Rolling and folding are richly rewarded with the fragrance and flavour packed in these Turkish flatbreads.
Feta and greens gözleme
A lot of rolling and folding go into making this Turkish flatbread, but when you bite into them all the hard work will be forgotten. The traditional filling is silverbeet, but we’ve added kale and fresh herbs for fragrance and flavour. A good sprinkle of salt at the end and a squeeze of lemon are non-negotiable. Start this recipe a day ahead to rest the dough.
Prep time 45 mins, cook 35 mins (plus resting)
Makes 6
300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
300 gm wholemeal plain flour
150 gm Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for drizzling and frying
Lemon wedges, to serve
Feta and greens filling
180 gm (about 1/ bunch) silverbeet, including 3 some stalks, coarsely chopped
70 gm kale, coarsely chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped mint
½ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp coarsely chopped oregano
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
½ onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground cumin
Pinch of ground allspice
250 gm feta, crumbled
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 Combine flours in a bowl with 1 tsp salt and make a well in the centre. Add yoghurt, oil and 260ml water to well and mix to form a rough dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Wrap in plastic wrap and stand overnight at room temperature to rest.
2 Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Working with a piece at a time, roll out as thinly as possible to form a rough 25cm x 45cm rectangle and drizzle with a little oil. Fold in half to form a square, then in half twice more to finish with a small square. Repeat rolling, drizzling and folding twice more. Set aside and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
3 For filling, combine greens, herbs and spring onion in a bowl, and combine onion, garlic and spices in a separate bowl. Roll a dough square to a rough 22cm x 30cm rectangle and, with a short edge nearest you, sprinkle the bottom half with a sixth of the filling ingredients starting with the silverbeet mixture, then the onion mixture, then feta, season generously and finish with a little lemon rind. Fold down top half of dough to cover, pinch edges to seal, then repeat with remaining dough and filling.
4 Heat a little oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat and fry gözleme one at a time, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through (5-6 minutes). Keep warm in a low oven while frying remaining gözleme, wiping out pan with paper towels between each. Cut into squares and serve with lemon wedges and extra salt.
Wine suggestion Crisp, dry Turkish white.
Salami and fennel pizza with burrata
It’s pretty hard for homemade pizza to measure up to those cooked in a wood-fired oven, but a good dough recipe and top-notch toppings help you get pretty close. If you don’t have a pizza stone, heat a couple of heavy steel baking trays in the oven and you’ll end up with a good crisp crust.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 20 mins (plus proving)
Makes 4 (pictured p90)
400 gm canned whole tomatoes, drained 2 anchovy fillets
2 whole garlic cloves, plus 1 extra, thinly sliced
140 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
12 thin slices hot sopressa, torn
12 thin slices mild sopressa, torn
2 baby fennel bulbs, thinly sliced on a mandolin, fronds reserved and a few tops thinly sliced, to serve
80 gm pecorino, finely grated
4 burrata
Pizza dough
2 tbsp olive oil
7 gm (1 sachet) dried yeast 1 tsp caster sugar
450 gm pizza flour
1 For pizza dough, combine olive oil, yeast, sugar, ½ tsp salt and 350ml lukewarm water in a bowl and set aside until creamy on top (2-3 minutes). Gradually add flour, mix until a rough dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes). Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand until doubled in size (1-1½ hours). Knock back dough, knead lightly, then return to bowl, cover and set aside again until doubled in size (45 minutes to 1 hour). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 250C and place 2 heavy oven trays in the oven to heat.
2 Process tomato, anchovies, whole garlic cloves and 50ml oil in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste and set aside.
3 Combine sliced garlic, chilli, and remaining oil in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until fragrant (2-3 minutes). Set aside.
4 Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, then form each into 30cm-diameter round with the palm of your hand or a rolling pin, and place on separate pieces of baking paper. Thinly spread reserved tomato mixture over bases, top with sopressa, fennel and pecorino, and drizzle with a little oil. Bake pizze, still on baking paper, in batches on heated trays, swapping trays halfway through cooking, until browned at the edges and cooked through (6-8 minutes). Top each with a burrata, fennel fronds and sliced fennel tops, drizzle with chilli oil to taste, season to taste and serve.
Wine suggestion Gutsy southern Italian red.
Pork skepasti
It could be said that this gyro classic is a little over the top, but what’s not to love about a sandwich stuffed with roast pork and hot chips? We’ve made small pita for this recipe, but shop-bought will work fine. Start this recipe a day ahead to dry the pork skin.
Prep time 30 mins, cook 50 mins (plus proving, cooling)
Makes 4 (pictured p91)
1 kg piece boneless pork belly, skin scored 2 tsp finely chopped thyme
2 tsp finely chopped oregano
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar
and pestle
½ tsp cumin seeds, crushed with a mortar
and pestle
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
and frying
3 sebago potatoes, peeled and cut into
7mm-thick chips
1 cup torn flat-leaf parsley
½ small Spanish onion, thinly sliced 2 pickled green chillies, thinly sliced
Finely grated lemon rind, to serve
Pita bread
300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
5 gm dried yeast
Sumac mayo
100 gm mayonnaise
100 gm Greek yoghurt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 tsp ground sumac, plus extra to serve
1 Place pork belly skin-side up on a wire rack in the sink. Pour boiling water over the skin until score marks open up, pat dry and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight for skin to dry out.
