fatayer sabanekh / spinach pies

this recipe is heavily based on the recipe from the Magic Cookery cookbook for spinach pies. the cookbook was published in 1987 by the ladies' society at the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles of which my great grandmother was a member. in true SWANA grandma fashion, the recipes in this book are quite sparse so my main adjustment has been to be a little more descriptive in the process. also, this recipe makes many more fatayer than the original recipe indicates. a party sized recipe if you will.

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the dough:

one batch of basic dough.

you can also use store-bought frozen pizza dough if you don't have time to make your own, but to match the amount of filling as the recipe is written you'll probably need at least 3 pizza dough balls.

note: i have found store-bought dough much harder to work with in the rolling/folding process than homemade dough. some brands are better than others. trader joe's is probably the best i've found.

note: the full dough recipe as written + the full filling recipe as written makes roughly 32 fatayer, more if you roll the dough thinner than did (i had leftover filling). if you want to adjust batch size, make sure to adjust amount of dough as well.

the filling:

3 bunches of spinach or approx. 2 trader joe's bags

> make sure to stem your spinach. it is much easier to do the folding if you do.

> once stemmed, wash, loosely chop, and salt your spinach. let it sit for 15 minutes, then squeeze excess liquid out with your hands.

2 medium onions, finely diced (i used food processor)

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch mint, finely chopped

> while spinach is sitting, combine these in a large bowl.

> then add spinach

1/2 c olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1/8-1/4 c pine nuts (i used raw, roasted should be fine)

salt (GENEROUSLY) + pepper to taste

> next add these to the filling and mix well. it is ok to let the filling sit for a bit if you're still waiting for your dough to rise, and it makes it easier to work with.

> when your dough is fully risen, roll it out to 1/4 inch thick* and cut it into a circle about 4 inches in diameter (i used a tupperware lid). then add 1-1 1/2 heaping spoonfuls of the filling to the middle and fold the edges in the form a triangle (see pictures below). make sure to pinch all the edges closed very tightly! if you made your own dough, it should stick together well, but store-bought dough may be trickier.

*you can roll the dough thinner, and it will make the crust browner when cooked, but it is harder to work with and more prone to bursting. ultimately up to you what you want to prioritize!

> place fatayer on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper (you should fit about 12 per sheet) and bake at 450° for 15-18 minutes (you may need to bake longer if you have multiple trays baking at a time or shorter if you have a tray with fewer than 12)

> once the tops are light golden, remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!

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original recipe from the Magic Cookery: