And now, with a (sorta) long weekend lazily stretched out for the folks living in my part of the world, let's talk about food, shall we? 

For reasons unknown to me, it appears as if I posted more recipes for desserts than savoury dishes on the blog last year. It is surprising since I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I only make desserts once in a while. This year the trend ought to be reversed and in my head, I already have a list of savoury recipes that I would like to share with you. Oh! but now that I think about it, Valentine's Day is coming up and I foresee an amazing dessert and (possibly) a recipe post in the near future 😛

If you have been consistently following my blog, you may recall that I posted a recipe for Turkish pide after attending a Turkish cooking class sometime late last year. The recipe that I have for you today has been adapted from the same class. My love for Turkish food and beverages is well documented so I am not going there today. 

Gözleme is a savoury Turkish stuffed turnover. The word gözleme is derived from the Turkish word közleme, meaning "to grill/cook on the embers". 

The Dough is usually unleavened and made only with flour, salt and water but gözleme can be made from yeast dough as well. The dough is rolled thin and then filled with various toppings, sealed and cooked over a hot griddle. This crispy, golden flatbread is stuffed with tasty fillings that vary by region and personal preference. Once can choose from a variety of spiced meats (minced beef, chopped lamb, fresh or smoked seafood, sujuk, pastirma), vegetables (spinach, zucchini, eggplant, leeks, peppers), mushrooms (porcino, chanterelle, truffle), tubers (potatoes, yam, radish), cheeses (feta, Turkish white cheese, lavaş, Beyaz peynir, çökelek, Kasseri, and Kashkaval) as well as eggs, seasonal herbs, and spices. 

Originally a breakfast item or light homemade snack, the comfort food nature of gözleme has allowed it to achieve fast-food status in Turkey in the later part of the twentieth century. One can find both simple and gourmet preparations ranging from the traditional (sautéed minced beef and onion; spinach and feta; potato and chive) to the contemporary (chocolate and orange zest; walnut and banana with honey; smoked salmon and eggs) proliferating across the country's restaurants, cafes, and food carts. 

This particular recipe for gözleme consists of a yeast dough and a classic spinach and feta filling. It turned out to be a super easy recipe and my family loved the delicious flatbreads. This recipe yields 8 fairly large gözleme. Toss up a simple salad and make eggs of your choice and you have a great brunch right there!

If you want a variation, you can make the same quantity of dough as mentioned in the recipe but make only half the amount of spinach-feta filling. You can then make 4 gözleme and use the rest of the dough to make 4 Turkish pide (get the recipe here). Two dishes for slightly more than the effort of one - that's a win in my books!  

This is from the time that I did both 😊