Gozleme

Have you heard of these delicious Turkish Anatolian flat breads known as Gozleme?

They sounded familiar but I hadn't had one until this summer when we happened to be in gorgeous Sydney for the Vivid Sydney light festival. The festival sees the entire city light up every night in the most creative, gorgeous way and it is a sight to behold. While the festival is on the for the week, the streets are filled with lovely street stalls and one of them sold Gozleme. It seemed to be a hot favorite and so we stood in line for a good 20 minutes to get a hot, steaming Gozleme fresh off the pan.

It was delicious, crispy, flat bread stuffed with spinach and feta, full of flavor.

Back home in India, we wanted to have it one more time, and like most international foods, if you want to have something a little bit out of the ordinary, you have to make it yourself. Chennai is behind most cities in India in the diversity of its cuisine. It is getting more adventurous every year but still very far away from other cities in India.

Anyhow, I decided to make the gozleme. Having got the recipe off the web, here goes. (a small note here: I got the recipe from a website called Ozlem's Turkish Table. This website is quite a gem. She has step-by-step instructions for most recipes and every single item on there looks do-able and delicious! Do take a moment to go through her website. I've bookmarked half her savory pastries!!). It came out quite perfectly. Do give it a try. Its easy and even the kids love it.

Gozleme
(recipe from Ozlem's Turkish Table)

For the flat bread:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour, sifted
8 g Dry Instant Yeast
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Plain Yogurt
260 ml Warm Water
A pinch of salt

For the filling:
200 g Spinach Leaves, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
230 g Feta Cheese
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper, or Chilli Flakes, or Red Pepper Paste, to taste (optional - you can make the filling as spicy as you'd like or omit it completely)

Combine about half the warm water, salt and yeast in a bowl and leave aside for 5 minutes until the mixture is frothy. Now combine the flour, yeast mixture, olive oil, yogurt, salt and the rest of the water. Combine all the ingredients and knead until a soft dough is formed.

Divide the dough into 5 balls and keep aside, covered in a damp cloth, until doubled in size.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.  Combine all the ingredients for the filling and knead well to release the flavors and make the onions softer. I ended up sauteeing the onions and blanching the spinach leaves.

Now roll out each ball into a thin, flat round. Fold the top and bottom edges of the round until they meet in the middle.

 Spread the filling in the center and then fold the left and right sides until the filling is covered.

 Press the edges together to seal.

 Repeat for the remaining dough.

Heat a non-stick flat or griddle pan. Brush one side of the gozleme with olive oil and place, oil side down, on the pan and let cook for 5-6 minutes until browned. Brush the other side with olive oil and flip over and cook until both sides are brown.

 Repeat for the remaining gozleme.

Serve either cut up into squares or rolled up. Attack! :)

Gougeres

These little pillows of cheesy French heaven are a perfect snack or appetizer. It is a baked savory pastry made of choux dough. Choux dough or pate a choux is a dough made of only water, butter, milk and flour. Choux pastry is used to make such marvelous things as profiteroles, eclairs and beignets. And gougeres are just choux pastry mixed in with cheese. Sometimes they are also stuffed with meats, or even mushrooms.

I've been quite hesitant to make choux dough since it requires you to be quick and act fast and I kinda like to take my time in the kitchen. But I was quite inspired by a recipe for a three cheese gougere that I read in Saveur, and subsequently went about reading several more recipes for gougeres from David Lebovitz and The Kitchn. All of those links above will tell you how easily these are made, and explain in step by step detail.

The one thing you must do is have all the ingredients on hand. Its difficult when the dough is cooking to then grate the cheese. So make sure your mis-en-place is ready.

Gougeres

8 tbsp Butter, cubed
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Milk
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Water
5 large Eggs
1 cup grated Cheese (I used Parmesan. I recommend any sharp cheese such as Gruyere, Comte or Pecorino)

Preheat the oven to 220 deg C.

On medium high heat, melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the salt, water and milk. When the butter has melted, add the flour. Whisk quickly with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and starts sort of looking like mashed potatoes. Reduce heat to medium and add half the cheese and continue cooking the dough, whisking constantly, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, to dry out the dough a little bit.

 

Transfer the dough to a bowl and using a hand mixer, mix the dough for 3-4 minutes until it has stopped steaming and slightly warm (be sure it isn't too hot or the eggs will cook when added).

Add one egg at a time, completely incorporating the egg with the hand mixer before adding the next one. Continue until all eggs are blended in.

Scoop all the dough into a piping bag with a plain tip or a Ziploc bag with the edge cut off (which is what I did). Pipe the dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Each gougere should be the size of a small cherry tomatoes. Smooth the top down if needed, so it doesn't burn in the oven. Top each one with an additional sprinkling of cheese.



Once the dough is all piped out, put the trays into the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 190 deg C and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.



Serve warm, or at room temperature. It doesn't really matter. They'll fly off the plate in a matter of minutes. :)

Mustard and Cheese Bread

This is a must-try bread. Just take my word for it. Even if you've never baked another bread in your life, do try this. Its delicious, easy and very forgiving. I received this recipe from a friend many years ago. I've made it many many times since then, but have only just realized I haven't posted this on my blog.

