Fatayr bi'l-Sabanikh
Region: Arab Levant, Lebanon
Category: Antipasto, Meze, Tapas, and Hors d'Oeuvres
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
This very popular Lebanese
version of spinach pie is known as faá¹ayr
bi'l-sabÄnikh or just faá¹ayr for
short.  (3)LO.jpg)
They appear on nearly every meze
table. These pies are also called sabÄnikh bi'l-cajÄ«n, the
vegetable version of laḥm bi'l-cajīn
or colloquially, laḥm bÄ« ajÄ«n and in Palestine as ÄqrÄs bi'l-sabÄ«nikh, an expression more
generic in meaning. Although they are
eaten by all segments of the population, they are particularly common on
Christian tables during the Lenten period.
They have something similar in Egypt, called a faá¹Ä«r,
which is nevertheless quite different.
When making the spinach stuffing, it's important that the spinach be
completely dry, so it's best to wash it in the morning and let it dry on some
kitchen towels during the day or use a salad spinner, then blot with paper
towels. The dried berries of the sumac bush (Rhus coriaria), with their tart taste, are used in Lebanese cooking
with enthusiasm. The maroon-colored ground berries are sold in Middle Eastern
markets.
[photo: Clifford A. Wright]
Yield: Makes 24 pies
Preparation Time: 3 hours
For the dough
1 Basic Pizza Dough recipe, adding 1/2 teaspoon sugar to that dough
For the stuffing
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 1/2 pounds spinach, heavy stems removed, washed well, and dried thoroughly
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 tablespoons sumac
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. Prepare the pizza dough with the addition of the sugar.
2. In a large nonreactive sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then cook, stirring, the onion and scallions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach in handfuls and cook until wilted, adding more spinach as it wilts, about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add the pine nuts, sumac, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 5 more minutes. Leave in pan until cool and then chop coarsely.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out as many 4-inch rounds as you can, re-rolling the scraps of dough when necessary. Place the rounds on several kitchen towels, cover with more towels, and leave to rest as you continue cutting out disks.
4. Place 1 tablespoon of spinach filling in the center of a round and bring up the sides at three points to form a triangle. Press the edges together firmly to seal. Make sure none of the spinach juices get onto the edges.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
6. Arrange the pies on a greased baking sheet and bake until light golden, about 25 minutes. Serve hot or warm. These pies also freeze very well.
Posted: 07/28/2011