farmer’s cheese like feta
- other meats and seafood
- mushrooms
- vegetables
- eggs
- cheeses
- herbs
As you can see there’s a lot of variety so feel free to use whatever you have on hand and suits your mood.
The original recipe I followed had a chicken, spinach and feta filling. I found it when browsing through a cookbook this summer. At the time I snapped a photo of the page and saved it on my phone in a note keeping app. Have you ever done that? I’ve stored lots of recipes that way. They’re like my “stash”
I had leftover potatoes and decided to make a flexitarian version of gozlemes. For the seasoning I used garam masala, ground cumin, garlic and the last bit of fresh parsley. I’ll give the amounts I used below but I want you to feel free to season your fillings the way you like. Aim for between three or four cups of filling and you should have plenty.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 cups flour (I mixed whole wheat and plain flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
For the filling
- oil for cooking
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced (about a cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (more or less)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (or curry powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (more or less)
- 3 cups cooked potatoes (mine had been peeled, diced and boiled)
- 4 oz frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped finely (I eyeballed a large serving of frozen spinach)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup grated hard cheese (I used cheddar)
- sour cream, tomato sauce, chopped herbs for serving
Instructions
For the dough
- Mix the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add about half the water and begin stirring together to make a shaggy dough. Keep adding water a little at a time until the bits of dough start to stick together and form a ball, more or less.
- Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead for 5 minutes or so until the dough becomes soft and elastic. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking. If your mixing bowl is large enough you can do this step right in the bowl.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest while you prepare the filling
For the filling
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat along with a pinch of red pepper flakes
- Add the onion and saute for several minutes until softened and beginning to change color
- Stir in the garlic and seasonings and cook for another minute or so
- Next add the potatoes, stirring to coat well in the oil and seasoning. When warmed through use a potato masher to break up the potato. It doesn't have to be smooth.
- Add the spinach, again stirring well to mix with everything else. Use the potato masher as needed to get a nice mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired
- Remove from heat.
Prepare the gozlemes
- Divide the dough into 2 to 4 portions (depending on the size of the pan you plan to cook them in). Roll a piece into a long oval.
- Portion the filling onto one half of the oval and spread evenly about an inch from the edge. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Fold the other half of the oval over the filling. Use your hands to even out the filling and press out the air trapped between the layers. Use a fork to seal the edges. Set aside. Repeat for the other portions of dough.
- Cover the bottom of a large skillet or griddle with a small amount of oil. (NOTE if using a grill pan, brush the oil onto the gozleme before cooking) When hot, reduce the heat to medium and add a gozleme to the pan. Cook for 3 minute a side or until the dough is nicely browned, flip to cook the other side. You can flip more than once. When finished, remove the gozleme from the pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the others, adding more oil as necessary.
- Allow to cool slightly before cutting into serving sizes.
- Serve with sour cream, yogurt or tomato sauce for dipping and garnish with fresh herbs as desired.
Notes
More Turkish Recipes to Try:
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