Step 1

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

Step 2

For the filling, place the grated courgette (zucchini) in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 10 minutes. Using a clean tea towel or sturdy couple of sheets of kitchen paper towel, squeeze out the excess juice (this is an important step, otherwise this excess juice would make the pastry soggy). Place the squeezed zucchini/courgette in a large bowl.

Step 3

Pour in the 2 tbsp olive oil on wide heavy pan and stir in the chopped onions; gently sauté for 4 minutes, until starting to soften. Stir in the grated zucchini/courgette, gently combine and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off.

Step 4

Place the sautéed onions and zucchini in the large mixing bowl. Stir in the crumbled cheese, dill, season with salt, ground black pepper and pul biber. Combine the all ingredients well and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. The filling is ready.

Step 5

For the milk, egg and olive oil sauce; combine the beaten egg, 2 tbsp olive oil and 105ml/3 ½ fl oz milk in a bowl.

Step 6

Open your thawed filo pastry sheets and gently lay them on a clean surface and cover with a slightly damp towel. To coil the filo, the pastry needs to be kept moist. Only take one sheet at time and keep the rest covered.

Step 7

Line a round baking dish (with 25cm/10in diameter) with baking paper.

Step 8

Take 2 filo sheets and lay on top of another on a clean, dry surface. Brush the top sheet with 4 tablespoons of the milk, egg and olive oil mixture. Place a little less (sparing about 1 tbsp filling) than ⅓ of the filling mixture in a line, along the edge near you. Gently roll up into a cylinder. Brush the edge with the milk, egg, olive oil mixture. Starting from one end, wind the filo into a coil and put on the baking dish with the baking paper on. Brush over and sides of the coiled pastry with the egg, milk and olive oil mixture (this also helps to patch up any broken pastry).

Step 9

Repeat the same procedure with the next 4 filo pastry sheets, using 2 sheets at a time and a little less than (again, sparing about 1 tbsp filling) ⅓ of the filling each time. Coil each filo cylinder around the previous one to make a larger spiral. Make sure to brush the top and sides of the coiled pastry with the egg, milk and olive oil mixture.

Step 10

Fold the last remaining sheet, lengthways and brush the sheet with 2 tablespoons of the egg, milk and olive oil mixture. Place the remaining filling (about 3 tbsp) in a line along the edge near you. Roll up again into a cylinder and coil around the previous one to complete the spiral. Brush the top and sides of the coiled pastry with the egg, milk and olive oil mixture and patch up any broken pastry.

Step 11

Combine the beaten egg and 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the top of the pie with this mixture, all over, and then sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Step 12

Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 - 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and cooked through.

Step 13

Once cool, slice and you serve with Spicy bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses, Kisir, aside if you like.

Step 14

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F

Step 15

Stir in the dried yeast and sugar in a small bowl and pour in ½ cup warm water. Dissolve and mix the yeast in water. Set aside for the yeast mixture to get frothy for 5 minutes.

Step 16

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil and the yeast mixture. Also stir in the warm milk to the flour mixture. Using your hands, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough. On a floured surface, knead for 3 -5 minutes, until you reach a soft, smooth dough. The dough may get sticky as you knead, so pour the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil and add a little more flour if needed to help shape into a soft dough.

Step 17

Grease a large bowl with a little olive oil, place the dough and cover with a cling film. Leave the dough in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.

Step 18

Once the dough is risen, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a minute then divide the dough into two pieces and roll into two balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into 2 oval shapes of 20 cm x 40 cm (about 8”x16”), with ½ cm (0.2”) thickness.

Step 19

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and place the 2 oval flat bread dough on the tray.

Step 20

Spread the grated mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, sliced peppers and tomatoes evenly over the 2 flat breads, leaving 2 cm at the edges as a border with no filling (I’ve found it’s easier to spread the filling while the oval dough is in the tray). Fold in the sides to act as border to keep the filling intact. Squeeze the oval dough at each end to make it pointy.

Step 21

Beat an egg in a small bowl and mix it with 1 tsp. olive oil. Brush the edges of dough with this mixture. Bake for 18 minutes, until the pides golden and crispy at the edges.

Step 22

Take the pide tray out of the oven and carefully crack an egg in the middle of each pide. Return to the oven and bake for another 4-5 minutes; take care not to overcook the egg; it should be just set with the yolk still runny.

Step 23

Sprinkle red pepper flakes, Turkish pul biber over the egg, cut in slices and serve while warm.

Step 24

Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F

Step 25

Combine the yeast with warm water in a bowl, stir well and let the yeast dissolve for a few minutes.

Step 26

Add the sugar, warm milk and the olive oil to the mixture, stir for the sugar to dissolve.

Step 27

Sift the flour in a large bowl and stir in the salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture.

Step 28

Combine and knead the dough for a few minutes; you will get lovely, soft dough. Cover the dough with a cling film and tea towel and leave to rise at a warm spot (near an oven or in a warm airing cupboard works well) for 2 hours. The dough will double in size.

Step 29

Once doubled in size, divide the dough into 6 balls. One at a time, roll each dough ball between your palms to make it about 16 cm / 6 inches long. Then swirl and roll and seal the two ends together. Repeat this with the rest of the dough balls.

Step 30

Place the Acma rolls on a baking paper on a tray, making sure there are minimum 1 inch / 2.5 cm. between each Acma roll, as they will expand while baking. Brush with the egg mixture and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top if you’d like.

Step 31

Bake in the preheated oven (200 C/ 400 F) for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 190 C / 375 F and bake for another 10 minutes or until the Acma has a rich, golden color.

Step 32

Serve warm, afiyet olsun!