Organic September: Anna Jones’ Turkish flatbread recipe
It’s Organic September – the UK’s largest celebration of all things au naturale – so why not try your hand at Anna Jones’ sizzling pan-fried Turkish flatbread (or gözleme as it is known in Anatolia)? It’s certainly one of the most original ways that you can work organic yoghurt into your diet.
The organic month is backed by the Soil Association, who have revealed a list of key food swaps that will make a difference not just to the environment, animal welfare and British wildlife, but also to your own health. Switching to organic dairy products, for example, will increase your intake of Omega-3 essential fatty acids by up to 50%.
READ MORE: What you need to know about organic beauty – and 7 reasons to make the switch
The yoghurt keeps the bread soft, meaning it doubles up as efficient cutlery for eating a spiced red pepper and mint filling. A tomato salad dressed in pomegranate molasses and lemon-pickled red onion adds a citrus tang to the perfect summer lunch.
Anna Jones, chef and ambassador for Organic September, says: “The part of east London I live in is full of Turkish cafes. They turn out charcoal-baked flatbreads and insanely good salads, and although meat is front and centre in Turkish food, there are some amazing vegetable dishes too. Here is a quick way to make one of my favourites at home.”
Anna Jones’ Turkish flatbread recipe
Ingredients
200g spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
200g Greek yoghurt, or 150ml warm water
To make the topping
2 red onions
3 red peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Turkish chilli flakes
1 green chilli
A small bunch of fresh mint
To make the salad
1 red onion
1 lemon
5 ripe vine tomatoes
A small bunch of fresh mint
A small bunch of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon sumac
1 teaspoon harissa or Turkish chilli paste
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
1 Put all the flatbread ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. If you don’t have a food processor, this can be done in a bowl using a fork to begin with, followed by your hands, but it will take longer.
2 Dust a clean work surface with flour and tip out the dough. Knead for a minute or so to bring it all together. This is a quick flatbread recipe, so you don’t need to knead it for long. Put the dough into flour-dusted bowl and cover with a plate. Put to one side to rise a little for 10-15 minutes while you do some other jobs. Don’t expect it to rise like normal dough, but it may puff up a tiny bit.
3 To make the topping, heat a frying pan on medium heat, then finely chop your onions and red peppers and put them into the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, then add the dried chilli. Chop the fresh green chilli and mint and add to the pan along with a final tablespoon of oil.
4 Next, make your salad. Finely slice the onion and put into a bowl with the juice of half a lemon and a good pinch of salt. Scrunch with your hands, then leave to pickle.
5 Chop the tomatoes roughly, then roughly chop the leaves of fresh herbs. Put them into a bowl with the spices and the pomegranate molasses and add the lemon-pickled red onions. Season well with salt and pepper and add a little more lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil, balancing out the flavours until it tastes great.
6 Now back to the flatbreads. Put a large frying pan or griddle pan (about 22-24cm) on a medium heat.
7 Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with flour, then divide dough into four equal-sized pieces. Using your hands, pat and flatten out the dough, then use the rolling pin to roll each piece into about 20cm round, roughly 2-3mm thick.
8 Once your pan is hot, cook each flatbread for 1-2minutes on each side, until nicely puffed up, turning with tongs.
9 Spread with the onion and chilli mixture while hot, and serve straightaway with spoonfuls of salad.
Inspired to cook Anna Jones’ Turkish flatbreads? Tweet us your foodie snaps or tag us on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #OrganicSeptember – we love to hear from you!
