Fatayer (Arabic: فطاير) is a Middle Eastern style pie that can alternatively be stuffed with meat, spinach or cheese such as feta or A’kawi. It is part of a wide Arab cuisine and is eaten in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and some Mediterranean countries like Israel, Turkey and Greece. It is a favorite appetizer for the Armenian community living in Lebanon and abroad. These pies have to be made ahead of time because they’re time consuming however, they’re well worth the effort. They make great appetizers at parties, even a light lunch or dinner. The recipe can be easily doubled and you can adjust the filling as desired.
This recipe makes 36-40 pies.
Ingredients: Pastry:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granular instant yeast
1 cup water
Method for Pastry:
Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add water gradually and mix with hands to make a fairly pliable dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes. Add more flour if needed. Place in a clean bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Pinch down.
Filling:
1 pound fresh spinach
1 tablespoon salt or to taste
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sumak
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1/4 teaspoon red pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable cooking spray for top of pies
Zest of 2 fresh lemons
Method:
- Remove roots and yellow leaves from spinach. Chop finely then wash well and drain, rub with 1/4 tsp salt. Drain spinach again with your hands to dry. Squeeze all liquid well from spinach before proceeding to the next step.
- Mix the onions with remaining salt. Add pepper, sumac and remaining ingredients. Add spinach and mix well. Put aside.
- Roll out dough using a rolling pin till dough is as thin as possible (5 mm). Invert a tea cup on dough or a cookie cutter and press to have equal circles. (see photos below)
- Place a tablespoon of spinach filling on each piece. Bring up sides at 3 points to form a triangular shape.
- Press edges firmly with fingertips to seal completely (put flour on finger tips to help seal).
- Place pies on oiled baking sheets. Spray tops with vegetable cooking spray.
- Bake in a moderately hot oven (400° F) for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
- Serve hot or cold
- You can freeze these pies for up to 1 month.
P.S: You can use frozen spinach as well. Squeeze all liquid out of them first before adding the rest of the ingredients. I’ve found the best way to do this is to press the spinach against the sides of a colander, then squeeze into a tight ball between your hands (like packing a snowball), finally place the spinach between several layers of paper towels and pressing your weight down against the counter. This will insure that each pies will be well sealed after baking.
Bon Appetit