Fatayers (Mediterranean Calzone)

My grandfather, who was Lebanese, used to make these.  They're oh so yummy.  And here's the recipe, per request.

Fatayers (Mediterranean Calzone) 

A) Make Bread Dough First.
2 C. Warm Water
1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. of sugar
3 Tbsp. Shortening
1 tsp. salt
6-6 ½ Cups of Flour
  1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water.
  2. Add shortening, salt and flour.
  3. Knead until smooth and elastic.
  4. Place in greased bowl. Flip over so top of dough is greased.
  5. Let rise in a warm place until double (1- 1 ½ hours).
B) While bread is rising, make filling.

½ cup pine nuts
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound of ground meat (beef, lamb, turkey)
1 Tbsp. Lebanese spice (or mixture of oregano, thyme, sesame seeds)
salt and pepper to taste
½ lemon
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 small box of frozen spinach, defrosted
(We also would sometimes use 1 T. of Stonewall Kitchen Red Farmhouse Relish for color...that's optional)
  1. Toast pine nuts, set aside.
  2. Brown onions. Add garlic. Add meat. Add spices.
  3. Add meat mixture to pine nuts. Stir in cream cheese and spinach. Add lemon juice to taste.  Salt and pepper to taste.

    C) When bread dough has doubled in size, create the fatayers.
    1. Preheat the oven to 375◦.
    2. Punch down dough. Roll flat. Use pastry scrapper to cut dough into large rectangles.
    3. Add scoops of meat filling.
    4. Fold over dough and press edges to make a half moon.  Pierce with a fork.  My grandfather would brush with egg wash or milk so they'd be browner on top.  I usually skip that step.
    5. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until dough is slightly browned.
Posted by Picasa

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...