Fatayer with four fillings
Middle Eats · ♥ 14.6K likes · 466.9K views · 10 min video
Read about ground lamb in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 250 g low moisture mozzarella
- 20 g parsley
Cheese filling: shred 250 grams of low moisture mozzarella on the large side of a grater, then use the grater to strip the leaves off about 20 grams of parsley and roughly chop them.
- 200 g feta cheese
Break 200 grams of feta into smaller chunks and add it with the parsley, a tablespoon of nigella seeds and a teaspoon of dried mint.
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 2 whole eggs
Whisk two eggs, pour over and mash it all together with a fork.
- 250 g spinach
Spinach filling: roughly chop 250 grams of washed spinach so the leaves are in two to three pieces.
- ½ tsp salt
Macerate it by massaging in half a teaspoon of salt, then let it sit 15 to 20 minutes for the salt to wilt the leaves.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 30 g pine nuts
- 250 g onions
Fry 30 grams of pine nuts in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat about three minutes until some turn golden, then drain them on paper towel.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Dice 250 grams of onions small and saute in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat about five to six minutes until totally softened and just starting to brown at the edges, then cool.
Squeeze the macerated spinach tightly by the handful over a sieve until all the liquid is out, or the filling will be too wet and the dough will not seal.
Squeezing and mixing the spinach filling
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sumac
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 2 cloves garlic
Combine the spinach with the sauteed onions, the pine nuts, a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, two tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of sumac, half a teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon each of black pepper, cayenne and paprika, and two cloves of minced garlic.
- 125 g onions
- 175 g tomatoes
- 250 g lamb mince
Meat filling: dice 125 grams of onions fine and 175 grams of tomatoes fairly small, and drain the tomatoes in a sieve about 15 minutes.
- 1½ tbsp concentrated tomato paste
- 1½ tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
Combine 250 grams of lamb mince with the onions and drained tomatoes, one and a half tablespoons each of concentrated tomato paste and pomegranate molasses, a teaspoon each of salt and paprika, half a teaspoon of sumac, a quarter teaspoon each of black pepper and cayenne and about a quarter teaspoon of grated nutmeg.
- ½ tsp sumac
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp prepared zaatar
Mix with your hands until homogeneous, working it until a ball presses easily into a smooth log. It goes onto the dough raw.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 540 g milk
Zaatar topping: mix two tablespoons of prepared zaatar with two tablespoons of olive oil into a thick oily mixture.
Za'atar topping
- 4 tsp sugar
- 4 tsp dry active yeast
Dough: heat 540 grams of milk until warm, about 28 degrees, add four teaspoons of sugar, mix, then four teaspoons of dry active yeast and mix again. Leave 10 to 15 minutes until a bubbly layer forms; give it 10 more if not.
- 1 kg flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 240 g vegetable oil
With the beater attachment, briefly mix 1 kilogram of flour with two teaspoons of salt, then pour in 240 grams of vegetable oil and mix on the lowest speed about 30 seconds until the flour is sandy and clumps easily.
Switch to the dough hook, pour in the yeasty milk, start slow to combine then knead about two and a half minutes on medium speed, until soft and elastic and leaving no trace on your hands.
Oil the bowl lightly, return the dough and rest about 30 minutes until doubled.
Punch it down, turn it out and cut it into quarters with a bench scraper, roll into balls and cover three while working with the first.
Portion into 25 gram pieces on a kitchen scale and roll each into a smooth ball, pulling the rough edges down to the bottom; about 68 balls.
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Brush a sheet tray with a teaspoon of vegetable oil to crisp the bottoms.
- flour
Spinach shape: lightly flour the surface, roll a ball into a circle about 10 centimeters across, put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre leaving a gap at the edges, fold three sides to the middle and pinch each pair of opposing sides into a triangle or pyramid, then pinch every seam thoroughly, especially the centre where they meet.
Meat shape: roll a slightly smaller circle, press in a couple of teaspoons of filling kept a little thick with a 1 cm gap at the edge, then gather and pinch four sharp corners so the edges stand upright, and pinch them together in your palm to seal.
Cheese shape: roll into a wide oval, lay a few teaspoons of filling along the centre pressed down and spread slightly, fold both long edges over towards the centre and pinch them together at either tip, like a mini Turkish pide.
Zaatar shape: roll into a circle, place directly on the tray, add some of the zaatar mixture to the middle and spread it most of the way to the edges.
Preheat the oven as hot as it will go and bake about 5 to 6 minutes, turning the tray halfway. Do a test batch and adjust by 30 seconds; the bottom should be golden and cooked through and the dough soft and fluffy. No oven temperature is stated.