Easy Gözleme with Filo, Cheese and Spinach - Kolay Gözleme Recipe
by Ozlem Warren
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Easy
When I am short of time, instead of making gözleme with homemade dough, I make this easy version using filo sheets (in İstanbul it would be fresh yufka sheets) and it certainly delivers gözleme vibes. Here I have used spinach and spring onions, as well as cheese for the filling, though you can also use olives and other greens and vegetables.
Ingredients for Kolay Gözleme Serves: 3
Ingredients for the Filling
- 200g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 4 spring onions trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 150g beyaz peynir or feta, drained and crumbled
- 110g taze kasar or medium Cheddar, grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Kolay Gözleme
- First prepare the filling. Put the spinach and spring onions in a large bowl, season with a little salt (bearing mind that beyaz peynir/feta is salty too) and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil and, using your hands, give everything a good mix. This will wilt the spinach and infuse the flavours. Add the cheeses and combine everything.
- Pour the water and olive oil into a small bowl and mix. Place the filo sheets on a dry, clean surface and cover with a slightly damp tea towel so they don’t dry out. Take two sheets and place them horizontally, one on top of each other, so that one of the longest sides is nearest you. Spoon about 140 g (5 oz) of filling in the centre of the top sheet, spreading it in a rectangle measuring 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 in), leaving a margin of 5 cm (2 in) top and bottom and 14 cm (5 1/2 in) either side. Fold the bottom and top edges over the filling and the brush both edges with the water and olive oil mixture. Then fold the right side over, followed by the left side, to make a parcel. Brush all the edges with the water and olive oil mixture to seal the parcel.
- Place on a baking tray (pan) and cover with a damp tea towel so it stays moist. Swiftly make two more gözleme parcels in this way. Fold the last sheet of filo in half and spoon the remaining filling (you should have about 70 g (2 1/2 oz) in the centre and make a smaller one following the same process.
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Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a non-stick pan, brush the surface and place over a medium-high heat. When hot, put a gözleme parcel in the pan and cook for a minute. Brush the top with olive oil while the bottom part is cooking. Flip over the parcel using a fish slice and cook the other side for a minute too. Brush the top side with olive oil and then flip again and cook for another 30 seconds or until darker golden. Brush the top side with olive oil, flip and cook another 30 seconds or so. Place the cooked gözleme on a clean, dry tray and cook the remaining gözleme in the same way, drizzling a little olive oil into the pan, before placing each gözleme at the beginning. Slice and serve warm with a refreshing salad, perhaps Çoban Salatası (page 202).
About the author
Originally from Turkey, Özlem is passionate about sharing her homeland's culinary heritage. Her journey began in 2005 when she taught Turkish cookery classes at the Central Market Cooking School in Texas. Moving to England in 2009, Özlem launched her Turkish recipe blog, "Özlem's Turkish Table," connecting with food lovers worldwide. Today, she teaches in many prestigious cookery schools, and has written several cookbooks about the food of Turkey.
