Spinach and Cheese Fatayer (Turnover)
Spinach and Cheese Fatayer are one of my all time favourite Middle Eastern dishes along with Hummus and Falafel. Fatayer’s are usually made with a meat filling but the Spinach filling is also quite popular in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern’s countries. The Fatayer’s are quite easy to make you don’t even have to pre-cook the filling.
It’s important you use two types of flour when making Fatayer as you will need the sturdier wholemeal bread flour (unfortunately I only had 50 g left this time so I added more all purpose flour which is also ok. I recommend you eat these with either some rice, veggies, hummus, lebnah or falafels.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes + 1 Hour Rest Time
Ingredients for 10 Fatayer’s:
Wholemeal bread flour - 100 g
All purpose flour - 90 g
Dry Yeast - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Olive Oil - 1 Tbs
Warm Water - 150 mL
Egg - 1
Spinach - 125 g
Mozzarella - 100 g
Onion - 1
Lemon - juice from 1/2
Salt & Pepper
Preparation:
We start making the Fatayer by making the dough as this will have to rest for an hour later.
Get a bowl and add all the dry ingredients: wholemeal flour, all purpose flour and yeast. Mix with your hands.
Pour the olive oil in the middle of the dry ingredients and mix again with your hands, then start adding the warm water little by little. Keep working the dough with your hands and adding water until you find the perfect dough spot (not sticky but compact). You should be working the dough for around 10 minutes.
Once you feel like the consistency is right, roll it into a ball and place it in a bowl, cover some flour on top and cover with a cling film. Leave to rest for one hour in a warm environment.
Now you can start making the filling. Chop your onions and squeeze your lemon juice. Add them both into a bowl. Then chop the mozzarella into small pieces and add to the bowl as well. Last but not least, wash your spinach, cut it roughly with your hands and add it to the bowl. Add salt and pepper and mix with your hands.
Once the hour has passed take your dough and work it a little more with your hands, then start making balls (you should be able to make around 10 the size of a golf ball). Once you have the balls you can roll them out into thin circles.
Pre-heat your oven to 220°C top and bottom.
Take your thin dough circle and add some spinach filling to the middle. Wet the edges of the dough very slightly with your fingertips and seal the sides (here you can be quite creative and either make little balls like I did or make an envelope shape like the original Fatayer’s).
Once you have made the Fatayer’s lay them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Beat the egg and brush them with the egg wash before putting them in the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes turn your oven to fan mode and keep baking for another 5 minutes or until they are nice and golden.
Serve warm.