Cheese Fatayer Pies (+ Spinach & Meat Fillings)

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love. 

This recipe for Cheese or Spinach Fatayer came from my podcast guest (and my husband!), John Hadeed. Make sure you listen to his episode Arabic Feasts With My Husband, John Hadeed while you make these homemade Cheese Fatayer (Spinach and Meat fillings below as well), Arabic Triangle Pies!

The first time I met my husband's large Palestinian family, it was for a feast. The next time - another feast! And then, the third time - well, you get the idea. At first, confronted with a table of unfamiliar foods, I wasn't sure what to try! I quickly realized I liked ALL of it. My favorite was the tabbouleh. My husband's favorite has always been the Fatayer.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Below is a simple dough recipe for homemade Fatayer dough, and three different Fatayer filling options to choose from: cheese, meat, and spinach

Dough

• All Purpose Flour, Salt, and Sugar, and Water
• Butter - or shortening
• Dry Yeast - comes in two forms, instant dry yeast, and active dry yeast; instant yeast means that you will not have to activate it before using it, you can simply use it right away. On the other hand, active yeast means you will need to activate it like dissolving it in warm water (it could also tell you to add sugar for the yeast to feed off of)
• Mahlab - black cherry kernels (optional)

If you have leftover Fatyer dough, this works well as a pizza dough, too! I love a two-and-one!

Cheese Filling

• Syrian cheese - This is a type of cheese that is a cross between mozzarella cheese, feta, and halloumi. If you can't find this, you can substitute it with Feta cheese crumbs, Ackawi cheese (or Akkawi Cheese, traditional Arabic cheese), or another salty cheese of your choice
• Parsley, Onion, Salt, and Pepper

Meat Filling

• Lamb Meat - coarsely ground, can be substituted with ground beef 
• Lemon Juice - can be substituted with vinegar
• Onion, Pine Nuts, Salt, Pepper, Allspice, and Butter

Spinach Filling

• Spinach, Lemon Juice, Oil, Sumac, Onions, Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Dough

• Dissolve yeast in water and sugar. (only if using active yeast). Cover and let rise.
• In a large bowl mix flour and salt.
• Add the yeast and butter.
• Gradually add the lukewarm water; mixing until dough is smooth.
• Cover with a clean towel and put in a warm place until dough rises.
• Divide dough into pieces 2″ or 2.5″ in diameter. Form into balls by tucking the dough underneath the balls to make them round and smooth. Let rest for 30 minutes between blankets.

Cheese Stuffing

• Mix all ingredients together. Use to stuff dough.

Meat Stuffing

• Saute onions in butter until tender. Add meat and spices. Saute until tender. Add browned pine nuts and lemon or vinegar.

Spinach Stuffing

• Wash and chop the spinach. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the extra moisture.
• Mix with the rest of the ingredients and set aside.

Make the Pies

• Pinch a 2.5″ piece of dough and roll out to 4″ circles.
• Put a heaping tablespoon of cheese mixture (or spinach/meat) on each circle.
• Fold up from the bottom to the middle and bring sides to center to form triangle. Press down seams firmly and pinch ends together.
• Grease pan (can also line with parchment paper). Place pies on the prepared baking sheet and brush tops with olive oil.
• Bake in a preheated oven 400°F / 204°C degree oven until pies are a beautiful golden color.

Working With Yeast Dough

Though there are only three dry ingredients and it looks simple enough to make this authentic Fatayer dough (and it is!) the most important thing to look out for is that your yeast is incorporated the right way. 

Instant vs Active Yeast

• In the Ingredients section above, I have already mentioned the difference between instant and active yeast (active means it needs to be activated with warm liquids and sometimes fed sugar while instant means you can use it without any preparation) so many sure to look at that

Don't Kill Your Yeast!

