Breads, Pies & Pastries

Deep-Fried Gutap

December 18, 2012

Ground Beef Turnovers

Deep-Fried Gutap (Cheburek)

Makes 16 gutaps

For the meat filling:

  • 500 g ground beef or lamb
  • 1 onion, ground or finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of ground black pepper
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons water

For the spinach filling:

  • 1 kg fresh spinach
  • 8 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the dough (enough for one filling):

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 300 ml warm water
  • 500 g flour
  • Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  1. To make filling:
    1. Meat filling: Mix all the meat filling ingredients thoroughly.
    2. Spinach filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Rinse the spinach and add it to the pot. After 5 minutes, scoop out the spinach with a slotted spoon and, to preserve its green color, put it in a bowl of cold water. Drain the spinach again and then crush it with a wooden spoon. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour. When the flour turns slightly brown, add the water and stir 5-6 times. Add the crushed spinach and salt. Stir well and turn off the heat.
  2. In a large bowl, mix all the dough ingredients together and knead to a smooth dough. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll each piece between your palms into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  3. Take a ball of dough, sprinkle some flour and roll it out to a 14 cm circle. Spread 1 tablespoon of the meat or spinach filling on half of the circle while leaving a thin border. Fold the other half over and then crimp along the edge with a fork. Transfer the gutap to a tray covered with a kitchen towel and place another towel on top so that the gutap doesn’t stick to the tray or harden. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
  4. Fill a large pot about 4 cm deep with oil and heat over medium heat. Prick the top of each gutap with a fork. Deep-fry the gutaps in batches of 2, flipping them once, until golden brown on both sides, and then take them out with a slotted spoon.