Fatayer
By Birgitta
Yotam Ottolenghi.
This bread snack from Palestine and Lebanon is ideal picnic fare.
- 12
Ingredients
- For the dough:
- 40 ml milk
- 1 tsp active dried yeast
- 300 g strong white bread flour
- One third tsp salt
- 165 ml water
- 40 ml sunflower oil
- For the filling:
- 200 g washed spinach leaf, chopped
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 11/2 tsp salt
- 11/2 tbsp sumac
- 11/2 tbsp olive oil
- 11/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp pomegranate syrup
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts, chopped
- Black pepper
- 80 g feta cheese (optional)
Preparation
Step 1
Warm the milk to body temperature, then stir in the yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes, then put all the dough ingredients in a mixer bowl and, with a dough hook, knead on a low speed for four minutes, then on medium speed for eight minutes. Once the dough is smooth and silky, transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with a moist cloth and leave somewhere warm for 45 minutes, until doubled in volume.
Put the spinach, onion and salt in a bowl and work together with your hands. Set aside for 15 minutes, squeeze out as much water as you can, then transfer to a clean bowl. Add the rest of the filling ingredients apart from the feta, and mix. Taste - it should be a sharp, sweet and sour. Break in the feta (if using) and fold in.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Use a sharp knife to divide the dough into small portions, roughly 40g each. Dust a work surface with flour and roll each portion into a round about 0.5cm thick and 10cm in diameter. Stretch them, like a pizza, to make them thin enough. Place one and a half tablespoons of the filling in the centre of each circle.
Think of each disc as having three equal sides. Lift two sides and pinch together halfway down, to make a thin, raised joint, then lift the third side and pinch it to the loose edges - you should now have a rough triangle with a Y-shaped seam at the top. Emphasise the seam by pinching and lifting it upwards. Transfer to an oven tray lined with a baking sheet, spacing them 2cm apart. Score with a fork in a couple of places and put somewhere warm to rise for 15 minutes. Brush with olive oil, then bake for 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature.