By Christine Salins.
Diagnosed with coeliac disease 15 years ago, Helen Tzouganatos is passionate about creating simple, gluten-free food. In 2015, she began sharing her recipes online, subsequently going on to host an SBS television show, Loving Gluten Free.
She has also produced some gluten-free cookbooks, her third and latest one being her most personal to date. Gluten-Free Mediterranean (Plum, $44.99) draws heavily on her heritage, growing up in Sydney’s multicultural inner west surrounded by migrants from various countries spanning the Mediterranean.
“My Lebanese neighbours taught me the secret to the best mejadra, the Cypriots across the road introduced me to koupes and haloumi bread, and my mother would exchange Greek syrupy sweets for pistachio biscotti and olive and rosemary focaccia with the Italians down the street,” she said.
Her mother’s Greek recipes invariably started with olive oil, pressed by hand at her grandmother’s olive groves on the island of Crete. Following a Mediterranean diet was a way of life.
Thankfully for Tzouganatos and for anyone needing to follow a gluten-free diet, the Mediterranean diet is primarily gluten-free as it is based on whole, unprocessed foods.
Although veganism isn’t common in Mediterranean countries, most people’s diets are high in vegan or vegetarian dishes, for reasons of economy (meat was expensive) and for religious reasons (during Lent, for example, meat, dairy and eggs are eliminated).
The biggest challenges for eating gluten-free on a Mediterranean diet are bakery items and, in the author’s words, “the sneaky breadcrumbs often found in meatballs”.
Tzouganatos offers some clever ingredient swaps so that you can turn out everything from the fluffiest focaccia and crispiest loukoumades to the easiest seafood paella and most decadent chocolate roulade.
The Turkish gozleme here can be easily whipped up in under 20 minutes. The dough comes together very quickly and while it’s resting, you can quickly make your filling of choice.
Take a journey around Greece, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, and other parts of the Mediterranean, enjoying delicious classic dishes, minus the gluten.
Lamb & Spinach Gozleme
Serves 6
olive oil, for pan-frying
lemon wedges, to serve
DOUGH
260 g (2 cups) gluten-free self-raising flour
90 g (1⁄3 cup) Greek yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt for dairy free)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
LAMB & SPINACH FILLING
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
pinch of sea salt flakes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
250 g 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 125 ml (½ 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 20 cm × 30 cm in size. Scatter 3 tablespoons of the lamb and spinach filling in the centre, leaving a clear border of roughly 8 cm 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 to 3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Serve with lemon wedges.
FILLING VARIATIONS
Spinach & Feta: combine 135 g (3 cups) baby spinach, 3 sliced spring onions and 200 g crumbled feta.
Potato & Cheese: combine 460 g (2 cups) mashed potato, 150 g grated mozzarella, a handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, ½ teaspoon paprika and salt and pepper.
Recipe and image from: Gluten-Free Mediterranean by Helen Tzouganatos, published by Plum, RRP $44.99, photography by Jeremy Simons.
