I found this recipe in this month’s Feast Magazine.  A bit of effort is required to make the dough as you have to roll and fold it a number of times but they taste great and we will have 5 meals out of the recipe which, all things considered, is not much effort per meal.

The first night, Maus and I had one each for dinner.  That night, I wondered what all the rolling and folding was about.  The next day, we had one between us for lunch and I decided it was well worth all the rolling and folding.  The next day, we again had one between us for lunch.  By then, I had totally forgotten about the rolling and folding.  There are two more in the freezer.  They will make perfect instant lunches on days we don’t feel like making anything. By then, I will love them.

That is not bad, 5 meals for two people.  As an added bonus, I used beetroot greens from the garden.  I don’t have any silverbeet in the vegie patch at the moment. I had so much the first summer, I have been scarred for life.  This is a good thing as the beetroot is producing more than enough greens for us.  I love it, not only is it a perfect silverbeet substitute, you get the beetroot as well as the greens  and the biggest bonus of all is: you are not overwhelmed with silverbeet to the point where the freezer cannot cope with any more.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 635g plain flour (I used bread flour)
• 1 tsp salt
• 375mls (I used slightly more) lukewarm water
• olive oil, for brushing and cooking

Filling:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500g minced lamb
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp pepper
• 200g feta, crumbled
• 80g (2 cups) silverbeet leaves, finely chopped
• ½ cup parsley leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup mint leaves, chopped
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• salt, to taste

To make pastry:

1. Sift flour and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.
2. Add 375mls (I used slightly more) lukewarm water and knead for 10 minutes.
3. Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside for 3 hours.
4. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
5. Roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface into a 30xm x 30cm square.
6. Brush the square with olive oil and fold into quarters.
7. Repeat rolling, brushing and folding 2 more times.
8. Repeat process with remaining dough pieces.

To make filling:

1. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic and gently cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add lamb, paprika, cumin, allspice and pepper and cook until lamb is browned.
3. Transfer to a bowl, add feta, silverbeet, parsley, mint and spring onions.
4. Season with salt and mix to combine.  Set aside.

To assemble:

1. Divide filling into six equal portions.
2. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out to a 30cm square.
3. Sprinkle filling over half of the square, brush edges with a little water and fold over to enclose.
4. Press down lightly all over and seal edges.
5. Repeat with remaining squares.
6. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan (I used a baking pan) over medium heat.
7. Cook gözlemes, one at a time (pressing down lightly with a spatula), until golden on both sides.
8. Cut into pieces and serve.