Closing out my brief feature on Turkish cuisine, I bring you Turkish Pide (pee-duh…or a frustrating adventure in pastry shaping). This is my second attempt at making this. The first was when I prepared the şakşuka. I must have messed up my measurements on the dough, because it was way too wet. Then I followed up that error by not preparing it directly on the pizza peel. So it turned into a big floppy mess. I made it again last night (nothing like a little pressure).
While the shape of the pide was still not exactly perfect, it was very close and more importantly, this was really delicious and the filling…the filling is mouth-wateringly phenomenal! What’s not to love about a spicy, and spiced (there’s a difference!), lamb filling. Top it with some fresh herbs and feta cheese and you have a Turkish delight…no, not that Turkish Delight!
Turkish Pide
I finished this off in my Ooni and it cooked up in about 4 minutes. If you don’t have an Ooni, just use a pizza stone in your home oven, preheated to 450, and bake for about 12-15 minutes.
Dough
1 tsp yeast
½ tsp sugar
2 cups bread flour
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
Semolina flour, pizza peel, and baking stone
Filling
Onion, peeled and diced fine
Red pepper seeded and diced fine
1 lb ground lamb
½ tsp each of regular and smoked paprika
2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp chili flakes (use half if you don’t like things too spicy)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
Feta cheese
About 3 hours before you want to eat, combine the yeast and sugar with 2 tbsp warm water in a small bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt. After 10 minutes, add in the bloomed yeast, olive oil, and ⅔ cup warm water. Process on low speed until mixed, about 30 seconds, then increase the motor speed to 6 and knead until the dough forms on the hook.
Remove the dough from the hook and place in a greased bowl and cover. Keep in a warm place for 90 minutes.
Then, punch down the dough and split in half. Form into 2 equally sized balls and place on a floured tray and cover with a damp kitchen towel for an hour.
Preheat the oven and pizza stone. If using an Ooni, preheat on medium.
While the dough rises for the second time, saute the onion and pepper in a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
While the veggies saute, combine the lamb and all of the spices, along with some Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix well and reserve.
Once the onion and pepper have softened and lightly browned, add in the lamb and continue to cook, breaking up the meat after a few minutes. Once the meat is no longer pink, stir in the garlic and tomato paste.
Add in the parsley and tomato, along with a pinch of salt, and cook until the tomatoes have softened and released their juice.
Stir in the lemon juice and continue to cook until all of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool off for about 10-15 minutes.
While the filling cools, prepare your pizza peel by liberally covering it with semolina flour. Have a small bowl of water on standby.
Spread some bread flour on a work surface, and lightly coat one dough ball. Roll it out into an oblong oval, about ⅛” thick.
Move the oval to your prepared pizza peel and give it a little shake to ensure it is not sticking. If using an ooni, prepare one at-a-time. If using your home oven, you can prepare both at the same time and place them side-by-side on the peel and the pizza stone.
Then spread about half of the cooled filling over the prepared dough. Wet the tips of the dough and pinch together to seal, using more water for additional creases. Fold the sides in covering some of the filling and press down.
Give one more shake, getting the pide close to the edge of your peel, then transfer to the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes. If using an Ooni, lower the heat to low, place one pide on the stone away from the flames and cook with the long sides facing the flame for about a minute each and the tips for about 40 seconds.
Once the pide are browned, remove to a cutting board and sprinkle on the feta and cilantro and cut to serve.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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