Lebanese spinach pies

Lebanese spinach pies, also known as “fatayer” in Arabic, are savory little pockets filled with flavorful spinach filling.
They can be served hot or at room temperature and can function as either a main dish or an appetizer.

They’re made with a simple homemade dough recipe, stuffed with a mix of spinach, onion, sumac, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper filling, and baked in the oven until golden and puffed.

You can use either fresh or frozen spinach. If using frozen spinach, you need to thaw and squeeze out any excess water because leaving any liquid can cause your pies to open. If using fresh, it’s best to wash and dry it before chopping.

I always use my fast dough recipe for making pies but you can use your favorite dough recipe

Ingredients

Dough recipe:

5 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup oil
2 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Spinach filling recipe:

300 g fresh spinach
1 small chopped onion
3 tbsp sumac
2 tbsp lemon juice (or squeeze half a lemon)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (adjust to your liking)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Your instructions are almost there! A couple of small adjustments:

Wash the spinach and dry it thoroughly, or you can use store-bought pre-washed spinach.
Start making the dough by mixing 2 cups of warm water with 2 cups of flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp yeast, and salt. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it doubles in size.
Add the remaining flour to the mixture along with the oil, and knead until you get a soft dough.
Chop the spinach and the onion, then mix them with olive oil, sumac, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.

5. On a clean flat surface, place the dough and cut it in half.
6.Cover the other half for later use, then sprinkle flour and roll out the remaining half.

7. Use a round cutter to cut the dough into small circles; I used my 9-inch cutter roller for its speed, cutting the whole thing in seconds.
8.Fill with spinach, adding a good amount.