Turkish Pide

I love love love pide. It’s basically the Turkish take on pizza and who can say no to pizza ! If you don’t have yeast, you can skip it out. 

**This Ramadan, I’m raising money for LIA Relief Trust to help provide children an Eid to remember. A donation as small as £1 can help gift one child in need a special Eid present. Here is the link to donate: Click here. ** 

I decided to skip the classic kiyamali pide of beef mince with peppers and instead opt for one cheese with cured beef and one spinach and feta with egg. Simple but easy fillings! 

The cured beef is of fantastic quality and, as mentioned in my previous post on pizza bombs, is from Ojos Food Company. This post isn’t sponsored but as you know, I love their products.  You can sub the cured beef out for sujuk or spicy salami. 

For the feta and spinach, I simply cooked onions with garlic and added some thawed and drained spinach. If you have the Turkish sweet pepper paste, that would be great here, otherwise Turkish or regular chilli flakes are good too. Crack an egg on top towards the end of the bake and you’ll have a hearty and healthy pide ! 

Enough chatter, let’s get to the recipe. 

TURKISH PIDE RECIPE 

Makes 2 large pide or 4 small ones

INGREDIENTS

125ml warm water, divided equally into two glasses 

1 tsp fast action yeast 

1/2 tsp caster sugar

250g plain flour

½ tsp salt 

1 tablespoon olive oil

Cheese filling:

250g grated mozzarella and cheddar (or any cheese you like)

2 slices of smoked cured beef by Ojos Foods

1 tsp Turkish or regular chilli flakes 

Spinach filling:

10oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained well 

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, sliced 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp chilli flakes, add more or less depending on spice preference 

Feta cheese 

1 egg 

METHOD

1. In one glass of warm water, add yeast and mix. Leave this for 5 minutes. 
2. In a large bowl, add flour and salt. Mix and make a well in the middle. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix this up and slowly add in the remaining water until the dough comes together. 
3. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough has become smooth and less sticky. Form into a ball and place in a well-oiled bowl. Leave to rise for an hour in a warm place until it has doubled in size. 
4. In a pan over low to medium heat, add oil and onions. Cook the onions until they are translucent and then add in the garlic and fry for 3-5 minutes. Add in the chilli flakes followed by the drained chopped spinach. Stir this all together and leave to cool.
5. Once the mixture has cooled, add in the feta cheese and mix together. Taste for salt and add accordingly. It may not need any as feta is salty. 
6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C for the fan oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and sprinkle some flour on top. 
7. Once risen, knead the dough slightly and form into two large balls (four if making smaller pides). Roll each ball out into an oval shape and place on the baking tray. 
8. For the cheese pide: Sprinkle the grated cheese in the middle of the pide, leaving a 2cm gap around the edges, and place the cured beef on top with a sprinkle of chilli flakes. 
9. For the spinach pide: Place the spinach mixture in the middle, leaving a 2cm gap around the edges. 
10. Fold the sides in towards the centre and pinch the ends together so it forms a boat shape. 
11. Beat one egg with 1 tsp of olive oil and brush this mixture along the sides and ends of the pide. 
12. Place the pides in the oven for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and crack an egg in the middle of the spinach one. Place the tray back in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until the edges of the pide have become golden in colour. 
13. Serve immediately with salad or soup. 

    **This Ramadan, I’m raising money for LIA Relief Trust to help provide children an Eid to remember. A donation as small as £1 can help gift one child in need a special Eid present. Here is the link to donate: Click here. **