It's from Martha Rose Shulman, who is a columnist for the New York Times and an author of several cookbooks. After the great success of this bread, I ran out and bought her book. It's just amazing. Buy a copy. 

Cheese and Mustard Bread

(From Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman)

2 1/2 tsps Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm Water
1/2 cup lukewarm Milk
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Oil
1 large Egg, lightly beaten (about 1/4 cup)
1/4-1/2 cup Mustard (the recipe recommends Dijon but I used an Indian mustard, Kasundi. Also I used a little more than 1/2 cup, as I love the spiciness of Kasundi).
1 tbsp Shallots/ Onions, finely chopped (I used 2 tbsp)
1 cup Sharp Cheese like Gruyere, grated (I used Pecorino, because I love it)
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 beaten egg, for egg wash (optional. I didn't use it).

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and let stand for five minutes until frothy.

Mix all the ingredients together including the yeast, in a bowl. (You can add several other options to this dough like cumin seeds, black pepper or any other herbs or spices, maybe even some nuts would be lovely). Keep mixing until they come together as dough. If too sticky, add a little bit of flour, but please go easy on the flour. Of course, you can add some water if the dough is too dry.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the warmth of the room.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Punch down and shape the dough into a loaf. (Or any shape you desire). Place in a loaf pan and cover with a cloth. Leave again in a warm place and allow to double in size.


Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until down. (Adjust timings if you are making anything smaller than a regular loaf). To test if a loaf is done, knock on it gently and you'll get a hollow sound. Let it cool slightly and then remove from pan. Allow to cool for a further 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm.

Truffle Cheese Straws

When I read a post about Gorgonzola Cheese Straws on one of the best blogs out there, Love and Olive Oil, it was 7pm. I had just made a vegetable and macaroni bake for the kids for dinner. I was waiting for them to finish a bath, and decided to catch up on my blog reading.

This post caught my eye on Feedly (have you tried Feedly, BTW? Its quite the best!). When I read it and realized I had everything on hand - and my oven was already pre-heated. I literally jumped up off the chair, iPad in hand, and headed to the kitchen. Got the ingredients together in about five minutes. Put the ingredients together in another five minutes. Rolled out dough, cut and in the oven - 3 minutes. Baked for 20 minutes.

The cheese straws were ready in 35 minutes (from the time I came across the recipe!), and we ate it with our dinner. Now that's what I call a perfectly quick recipe! And we loved it so much that I'm writing about it at ... um... 8.40 pm. Now that's called enthusiasm.

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, but mainly substituted Truffle Cheese (i.e. Cheese with Truffles) for the Gorgonzola.

Truffle Cheese Straws

(Original recipe, Gorgonzola Cheese Straws here)

1/2 cup Truffle Cheese, grated
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
5 tablespoons Butter
1/4 tsp Salt (I used a little less salt, since the cheese is super salty)
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (yes, we like our cheese straws spicy)
2 tbsp Milk
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Mix all the ingredients together. (I was supposed to mix the milk in the end, but forgot and just put all of them together. I don't think it affected the straws). The dough will be crumbly but smooth enough to roll into a ball.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Cut the dough into 1/2" strips. Carefully transfer the strips onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and slightly puffy. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in jars. Okay, if there is anything left over. We ate it off the wire racks. As I said, gone completely! Sorry for the bad photograph. Also, I know they don't look perfect but it was because I was not being too precise while cutting the strips. Some of them broke off while transferring from the baking tray to the wire rack. Next time I'll make them thicker. But that's the only thing I will change, because they were Perfect!!

Thanks, Love and Olive Oil, for a fabulous recipe. My family thanks you too.

Cheddar Cheese Pies

My daughter has a lovely Angelina Ballerina book, and it had this one recipe. She insisted we try it, and though I didn't think it would turn out great, we gave it a shot. These were some of the best pies I'd tasted!

Goes to show, the best recipes come from the most unusual sources!


Cheddar Cheese Pies

1/2 liter Milk
90g Fresh Breadcrumbs
225g Cheddar Cheese, grated
4 Eggs
1 tsp French Mustard
Salt and Pepper, to taste
12 Muffin Tins

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl and carefully add the hot milk. Then mix in the cheese.
In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add them to the milk and breadcrumbs and stir in the mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter the muffin tins and pour in the batter. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until lightly set and golden.

These are delicious hot or cold.

Chilli Cheese Toast

You know that craving you get when you come home from work, and just want to eat something before you start making dinner? This is just a wonderful tea-time snack. Very popular in India, chilli cheese toast has become somewhat of a tradition.


In this picture, I've used brown bread. I made a few with chillies and a few without.

Chilli Cheese Toast

10 slices of Bread (works equally on white bread as it does on baguettes or multigrain, so go with your favorite kind)
150 g Mozzarella Cheese, grated
4-5 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder OR Crushed Red Pepper
2 pinches Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Lightly toast the bread. Make a paste mixture with the rest of the ingredients.

Apply the paste onto each slice of bread. Bake the bread for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Serve warm.

