Love Anatolia and want to whip up some Mediterranean at home? Try these gluten-free recipes.
Lamb & spinach gozleme
Serves 6
- Olive oil, for pan-frying
- Lemon wedges, to serve
For the dough
- 260g (2 cups) gluten-free self-raising flour
- 90g (1⁄3 cup) Greek yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt for dairy-free)
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp sea salt flakes
For the lamb & spinach filling
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- Pinch of sea salt flakes
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1⁄2 tsp paprika
- 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 250g lamb mince
- Large handful of baby spinach leaves
Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add 125ml (1⁄2 cup) of warm water and mix on medium speed for 1 minute to form a smooth dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more water and mix again. Set the dough aside to rest, uncovered, while you make the filling.
To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin and black pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the lamb and cook, breaking up any chunks with a wooden spoon, for 3 minutes or until browned. Add the spinach, stir and cook for 1 minute to wilt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Divide the dough into six balls. Working with one ball at a time, roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper to form a paper-thin rectangle about 20cm x 30cm in size. Scatter 3 tablespoons of the lamb and spinach filling in the centre, leaving a clear border of roughly 8cm around the edges. Fold the dough over the filling to enclose. Cover with baking paper and very gently roll out again to flatten and thin out the gozleme. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Place a heavy-based frying pan over high heat and allow it to heat up. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the very hot pan and cook the gozleme, one at a time, adding more oil as needed, for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Serve with lemon wedges.
Hot tip: Don’t overfill the gozleme – the flatter the parcel, the crispier it will get when it hits the hot frying pan.
Sokolatopita: Olive Oil Chocolate Cake
Serves 12
- 90g (3⁄4 cup) dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
- 1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of sea salt flakes
- 250ml (1 cup) light olive oil
- 125ml (1⁄2 cup) boiling water
- 370g (2 cups lightly packed) brown sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 170g (1 1⁄3 cups) gluten-free plain flour, sifted
- Fresh berries, to serve (optional)
For the olive oil icing
- 125g (1 cup) gluten-free icing sugar mixture, sifted
- 40g (1⁄3 cup) dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
- 125–170ml (1⁄2–2⁄3 cup) light olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 25cm × 30cm baking tin with baking paper. Whisk together the cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the olive oil and boiling water and whisk to incorporate. Add the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Finally, whisk in the flour until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then turn out onto a platter.
To make the olive oil icing, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuously whisking until you achieve a thick spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the cooled cake and scatter with the berries. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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