80 Min

Fatayer

A samosa may be one of the most popular southeast Asian snacks, but its origin lies in the Middle East. From the Persian sambusak, a crisp filled baked pastry and the precursor to the samosa, to the Lebanese sfeeha, open faced square meat pies, there exists a whole family of savory snacks worth getting to know. My current favorite is the fatayer, a triangular baked pastry usually stuffed with cheese, feta, spinach or meat that is easy and fun to make. The yeasted dough for the fatayer differs from the laminated pastries of France by first being easier to make to also being lighter yet just as tasty. Versions of fatayer are made all over the Middle East from Syria to Lebanon to Palestine and Israel. You can make it your own by filling it with a whole variety of cheeses, caramelized onions, chopped spinach or other greens or a meat of your choice. Or a combination of all the above.

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Cook Time

1 Hour and 20 Minutes

Serves

5

Directions

Step 1

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a paddle, combine the flours, yeast, salt, sugar, kalonji, olive oil, baking powder and oregano. Mix until the spices and olive oil have evenly distributed in the mixture. If doing it by hand, follow the same steps.

Step 2

Next add the yogurt and 1/2 cup warm water and mix until a soft dough has formed. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour or vice versa. Smooth it out with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and let it rest in a bowl at room temperature for a couple of hours, until it has risen to twice its volume.

Step 3

In the meanwhile, to make the filling, over high heat, warm the olive oil in a stockpot or a frying pan. Add the cardamom, coriander, garlic and onion and fry for a few minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Step 4

Add the minced lamb, red chile flakes, cumin and black pepper and continue cooking until all the liquid from the meat has evaporated. Lower the heat and continue simmering the meat for another 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 5

Once the meat has cooked through, is dry and has cooled, add the feta cheese and parsley.

Step 6

To make the pastries, roll the dough out into a large circle. Using a circular cutter, cut out 3-inch circles or larger if you prefer. You should end up with somewhere between 25 and 30 circles.

Step 7

Dab a little bit of water on the edges of the dough round. Top each one with a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and close the pastry on three sides, pinching it together on the top to make it a triangle. Make sure the edges are closed, or they will burst open during baking. Alternately, they can be made to left open for the filling to peek through the pastry.

Step 8

Refrigerate or freeze the pastries if you need to until they are ready to bake. When ready to bake, proof them outside for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the egg wash on the pies and place in the oven. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, then check, turn the baking sheet over if needed then bake for another 5 minutes.

Step 9

Serve with plain yogurt swirled with honey and salt.

Notes & Variations

This recipe was adapted from the book The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis.
When picking the filling for the fatayer, make sure it is not too wet nor too dry, or it will make the pastry dry/soggy. It should have enough moisture to not dry out during the baking process.
Use a rolling pin to crush the cardamom seeds just slightly.

Ingredients

Pastry dough:

2 1/2 cups (11 oz | 300g) all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups (7 oz | 200g) whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 teaspoon baking powder

11/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon kalonji (nigella) seeds

3 tablespoons dried oregano

1/2 cup olive oil

2/3 cup plain yogurt

Filling:

4 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds

2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup minced onion

1-pound lean lamb or beef

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon ground toasted cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 bunch parsley, minced with bottom 3” stems discarded

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk

1 cup plain yogurt with a pinch of salt and honey

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Once the meat has cooked through, is dry and has cooled, add the feta cheese and parsley.

Step 6

To make the pastries, roll the dough out into a large circle. Using a circular cutter, cut out 3-inch circles or larger if you prefer. You should end up with somewhere between 25 and 30 circles.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Serve with plain yogurt swirled with honey and salt.

Pastry dough:

2 1/2 cups (11 oz | 300g) all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups (7 oz | 200g) whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 teaspoon baking powder

11/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon kalonji (nigella) seeds

3 tablespoons dried oregano

1/2 cup olive oil

2/3 cup plain yogurt

Filling:

4 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds

2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup minced onion

1-pound lean lamb or beef

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon ground toasted cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 bunch parsley, minced with bottom 3” stems discarded

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk

1 cup plain yogurt with a pinch of salt and honey

Notes & Variations

This recipe was adapted from the book The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis.
When picking the filling for the fatayer, make sure it is not too wet nor too dry, or it will make the pastry dry/soggy. It should have enough moisture to not dry out during the baking process.
Use a rolling pin to crush the cardamom seeds just slightly.

Tags:

80 Min

Tags:

80 Min

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