There were Greek communities in Crimea for many centuries, but most of them were relocated to the Ukrainian northern shores of the Sea of Azov under Catherine the Great, who annexed Crimea from the Ottoman Empire in 1783. A Greek friend of ours from one such community taught us how to make this flatbread, called plakopsy. We would normally use salted Syr, but feta works just fine. I sometimes add chopped herbs, such as dill, parsley, coriander, or basil, for an extra boost of flavor.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 4

　　200 ml (7 oz) cold water

　　1 egg, lightly beaten

　　450 g (14½ oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

　　400 g (13 oz) feta cheese, crumbled

　　10 spring onions, roughly chopped

　　50 ml (2 oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for brushing

　　Flaky salt

　　

Step 1

Mix the water, egg and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Gradually add the flour, mixing it in with a fork first and then with your hands.

　　

Step 2

Flour your work surface really well and knead the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.

　　

Step 3

Mix the feta with the spring onions. Taste and add salt only if needed. Divide the filling into 4 portions.

　　

Step 4

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flour the work surface well and roll one piece of dough out as thinly as you can into a 12 inch circle. Moisten the top of the sheet with a little sunflower oil. Take one-quarter of the filling and spread most of it over the rolled-out dough, leaving about a 2 inch border. Then fold two opposite sides of the dough inwards to overlap, brush with a little more oil and sprinkle over the remaining filling, then fold the other two sides over to form a square. Flour and lightly roll over the folded bread, then set aside.

　　

Step 5

Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces and filling.

　　

Step 6

Heat the 50 ml (2 oz) sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the breads, one at a time, for 3 minutes on each side, lowering the heat if you see them catching a bit.

　　

Step 7

Let the breads cool for a minute and then eat with some kefir or ayran (a salty yogurt drink).

　　From Mamushka © Olia Hercules 2015. Buy the full book from Simon & Schuster or Amazon.