This spinach and feta gozleme recipe never gets old! The recipe consists of an easy 3 ingredient homemade dough rolled and filled with a creamy mix of spinach feta and green onions!
Gozleme is basically a flatbread stuffed with many different fillings. The most common ones are ground beef or lamb and of course spinach and feta! This popular Turkish street food can be prepared in the comfort of our home in around 30-40 minutes.
The dough comes together super quickly, and the measurements are simple and straightforward! Since the dough doesn’t have any rising agents, it can even be made the night ahead. This can be done by refrigerating the dough in an airtight container, and then left to come at room temperature for an hour or so. I am a huge fan of Turkish food!
One of my favorite things is sarma, aka. dolma, which is more of a main dish. But for breakfast, I love to have bourek or a simple one-pan feta menemen.
How to make dough for gozleme?
- Add the flour and salt into a bowl and mix well. Make a well in the center and pour the warm water and oil. Mix everything well together with a spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then transfer the dough to the counter and knead for 5 minutes.
- The dough can also be mixed in a stand mixer at low speed. Form the dough for the gozleme into a bowl and leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes. While I leave the dough to rest, I usually like to prepare the spinach and feta filling. Once the dough has rested, divide the dough into 2equal bowls. Or divide it into four and make four smaller ones.
Spinach and feta gozleme filling
Spinach and feta gozleme is one of my all-time favorite fillings. It’s refreshing, salty with a little bit of tang from the feta, and perfect for breakfast with a glass of yogurt. It also goes great served as a side dish with soups, and it’s great to make ahead for parties served next to different baked delights such as this savory cornbread recipe.
A few spinach and feta gozleme recipe tips:
- Give the dough enough time to rest so it gets softer and will roll way easily as compared to if you roll the dough right away.
- Fry the spinach, then add the cheese off heat. This would make sure the fillings get spread easily, and there is excess water in the filling. It’s always better to use baby spinach but if you use bigger leaves, make sure to fry for a bit longer.
- Use a cast-iron pan to fry the spinach and feta gozleme for the best results. This would give that signature golden brown color and a crispy exterior. A nonstick pan can also be used, and the taste would still be delicious, but the crust gets way better if fried in a cast iron pan.
You’ll also love to try:
Turkish Lentil Soup Recipe
Chickpea Pancakes – Socca
Potato Frittata Recipe
Spinach And Feta Gozleme
Ingredients
Dough:
- 200 g 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g a little bit less than 1/2 cup warm water
- 40 g 6 tbsp olive oil
Filling:
- 150 g 5 cups of baby spinach see notes if using regular spinach
- 1 green onion
- 150 g 2 cups grated feta cheese
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil – for the filling
- 3-4 tbsp tbsp olive oil – for frying
Instructions
Dough:
- Sift the flour and transfer it to a medium bowl. Add the salt and give it a quick mix.
- Make a well in the center and add the warm water, followed by the olive oil. Mix everything with a spoon until shaggy dough forms.
- Continue and knead with your hand until all the flour has been incorporated. Transfer the dough to the counter and continue kneading for another 5 minutes (you can absolutely do this step in a stand mixer, on low speed).
- Form a ball and transfer the dough back to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.
Filling:
- Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add the olive oil in. Dice the green onion and roughly chop the spinach.
- Add the green onions to the pan, and then toss the spinach in. Fry for 1-2minutes or until the spinach has reduced in size. Take the pan off the heat, add the grated feta, optionally add salt to taste. Mix well so the spinach can get incorporated with the feta.
Make the gozleme:
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form balls. Cover the balls with a towel and leave them to rest for 5 minutes. If you'd like, you can make four bigger gozleme pieces by dividing the dough into four balls.
- Take one ball and press it lightly with your hand to flatten it out. To create a square with your rolling pin, roll the dough starting from the middle and pulling down and then up. Rotate the dough 45 degrees and repeat the same steps. Shape the sides of the dough from time to time until you reach a 30-35cm/12-14inch rectangle.
- Add half of the filling to the upper half of the pastry while leaving a bit of space at the ends. Then gently grab the lower ends of the pastry, pull them slightly toward you to stretch it out, and then fold it over the filling and cover it completely.
- Gently press or twist the ends of the gozleme to make sure the ends are closed completely so the filling doesn't spread out.
- Repeat the step for each gozleme.
- Preheat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of oil in. Once the pan is hot, add the gozleme and fry for 2.5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.
Notes
- If you are using regular spinach make sure to fry it a bit longer;
- Add the cheese to the spinach off the heat, so the filling doesn’t get too runny.
- Give the dough enough time to rest – even though it doesn’t have any rising agents, the dough still needs some time to soften up so it can be rolled and stretched easily;
- It’s best to use a cast iron pan to fry the gozleme – the cast iron would give the best texture, crispy exterior, and perfectly golden brown color, just like from the streets in Turkey;
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