My Favourite Turkish Fast Food

There’s nothing better to accompany a walk around the local markets, than a beyaz peynir (white cheese) gözleme. This local Turkish fast food, is both cheap and satisfying.  Although you can find it on the menu of traditional Turkish restaurants, it just tastes better when you’re  jostling for position amongst the local at the weekly Yalikavak market, surrounded by the vivid colours and tantalizing aromas of fresh produce.

It’s one of the main reasons to wander around a local farmers markets on the Bodrum Peninsula, and this local treat has made it onto my Top 5 favourites.

So what is Gözleme ?

Gözleme (GURZ-leh-MEH), is a traditional Turkish village food made of flat lavas (lah-VAHSH) bread.

The dough is rolled paper-thin to about a one-meter-diameter round, then placed on a domed circular griddle to bake.  If left to bake alone, the dough becomes lavas.

For gözleme, ingredients are spread on top the bread and it’s folded over them – until the dough circle becomes a square.  These are then flipped on the griddle to cook both sides.

At the markets, you’ll see piles of part-cooked gözleme, which are placed back on the griddle to be heated when you order it.  This twice-baked method produced a crispier gözleme, and that’s the best way to eat it.

Fillings

I like ordering mine with feta cheese filling, but there’s a variety of other fillings available:

• katmer = plain
• ispanakli = with spinach
• peynirli = with white sheep’s milk cheese (feta)
• kasar peynirli = with yellow cow’s milk cheese
• kiymali = with ground lamb
• patatesli = with mashed potatoes
• karisik = with everything

Order one, and you’ll keep your hunger at bay for hours (my mouth is watering at the thought of ordering my next Gözleme!)

So next time you visit a Turkish market, why not hunt out the Gözleme stall and try this local fast food for yourself – you’ll be glad you did!

 

 

Find more articles and content about Gözleme:

• Read more articles about Gözleme
• Watch a video of a Cheese and Spinach Gözleme being prepared 

Added December 2011: Collection of photo’s and a video about making Gözleme posted on Turkish Delight over at Blogspot