Gözleme with Cheese

Sample Dishes from Turkish Cuisine

Gözleme with Cheese (Peynirli Gözleme)

Preparation

Sift the flour into a large dish and reserve 1 cup . Add 1 1/4 tablespoon salt to the remaining flour, mix and make a whole in the center. Blend the yeast and sugar with ¼ cup water, pour into the hole and sprinkle with some flour. Leave in a warm environment for about 10 minutes to allow the yeast to rise. Add the remaining water gradually and make a soft dough. Knead for five minutes until it no longer sticks to hand, and leave to rise for an hour keeping the warm temperature stable. Crush the cheese, wash, separate and finely chop the parsley and add to the cheese, mix and divide into ten portions. Put flour on hands and divide the dough into ten pieces forming them into balls. Use the remaining flour and roll out each ball until half a milimeter thick. Brush with oil. Fold opposite sides of the round pastry together, bringing edges together at the center. Spread cheese filling over half of the pastry. Fold 1 cm. of the round edge of the side with the cheese over the filling and cover the filling with the other half, shaping the round pastry into a rectangle. Press the the edges to seal lightly. Heat griddle, grease with margarine and place the gözleme. When the first side is browned, grease and flip the other side and brown.

Servings: 10

Nutritional Value
(in approximately one serving)

Notes

It is mostly made in the Central Anatolia Region. White cheese can be replaced with other types of cheese such as "çökelek" or "lor". It is known as "Çökelekli" in Tokat and as "Sıkma" in İçel. Onions and spices are also added to the filling. When sıkma is prepared, first the pastry is baked, then the filling is placed and the pastry is rolled, and both ends are pinched in to seal. In Sinop condensed yogurt is used as filling. In Tekirdağ the gözlemes are greased after browning and milk is poured over them. This version is called "Çürük Gözleme". Today there are special gözleme houses or stands in the cities. It is served with ayran (diluted yogurt drink) and fruit juices and is consumed as a fast-food.