Parmesan Walnut Bread

The first oven I bought was a little OTG (Oven Toaster Griller). It came with a booklet of recipes to be made in the free pan that came with it. I loved the OTG and tried almost all the recipes in that booklet! Surprisingly, every single one was a keeper. The first one was banana bread, that we loved. And I was hooked. Quick breads are fast, delicious and extremely versatile.

This is a wonderful quick bread that I came across at Mary's blog, One Perfect Bite. She's made three wonderful variations. I varied her walnut bread a little to include some freshly grated Parmesan. It was super quick and full of flavor.


Parmesan Walnut Bread
(Recipe adapted from One Perfect Bite)

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and egg. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Stir in walnuts and parmesan. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Increase the temperature to 180 deg C and continue baking for a further 15 minutes.


Mary recommends letting it rest for 15 minutes and then allowing it to age 24 hours before serving. I did the first 15 minutes. And then another 15 minutes! There was no way I could wait for 24 hours to eat anything that smells as good as this bread!


Other quick breads on this blog: Banana Bread, Chocolate Banana Bread and Mango Bread.

Savory Cookies

So on Day 2 of cooking from my bookmarked cookies recipe this week, I chose savory cookies from my friend Aparna's blog, My Diverse Kitchen. I've been lusting after these cookies ever since I saw it on her blog.


The taste was delicious and flaky - not spicy but with just a hint of cheese and pepper. You could add more if you'd like to bring some zing to it, but since I was making this with and for my daughter, I didn't go overboard with the spice. But this recipe is so versatile that you could any flavors that you'd like. The only thing I did different was omitting the egg - I was happy to use it but didn't have any and wasn't running to the store for one ingredient.

Savory Cookies
(original recipe from My Diverse Kitchen)

1 cup cold Butter
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Cheese (I used fresh grated Parmesan)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp mixed dried Herbs (I used Herbes de Provence)
1-2 tbsp cold Water, or enough to bring the dough together

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C.

Rub the butter into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs. Add the cheese, baking powder, pepper and herbs and combine. Add enough water to bring the flour together to form a kneadable dough.

Roll the dough out and use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Since my daughter got to choose, we made lots of stars, butterflies, moons, diamonds... basically anything she fancied!


Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned slightly on the bottom and edges.


Cool completely on a wire rack.


This was a fantastic recipe, Aparna. Thank you so much!


This is off to Ashwini of Ashwini's Spicy Cuisine for MBP: Snacks and Savories. MBP was originally started by Coffee of the Spice Cafe.

Egg Salad

Sometimes, you get referred to new blogs. And sometimes, you come across them by pure chance. But a sure-fire way to find great blogs is to sign up for the Taste & Create event hosted by Nicole over at For The Love Of Food.

I was paired with Kaytie and Drew of Tiny Biscuits. Their food is nothing short of amazing. And the writing is light and interesting. Being vegetarian was not a problem - there was such a variety of great recipes, that it was just a question of choosing the right one. I was intrigued by this recipe because they had eaten it with naan, an Indian flatbread. I've never tried that combination before - egg salad and naan!

The egg salad itself was incredible! They says its slightly better than the one her mom makes - and let me say, its far better than the one I make! I've never had egg salad with olives before and to blend in cheese is sheer genius! Thanks Kaytie and Drew for a keeper of a recipe.


Incredible Egg Salad
(recipe from Tiny Biscuits)

6 eggs

1/2 cup Mayonnaise (I used low-fat)

1 piece of Laughing Cow garlic & herb cheese (I used 2 tbsp of Boursin Garlic & Herb Cheese - we don't get Laughing Cow here in India)

1/2 teaspoon mustard (I used French grainy Mustard)

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

black olives (I added about 3-4 olives cut fine)

green onions, chopped (I added a 2 tsp of finely minced greens)

Boil the eggs. Let it cool, shell the eggs and chop into small pieces.

Blend the cheese, mustard, mayonnaise and lemon juice together. Toss the egg with the cheese dressing. Add in the olives and garnish with the minced spring onion greens.

Try it with the naan - its actually a great combination - who would've thought! Thanks, Kaytie and Drew!

Savory Muffins

One of the first blogs I followed religiously was Jugalbandi. I'm left laughing at the jokes, wonder-struck at the photographs and in awe at their humanitarianism.

This is by far my favorite recipe of theirs. When I started to bake, Bee left a comment on my muffin post saying she was going to make a savory version. So I went to their blog to see if they had any recipes. And I found this one. Its soft and delicious and the crust was perfect. The blend of flavors is spot-on. Creamy soft goat's cheese, sweet roasted red peppers and delicious spring onions and garlic. And it leaves room for experimenting.


As does all their recipes. I love their recipe-writing because they answer almost all your unanswered questions before you even ask! For instance, in this post, I had a 12 muffin pan and had one empty spot and Bee had actually said in her post that if you have one empty spot, fill it halfway with water!! It was as close to reading my mind as I want to get!

I made no changes to the original recipe.


Thanks for a fabulous blog, Bee and Jai. This is off to Zlamushka for Tried and Tasted featuring Jugalbandi this month.