2 Preheat oven to 220C. Place pork skin-side down on a work surface and season. Combine thyme, oregano, garlic, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and half the paprika in a small bowl, scatter on pork belly, then roll into a cylinder and tie at intervals with kitchen string. Place skin-side up in a roasting tin, drizzle with a little olive oil, season generously with sea salt and roast until skin starts to crackle (25-30 minutes). Reduce oven to 150C and roast until just cooked through (10-15 minutes). Rest for 30 minutes, then thinly slice.>
3 Meanwhile, toss potatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil, season to taste and roast with pork at 220C until golden brown and crisp (25-30 minutes), then set aside. When ready to serve, return chips to the oven to warm through, then season to taste and toss with remaining paprika.
4 Meanwhile, for pita, stir flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt in a bowl to combine and make a well in the centre. Add 200ml lukewarm water to well and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead until smooth and elastic, cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature to prove slightly (30 minutes). Divide dough into 8 equal balls and roll out as thinly as possible on a lightly floured work surface. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook each flatbread, turning once, until lightly scorched on each side (2-3 minutes).
5 For sumac mayo, stir ingredients in a bowl to combine and season to taste.
6 Place half the pitas on a work surface and top with sliced pork. Drizzle with mayo, top with parsley, onion and chilli and a small handful of chips, scatter with lemon rind and extra sumac, season to taste and sandwich with remaining pita. 7 Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and fry skepastis in batches until golden brown on the base (1-2 minutes), then carefully turn over and repeat. Serve with extra chips.
Drink suggestion Cold Italian lager.
Aloo paratha
Look away if you’re carb-averse – this potato-filled Indian flatbread is a carb-on-carb triumph. The unyeasted dough is quick to make, and the filling is full of spice. Little florets of roasted cauliflower would make a great addition, too.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 45 mins (plus resting)
Makes 4
300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75 gm ( 1/ cup) plain wholemeal flour
2
¼ tsp baking powder
Ghee, for frying
Lime wedges and thinly sliced green chilli, to serve
Spiced potato filling
500 gm chat potatoes, coarsely chopped 2 tbsp ghee
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 long green chilli, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander 1 tsp garam masala
1 For filling, cover potatoes with plenty of cold salted water in a large saucepan, bring to the boil and cook until tender when pierced with a knife (12-15 minutes). Drain well and coarsely mash. Melt ghee in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion and fry, stirring occasionally, until caramelised (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in ginger, chilli, garlic and cumin seeds, add to potato, mix to combine, then stir in coriander and garam masala, and season to taste.
2 Combine flours and baking powder in a bowl with 1 tsp salt, make a well in the centre then add 250ml water to well and mix to form a rough dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes). Stand at room temperature to rest for 15 minutes, then divide into 4 equal pieces.
3 Preheat oven to 150C. Roll a piece of dough to an 18cm-diameter round. Form a quarter of the potato filling into a loose patty and place in the centre of the dough. Fold dough over the filling to form a pouch and pinch edges to seal. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand, turn seam-side down and roll out to a 1.5cm-thick round. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
4 Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a frying pan over medium heat and fry parathas one at a time until golden brown on the base (1-2 minutes), then turn and repeat. Place on a wire rack over a tray and keep warm in a low oven while you cook remaining. Serve hot with lime wedges and green chilli.
Drink suggestion Indian lager.
Tarte flambée
In the world of flatbread, it doesn’t get much easier than this. Three simple ingredients top this classic from Alsace, but it’s all about the finer detail. Slice the onion as thinly as possible and use flavourful smoky bacon or speck. Bake the bread until it’s scorched on the edges, too – it’s all the better for it.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 12 mins (plus proving)
Makes 2
7 gm (1 sachet) dried yeast
200 gm bread flour, plus extra for dusting 50 gm (⅓ cup) buckwheat flour
Vegetable oil, for greasing
150 gm crème fraîche
½ onion, sliced as thinly as possible on a mandolin
120 gm smoky bacon or speck, cut into lardons Finely grated nutmeg, to taste
Thyme, to serve
1 Dissolve yeast in 180ml lukewarm water in a bowl and set aside until foamy (10-15 minutes). Add flours and ½ tsp salt, mix to form a soft dough, then knead until smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes). Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover bowl with plastic wrap and stand until doubled in size (1-1½ hours).
2 Preheat oven to 250C and heat 2 heavy baking trays in oven. Knock back dough on a lightly floured surface and halve. Roll each piece as thinly as possible to a rough 25cm x 30cm rectangle, then place on a piece of baking paper. Spread each with half the crème fraîche, scatter with onion and bacon. Sprinkle with nutmeg, season to taste, then transfer on baking paper to heated trays and bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, until cooked through and lightly scorched on the edges (10-12 minutes). Scatter with thyme, season to taste and serve.
Wine suggestion Riesling from Alsace.