Lebanese fatayer sit firmly on our list of favorite comfort foods.  They show up in Lebanon and the Middle East on gatherings, wedding buffet lines and every special occasion. The inspiration behind this epic meat fatayer recipe comes from my mother-in-law who calls them sfeeha, they have a delicate, soft pastry shell surrounding a flavorful stewed meat, onion and tomato filling and are seasoned with a hint of spiciness. In an awkward attempt to convince my mother-in-law, that sfeeha is something totally different, she answered: “When you love a certain dish, make it the way you want to, put your own little touches on it, and name it whatever you wish, who cares!” She made me laugh, bless her heart. Brief, cooks in every region of Lebanon make their own type of fatayer, and the term sfeeha is often used interchangeably with meat fatayer;  although both sfeeha and meat fatayer use the same dough, the filling and crimping style is different. Here is a detailed recipe on how to make authentic Lebanese sfeeha, check it out.

Make them and they’ll be gone in a flash!

Lebanese Meat Fatayer/ Lebanese Meat Turnovers (Video)

These savory, and flavorful meat fatayer, with their soft center and perfectly golden crust, hit all the delicious notes needed to satisfy the family! I like to make them as a hearty dinner paired with ayran and serve them to family and visitors, they are too a welcome treat in school lunch boxes, picnics and potlucks.

A fatayer day can be a spectacular event. It means making your own dough from scratch, and making a knockout meat-tomato filling. Once you learn making this dough, you may want to try your hand at making so many fillings. What can you put in there? So many things! Consider stuffing with cheese, kishik, fresh zaatar leaves and feta cheese, purslane, spinach, wild sorrel, etc..You name it!

Shaping Fatayer

There is more than one way to shape fatayer; the most traditional folding method is the pyramid triangle shape that most probably you know, or the half-moon-shaped pocket fatayer that looks like empanadas. And the third is the artfully crafted fatayer of my mother-in-law; the crimping and pleating is somewhat of a work of art, a repetitive motion, ending up with an eye-catching pattern. I feel a sense of achievement when I create these fatayer, they make my inner self much happy! Watch the video tutorial to learn how to shape the three versions!

About the dough: As mentioned above, we are usung my versatile dough, same dough used to make sfeeha!

• This is such a versatile dough, it can be used to make mini manakish, spinach fatayer, calzones, mini pizzas, and turnovers, so I guess it is pretty good to learn it and keep it in your repertoire.
• Use whole milk to make the dough and never use the skimmed stuff.
• When making the dough, milk should be lukewarm and never use hot milk.  The hot milk will kill the yeast which guarantees your dough will never rise.
• Kneading the dough by hand is pretty simple; I love kneading all yeast dough by hand – I am an old school, but you can use a stand mixer fitted with a hook if you prefer!  Slam the dough on a floured countertop a couple of times this will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Watch the video!

To make the dough:

In a large bowl, mix the flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt and oil.  Add the lukewarm milk and mix well. Knead the dough until it is of one texture.  Slam it a couple of times on a countertop before you cover it with cling film, this will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Watch the video! Set aside for one hour or until it doubles in bulk.

To make the stewed minced meat filling:

Heat a large skillet over high heat and coat with oil, add the minced meat and break up into large pieces. Let it brown for several minutes. Stir in the chopped onions and season with cinnamon powder, black pepper and cayenne, if used. Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, salt will cause tomatoes to release their juices and will also concentrate the it’s flavor. Turn the heat to medium and simmer covered for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked and the moisture evaporates. Take a bite and adjust seasoning to your taste preference, we don’t want a bland flavor! Leave it to cool down, or your fatayer will unravel while baking. It is advisable to refrigerate the filling for 6 hours or overnight.

To put together:

When the dough has doubled in size, flour a counter top and break off the dough into equal balls roughly the size of a ping pong ball. Stretch each dough with a rolling pin to a round circle 1/3 cm. thick, making sure to flour the countertop and the rolling pin every now and then to avoid sticking the dough.

Add a spoonful of the meat filling in the center of the round dough. Crimp and pleat the dough over the filling alternating left and right sides. Watch the video tutorial!

Or alternatively, you can make a crescent-shaped fatayer. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the round dough and fold into a halfmoon; pinch the edges together, press and twist the edges of dough together. Watch the video tutorial.

Here is the most common way of shaping afatayer, add a spoonful of filling in the center of a round dough.  Lift the edges of the circle up and bring it together to the center of the circle.  Seal by pinching the ends together, forming a pyramid. Make sure the edges are well sealed otherwise it will unfold while baking; watch the video tutorial!

Lightly grease two large baking sheets with oil and place the meat fatayer on the greased sheets. Make sure to leave enough space between each fatayer. Bake for about 12 to 15  minutes to a golden color. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Storage: Allow the baked fatayer to cool before storing in the refrigerator. Meat fatayer can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days, freeze for up to 3 months.

Serve Meat Fatayer straight out of the oven, but enjoying them at room temperature is common practice.

Lebanese Meat Fatayer/ Lebanese Meat Turnovers Video:

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 500 g / 1lb 2 oz. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoons instant dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk, or a bit less

For the filling:

•  500 g/ 1 lb. 2 oz minced lamb or beef
• 1 medium onion
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, optional

Directions:

1. Start making the dough:  In a large bowl, mix the flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt and oil.  Add the lukewarm milk and mix well.
2. Knead the dough until it is of one texture.  Slam it a couple of times on a countertop before you cover it with cling film, this will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Watch the video! Set aside for one and a half hour or until it doubles in bulk.
3. In the meantime, prepare the meat filling: Heat the skillet over high heat and coat with oil, add the minced meat and break up into large pieces. Let it brown for several minutes. Stir in the chopped onions and season with cinnamon powder, black pepper and cayenne, if used. Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, salt will cause tomatoes to release their juices and will also concentrate it’s flavor. Turn the heat to medium and simmer covered for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked and the moisture evaporates. Take a bite and adjust seasoning to your taste preference, we don’t want a bland flavor! Leave it to cool down, or your fatayer will unravel while baking. It is advisable to refrigerate the filling for 6 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C/430°F.  Place the rack in the center of the oven.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, flour a counter top and break off the dough into equal balls roughly the size of a ping pong ball or a bit smaller.
6.  Stretch each dough with a rolling pin to a round circle 1/3 cm/3 or 4 mm thick (it should be thin), making sure to flour the countertop and the rolling pin every now and then to avoid sticking the dough.
7. I will provide you with three attractive ways of shaping meat fatayer:
8. The first way is somewhat of a work of art! Place a spoonful of filling in the center of round dough, crimp and pleat the dough over the filling alternating left and right sides. Make sure to seal well. Watch the video tutorial!
9. The second is the crescent pocket fatayer that looks like empanadas. Add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of round dough and fold into halfmoon and pinch the edges together, press and twist the edges of dough together. Watch the video tutorial!
10. And the last and the most common way of shaping fatayer is the pyramid triangle shape that most probably you know, add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the round.  Lift the edges of the circle up and bring it together to the center of the circle.  Seal by pinching the ends together, forming a pyramid. Make sure your fatayer are well sealed otherwise they will unfold while baking! Watch the video tutorial!
11. Lightly grease two large baking sheets with oil and place the meat fatayer on the greased sheets. Make sure to leave enough space between each fatayer.
12. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes to a golden color. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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You might like to check our Sfeeha” / Authentic Lebanese Meat Pies

And this enticing Gaziantep Lahmacun

Another appetizer worth learning about: Lebanese Cheese Sambusek!

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