Turkish cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Peynirli Pişi (Cheese-Filled Fried Pastry)

Yeast dough pockets with white cheese and parsley, deep-fried until crisp.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 400 g flour
• 250 ml water (lukewarm)
• 7 g yeast (dry yeast)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 300 g white cheese
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 800 ml frying oil
• 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water, let foam for 10 min., then add flour and salt and knead for 6–8 min. into a soft dough; cover and let rise for 60 min.
2. For the filling, crumble the white cheese, finely chop the parsley and mix both with the pul biber – the mixture should stay crumbly, not pasty.
3. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each out on a floured surface into a 12 cm circle.
4. Place 1 heaped tbsp of filling on one half, moisten the edge with water, fold into a half-moon pocket and press the edge firmly with a fork so nothing leaks out while frying.
5. Heat the frying oil to 170 °C and fry the pockets in batches 2 min. per side until evenly golden brown and floating on the surface.
6. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve warm immediately, while the cheese inside is still soft.