Spinach and Cheese Fatayer

I miss Arabic style snacks and food now that I'm away from the Middle East. And I can't find that same kind of bread and Lahmacun Bread, that we would eat for lunch. So I wanted to share a recipe I have developed over the last few months for my own Spinach and Cheese Fatayer. It really doesn't get better than this!

Preparation Time 1 hour 30 minutes (including rise time)

Cook Time 20 minutes

Yields 24

Ingredients

Dough

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons dry milk powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Cheese Filling

1 cup feta cheese/ white cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup mint

225 grams chopped spinach

1 egg- whisked

salt and pepper- to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the spinach, cheeses, mint, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. For the dough: combine the yeast, warm water and sugar together. Mix well and set aside to allow the yeast to bloom for 10 minutes.

3. In the stand mixer bowl, combine: flour, salt and olive oil. Add the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for 5-10 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides.

4. Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough is doubled in size.

5. Once the dough has doubled in size, dump onto a counter top and roll into a log. Cut the log into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

6. Roll each ball of dough into an oval shape. Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture in the middle of the oval. Fold over the edges to form into a triangle shape. Press down the edges to seal them.

7. Brush the tops of the fatayer with melted butter or oil. Bake in the oven or in an air fryer for 12-15 minutes until golden.