Fatayer Bi Sabanikh
The Levantine spinach turnover: yeasted dough rounds filled with wilted spinach sharpened with sumac, lemon and pomegranate, folded into tricorns and baked.
Overview
Spinach is wilted briefly with salt, drained, squeezed dry. Mixed with onion, sumac, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and lemon juice. A simple yeasted dough is rolled into 11 cm rounds; a heaped tablespoon of filling sits in the centre; the dough is folded into a three-cornered pyramid and pinched tightly closed. Baked at 200°C for 18 minutes until deep gold.
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g plain flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) fast-action yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 300 ml warm water
Filling
- 500 g fresh spinach (washed, chopped) or 250 g frozen, thawed
- 1 teaspoon salt (for drawing water from spinach)
- 1 onion (medium, very finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons sumac
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ lemon (juice)
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
To finish
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing)
Method
Stage 1 - Dough
- Whisk flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
- Add olive oil and warm water; mix to a soft dough.
- Knead 8 minutes until smooth. Cover; rise 1 hour until doubled.
Stage 2 - Filling
- Place the chopped spinach in a colander; sprinkle with salt; toss; leave 15 minutes.
- Squeeze handfuls of spinach hard over the sink to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Combine the squeezed spinach with onion, sumac, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, lemon, allspice and pepper. Taste; adjust sumac and lemon.
Stage 3 - Shape
- Heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
- Knock back the dough; divide into 18 balls.
- Cover; rest 10 minutes.
- Roll each ball into an 11 cm round, about 3 mm thick.
Stage 4 - Fill and fold
- Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each round.
- Pinch the edges into a three-cornered pyramid:
- Lift the right-top edge towards the centre, pinching the seam closed
- Lift the left-top edge towards the centre, pinching the seam
- Lift the bottom edge up to meet both, pinching all seams tightly closed
- The result is a small pyramid with three seams meeting at the top - completely sealed.
- Place on lined baking trays, seam-side up.
Stage 5 - Bake
- Brush each fatayer lightly with olive oil.
- Bake 18-22 minutes until deep gold.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Stack on a plate. Eat warm or at room temperature. A squeeze of lemon at the table doesn't hurt.
Notes
- Squeeze the spinach hard: Wet spinach makes wet fatayer that won't seal and leak in the oven. Squeeze in handfuls; the volume halves.
- Three-cornered pyramid: The classic Levantine fold. The first three will leak; by the fifth you'll have it. Watch a video if needed.
- Sumac is the signature: The dark-red dried sumac berries give the spinach its bright tartness. Without it, the filling is plain.
Storage
- Refrigerate 3 days; re-warm at 180°C 6 minutes.
- Freeze 2 months (baked); reheat from frozen at 180°C 12 minutes.
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