Lebanese Meat Pie Recipe (Sfeeha / Fatayer)

Method

1. 1

   Place frozen dough in your refrigerator 6 to 12 hours before using. Dough will not rise, but will be thawed and ready to use.

2. 2

   Spray two baking trays with non-stick spray. Lay out the dough on the tray if not using the frozen rolls and cover with a kitchen towel to rise for about 1 hour. When the dough has doubled in size form the dough into 2 inch round balls and make about 24 of them. Cover with kitchen towel for another 30 min to rise again.

3. 3

   If using the frozen roll dough place 24 of the frozen dough rolls on two of the baking sheets. Spray the top of the dough with non-stick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough thaw and rise, which takes about 2 to 3 hours.

4. 4

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

5. 5

   In a medium skillet heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft. Add the ground beef or lamb and the spices and continue to cook until the meat is browned. Drain the fat from the ground beef and place in a mixing bowl.

6. 6

   Set out of a large cutting board or another work surface that has space to roll out the dough. Flour the surface your working on. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough round out so there are three sides.

7. 7

   Fill each dough round with enough beef mixture to fill the dough but leave room around the edges to close the meat pie.

8. 8

   Bring the three sides of the dough together to a point in the middle. Use your fingers to pinch the dough together and make sure they are closed completely.

9. 9

   Spray the each meat pie with a bit of olive oil or use a brush to brush them with olive oil.

10. 10

    Bake for about 20 minutes, or until just golden brown. To get a nice golden brown on the edges you can turn the heat up to 450 the last 2 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Serve warm or freeze for later.