Fiber Fool

Over a decade ago I was introduced to an amazing food by a former professor turned friend and her SO, Monica and Kip. I was quite young and not exposed to quite as broad a selection of ethnic food as I am now. But there was something magical about this triangle of crisp on the outside, yeasty crust filled with a magical blend of spinach and onions and spices. I’ve always loved my dark green vegetables and these spinach pies were just unbelievably good. I later found out that Kip had bought them at a Lebanese deli in Minneapolis, Emily’s. Needless to say, that deli went on my “must go” list and remains there today. It is one of my top picks of places to eat when I head back home to Minnesota.

When we got 2 *huge* bunches of spinach in our CSA share this week I decided it was time to dig in and try making some spinach pies of my own. While they don’t quite match Emily’s they are quite good and DH actually prefers the ratio of dough to filling of these. I think I still prefer Emily’s but until there is an Emily’s West here in Fort Collins these will do just fine.

In general the main ingredients are pretty basic - lots and lots of spinach, salt, lemon zest and juice, flour, yeast and olive oil. There is of course also some water and a bit of spice. It did seem somewhat common for the filling to use ground sumac which I was unable to source here in Fort Collins. I am kicking myself because when I was in Penzey’s on Hennepin in Minneapolis in December I had noted that they had it, but I didn’t buy any. A little research turned up that lemon pepper is somewhat of a substitute. I’m kind of hoping we keep getting spinach for a bit so I have time to order some sumac and try the recipe again :-)

Fatayer or Lebanese Spinach Pie

Makes 16 pastries.

For Dough:

• 1.5 lbs Flour (~4.5 C here in CO)
• 1 1/2 t Kosher Salt
• 1 1/4 t Dry Yeast
• 3/4 t Sugar
• 1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 - 2 C Water, divided
• 1 Egg, beaten for wash
• Olive Oil for Coating

For Filling:

• 3/4 - 1 lb Fresh Spinach
• 3/4 t Kosher Salt
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced fine
• 2 T Chopped Parsley
• 2 T Chopped Mint
• 1 1/2 t - 1 T Lemon Pepper (if you have it, use ground Sumac)
• Pinch of Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Pinch of Fresh Grated Nutmeg

First, chop the spinach and place in a large colander with the 3/4 t Kosher salt. Now, knead the spinach and salt mixture together for some time until much of the moisture has been rung out and drained from the spinach. Let sit in sink and drain while you make the dough.

Proof the yeast and sugar in 1/4 c of warm water while you measure out and mix the remaining dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Create a well in the dry ingredients and add the olive oil and yeast mixture. Add 1 1/4 C water to the yeast container to rinse and then add to the dough. Mix until combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead just until a cohesive and elastic dough is formed. Split into 16 equal portions. I like to flatten the ball of dough and use a board scraper to cut into 16 parts. I usually end up with pretty consistent results this way. Take each of the 16 parts and roll into a ball. Place balls of dough in a bowl, dusting with flour liberally between layers if you need to stack them. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm location to raise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

Next, chop the onion, parsley and mint and add to the bruised, draining spinach. Add the zest of 1 lemon. Transfer mixture to a bowl, add the lemon juice (you don’t need to squeeze every drop from the lemon, just an easy squeeze of each half is enough) and the lemon pepper or ground sumac if you have it. You may want to take a small taste and adjust any seasoning. I found the salt had kind of washed away in the draining process.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Once the dough has doubled you can begin assembling the fatayer. First, whisk one egg in a bowl. Roll out each dough ball into a 5″ circle. Brush the entire surface with the egg wash. This will do two things - it will create a barrier preventing any remaining excess liquid in the filling from making the bottom soggy and wet and it will help you form a good seal. Now place a generous tablespoon to tablespoon and a half on the center of the circle. Pull up and pinch together three points of circle, then pinch along each open seam to seal closed and form a triangular shaped pastry. This process is similar to making hamentashen if you’ve made that before, but you close it.

Brush the bottom of each pastry with olive oil and place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with more olive oil. Bake until golden about 25-30 minutes.

If storing or serving room temperature, move to a cooling rack to cool fully. They can be reheated at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes. These do also freeze well. Just place in a single layer in a freezer bag and remove all the air. I’m not certain how long you need to bake them from the frozen state, but I would guess 15-20 minutes.