Turkish style Gozleme with Leeks

We can’t travel the world at the moment, but we can take our tastebuds around the world, and this Turkish inspired bread is really simple to make and so delicious!  This is our take on a Turkish Gozleme style bread, with wonderful British Leeks adding a great oniony flavour, as well as being a great source of gut friendly pre-biotics. It can be easily adapted to be vegan/dairy-free too, as there is no milk or eggs in the pastry.  Just simply substitute the cheese with a dairy-free version that melts well.

This simple recipe can easily be adapted to use with other veg in your fridge, but we think it’s a great way to enjoy seasonal British Leeks.  Remember to use the whole leek, not just the white and light green part.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Pastry

• 375g plain wheat flour 
• 85ml rapeseed oil (or olive oil is fine)
• 185ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 whole leek (including the dark green leaves)
• 2garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tblsp oil
• 1tsp black pepper
• 150g feta style cheese(or vegan/dairy-free cheese)
• 100g mozzarella cheese, sliced into small cubes (or vegan/dairy-free cheese)

Method – Pastry

• Combine wheat flour, oil, water & salt in a bowl and mix together well. Knead pastry with your hands until it is a pliable, smooth ball, not sticky. If the pastry is too sticky, adjust with a sprinkle of extra flour, or water if too dry. Kneading time, approx. 6 to 7 minutes. 
• Cover and rest for 20 minutes (whilst pastry is resting, make the filling)
• Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut pastry into 4 equal sized pieces
• Roll out into approx. 35cm x 20cm rectangle, and about 2 cm thick

Method – Filling

• Wash the leeks to remove all dirt, and drain. Finely dice (to the size of diced onion)
• Crush the garlic
• Heat oil in a pan and gently fry the garlic until softened. Add the diced leeks and gently fry until softened also. Add black pepper and stir through.  Remove from the pan and let cool for 5 minutes.  Drain off any excess oil.
• Crumble the feta cheese into small pieces, and slice the mozzarella to the same size as the crumbled feta.
• Once the leek and garlic has cooled, combine with the cheese in a bowl and stir through.

Method – Assembling the gozleme bread

• Spread the leek & garlic filling on half the pastry, pushing to the edge.
• Fold the other side of the pastry over to cover the filling. Press down the edges, pressing out excess air pockets trapped inside. Use water if needed to seal the pastry together well.

Method – Cooking the gozleme bread

• Heat 1.5 tbsp of oil in a large flat pan over a medium high heat.
• Slide the gozleme bread into the pan. Cook, lightly pressing down (including the edges), until there is a lovely deep golden and crispy texture – about 3 – 4 minutes. Flip over and cook the other side, pressing down lightly, until crispy.
• Serve immediately, and you can reheat any leftovers in a pan or oven.