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Passport & Plate - Leek and walnut pita

Macedonia | Monday, February 16, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
5 grams fresh yeast
1 cup sunflower oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
300 ml warm (not boiling) water
about 600 grams of wheat flour
2 big fresh sticks of leek
200 grams of finely chopped walnuts

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a large bowl pour the warm water, add the yeast and the sugar and stir.Add 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil and stir again.Mix most of the flour with the salt and add it in the bowl.You can use a wooden spoon or your hands, just make sure you combine everything.If the dough is too sticky, add some flour but gradually so it doesn't get to stiff.Once the dough is ready and you are able to make a nice ball, put some flour on the table and start working the dough. It will take about 10-15 minutes until it's ready.The best test is to the cut the dough with a sharp knife, if you can see bubbles on the inside then it's ready.Divide the dough in 5 pieces and work each ball separately, just a little bit until you give it a nice round shape.Take some tray,put a bit of flour in it and transfer the balls here, leaving them enough space to grow.Cover them with a plastic foil or a bag and put the tray on a warm place.The dough should rest for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Now,the filling.Cut the sticks of leek onto small circles.Heat a little bit of oil in a pot and add the pieces of leek.Mix them constantly so they don't burn and cook them for about 10-15 minutes.Once they are done, let them cool. Add the finely chopped walnuts and stir.

When the dough has risen, take one ball and work it first with a rolling pin and then, if you can stretch it by tossing it in the air.Whatever technique you choose, you should get an almost transparent piece of sheet.Don't worry if you make some holes, just make sure it's not too many. Measure the size of the baking tray and mark on the stretched dough.Using a spoon, toss a bit of oil on the dough and add 1/5 of the filling at the basis of the dough. Then, cover the sides and roll it. Transfer this piece in an oiled and floured baking tray and go on with the rest of the balls. Once you are finished, put a generous amount of oil over the pita and bake in a pre-heated oven, first 15 minutes on 200C and them about a half an hour more on 180C.

 

The story behind this recipe
Eleven o'clock on a cold January Sunday morning and here I am, after only 5 hours of sleep, rushing to my Nana's house. Today, she is teaching me to make a leek and walnut pita, a recipe from my great-great-great-grandmother who was once famous in this town for her pita. As I get there, the house smells of cats and leek which is enough to wake me up. And so we start to prepare the dough.
My Nana doesn't' have a recipe book or notes, she just toss things into bowl. A nail-sized piece of yeast she says, a splash of this, a toss of that. I work my way with the grams and I am amazed. As we go on, she tells me that the dough has risen once it is as soft as my ear lob. Come on, pinch and you'll see, she says. This woman doesn't look on the clock at any time she just trust the dough and her experience. She laugh at my inability to make a a nice thin dough without a few holes in it and shows me how to hide then. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we put the pita in the oven and sit to rest.
A cup of hot mint tea she grows herself, a few more secrets from the family tree and what to pay attention to when making different types of pita. Somehow, she is convinced I am mastering this. The pita is finally ready and we can't wait for it to cool off. So we dig into it, with fingers of course because it's a sin to eat pita with a fork. And in that very first bite I feel everything. The strong flavor of the walnuts, the sweetness of the leak, the cracking of the crust of the pita as if every crack tells a different story. We eat silently and as we finish my Nana asks me what do I think about my first pita. Not bad even though yours' are much better, I say. True, she replies, but you can tell this only to me. To the rest of the world, if there is something wrong with the pita, always blame the flour, she says with a smile and sends me home with the remains of my labor.