• The temperature of the activating water or liquids should not exceed 115°F (46°C)

Test Your (Active) Yeast

• Active yeast can be very temperamental. Even if you bought a package and used it the next day, it might have died even if the expiration date had not come to pass. 
• In order to avoid using dead, active yeast, you can test the yeast before using it in your homemade dough so your Fatayer dough isn't flat.
• Simply add a 1/4 cup warm water and a sprinkle of sugar (just like in the instructions) in a bowl with your yeast and if after about 10 minutes it is bubbling, you know that your yeast is alive and ready to use.

source: Serious Eats

Equipment List

• Mixing bowl
• Skillet
• Baking sheet

Storage

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

More Middle Eastern Recipes

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Recipe

Cheese Fatayer (Or Spinach): Arabic Triangle Pies

This recipe came from an authentic family cookbook that my husband's Palestinian family gifted me with when we got married.. Begin with the classic fatayer dough, then fill with cheese, meat, or spinach fillings.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Baking, Breads

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Palestinian

Servings 50 servings

Calories 196 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Dough

• 2 lbs Flour
• 2 tablespoon Butter or shortening *See Note 1
• 1 envelope Dry yeast *See Note 2
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• 2 cups lukewarm Water (approx)
• 1/2 teaspoon Mahlab (black cherry kernels; optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon Sugar

Cheese Stuffing

• 2 cups chopped Syrian cheese or Feta crumbs *See Note 3
• 1 cup Parsley finely chopped
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Meat Stuffing

• 2 lbs Lamb meat coarsely ground (I use ground beef)
• 1 large Onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Pine Nuts lightly browned
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper and Allspice
• 1/4 cup Lemon juice or vinegar
• 1/4 cup Butter or margarine

Spinach Stuffing

• 2 lbs Spinach
• 2 large Onions chopped
• 2 Lemons (juice of 2 lemons)
• 3/4 c Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sumac
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Cue Up The Episode!

• Make sure to listen to John on The Storied Recipe Podcast, "Arabic Feasts with My Husband, John Hadeed" while you make this Fatayer recipe!

Make The Recipe

Dough

• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover and let rise. This step is only if you are using active yeast.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.
• Add the yeast mixture and butter (or shortening).
• Gradually add in lukewarm water, mixing and kneading until the dough is smooth and soft.
• Cover with a clean towel and put in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough rises.
• When it has risen, divide the dough into pieces 2″ or 2.5″ in diameter. Form into balls by tucking the dough underneath itself to make them round and smooth. Let rest for 30 minutes under the towel.

Cheese Stuffing

• Mix all ingredients together.

Meat Stuffing

• Saute onions in butter until tender. Add meat and spices. Saute until tender. Add browned pine nuts and lemon or vinegar. Let cool before stuffing the dough.

Spinach Stuffing

• Wash and chop the spinach and sprinkle with salt. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the extra moisture. Mix with all the ingredients and set aside.

Make the Pies

• Take a ball of dough and roll it into 4″ flattened circles.
• Put a heaping tablespoon of filling on each circle.
• Fold the dough from the bottom to the middle and bring the sides to the center to form a triangle. Press down the seams firmly (it will make a ridge) and pinch the ends together.
• Place the pies on a prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.
• Bake in a preheated 400°F / 204°C degree oven until pies are golden brown (20 minutes for a crunchy exterior; less for a soft exterior)

Notes

• Note 1: Can substitute with shortening
• Note 2: Yeast comes in two forms, instant dry yeast, and active dry yeast; instant yeast means that you will not have to activate it before using it, you can simply use it right away. On the other hand, active yeast means you will need to activate it by dissolving it in warm water (it could also tell you to add sugar for the yeast to feed off of).
• Note 3: This is a type of cheese that is a cross between mozzarella cheese, feta, and halloumi. If you can't find this, you can substitute it with Feta cheese crumbs, Ackawi cheese (or Akkawi Cheese, traditional Arabic cheese) or another salty cheese of your choice
• Make sure to listen to John on The Storied Recipe Podcast, "Arabic Feasts with My Husband, John Hadeed" while you make his Fatayer recipe!

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 7gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 289mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1.858IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Arabic Pies, Cheese Fatayer, Fatayer, Meat Fatayer, Pastry, Spinach Fatayer

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