Lebanese spinach pies or fatayir bi sbenigh (sabanigh, sabanegh) as they are commonly referred to in the Middle East, are best described as mini dough pies stuffed with a savoury, tart stuffing. The dough is rolled out nice and thin to create a light crust, then it’s filled generously with the spinach, onion lemony stuffing. These little pies make a great appetizer and pair well with any of our lentil soups. Make a large batch and freeze them for on the go snacks or lunch.
When making these fatayir you have the option of using fresh or frozen spinach. we love using frozen spinach because it takes out some of the work and it’s always on hand when a spinach craving hits. The thing with spinach is that it is full of moisture and that is not the best combination when you’re making sealed dough pies. To avoid the awkwardly open spinach pie it’s important to salt fresh spinach for a few minutes before squeezing them as dry as possible. For frozen, the moisture releases without salting but squeezing is still crucial. Onions are also full of moisture but that is not usually a problem unless you mince them really fine in the blender. In this case place your onions in fine colander to let access moisture drip off before adding to mix.
Creating a perfect thin fatayir means that the dough drys out faster when assembling pies. To avoid that, cover any pies or unused rolled out dough to keep it from drying out before baking. This recipe makes enough appetizers for 10 people, the amount of pies it makes relies entirely on the size of pie you decide to make.
Assembly
- Divide dough in half and Roll out onto lightly floured surface to about 1/8″ thickness and use circle cutter ( a size you’re comfortable with) to cut shape in dough. We use a 4 inch cutter.
- Place stuffing in center of dough and bring two sides together half way down dough and pinch shut; pull bottom remaining flap and close well.
- Repeat with all dough until finished.
- Place on lightly greased baking sheet, cover and rest for 15 minutes before baking in a 500 F oven until golden brown.
Lebanese Spinach Pies { فطائر السبانخ}
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- or sub half with whole grain flour
- 1½ cup warm water
- 1½ tsp active dry yeast
- 1½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp oil
Stuffing
- 1 lb chopped spinach frozen or fresh
- 2 medium onion – minced
- 1½ tsp sumac
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium lemon- juiced
- 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
Dough
- Warm water to 100 F.
- Add flour, salt and sugar to medium size bowl; combine.
- Make a well in the center of the flour; pour water into the well; Sprinkle yeast over water surface and add oil; let sit for 10 minutes to allow yeast to activate.Tip: If the weather is humid you will need to reduce the amount of water slightly. you still want your dough to be tacky but not sticking to your hands.
- Use a spoon to mix the dry and wet ingredients together, and once incorporated knead with hands.
- Turn onto a floured surface and continue to knead until smooth and elastic and slightly tacky but not sticking to hands.Tip: you can use a mixer to make the dough as well.
- Rub with some oil, place in clean bowl, cover and leave to double in size; about one hour.
Stuffing
- Place chopped fresh spinach in bowl; add salt, mix let sit for 5 min before squeezing out excess juice. Alternatively, if using frozen spinach just thaw and squeeze without salting.Tip: this step is crucial because spinach has a lot of moisture and this can cause the pies to open when baking.
- Add sumac, olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, and salt (if using frozen) and combine.
Assembly
- Divide dough in half and Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" thickness and use circle cutter ( a size you're comfortable with) to cut shape in dough. We use a 4 inch cutter.
- Place stuffing in the center of dough and bring two sides together halfway down dough and pinch shut; pull bottom remaining flap and close well.
- Repeat with all dough until finished.
- Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover and rest for 15 minutes before baking in a 500 F oven until golden brown.