Arab, and Vegan? is a column by Waseem Hijazi that covers a range of topics that dive into the vegan Arab cuisine. It explores naturally-vegan Arabic recipes, and ways to veganize traditionally meat-based classics. In thisย fifth installment, Waseem shares his recipe for Fatayer Sabanekh (Vegan Spinach Pies).
Fatayer Sabanekh (Vegan Spinach Pies)
Back when I was a kid living in Jordan, the family and I had a weekly tradition of visiting my grandparents on Fridays. Usually for a late breakfast/brunch. Many times weโd stop on the way at the corner of the street where they lived, so that me or my brother would grab a fresh batch of home-style pies (Fatayer) from the local baker in the neighbourhood.
I remember his shop was the size of a small living room, with a large stone oven thatโs full of all the types of pies and Manaeesh out there. I secretly always wanted it to be me who went down to get the weekโs haul…the scent youโre welcomed with at the door was insanely delicious. A distinct one that always made me salivate is the smell of freshly baked spinach pies (called Fatayer Sabanekh).
WHAT IS FATAYER SABANEKH?
Fatayer means pies, and Sabanekh means spinach in Arabic. Together thatโs Spinach Pies! They are soft and pillowy breakfast pies, in the shape of triangles. Stuffed with a scrumptious spinach and onion filling. Itโs a load of aromatic and tangy flavours from the sumac and – my favourite – pomegranate molasses.
Sometimes made with a spicy kick using a hint of cayenne pepper or chilli powder, and some people like to add chopped walnuts to the mix. Adding a nice layer of spice and texture, with the addition of protein to the Fatayer; which happens to be naturally vegan.
Now that Iโve painted you a picture of the delectable Spinach Pies, letโs talk about the recipe and get you to bake some!
HEREโS WHAT YOUโLL NEED
For the Dough
- All purpose flour: sift the flour for best results on the pies.
- Instant yeast: mix it well with the flour before adding the wet ingredients.โจ โข Salt
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Water: needs to be lukewarm.
Note: you can use this dough recipe to make other types of Fatayer (with different fillings). Including Zaโatar Manaeesh, Lahm b Ajeen (โmeatโ pies), and more.
For the Filling
- Spinach: can be fresh or frozen – make sure to roughly chop and squeeze liquids out of it.
- Onions: finely diced – the smaller the cut, the better.
- Salt
- Sumac: tangy spice mix (found at Middle Eastern grocery stores) – donโt skip out on it.
- Olive oil: make sure to use good quality olive oil for best flavours.
- Lemon juice
- Pomegranate molasses: an essential ingredient to add some tang and sourness.
- Walnuts: optional – crush some walnuts to add texture and protein to the filling.
- Cayenne pepper: optional to add a kick of spiciness.
Note:remove as much liquid as possible from the spinach, before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise the Fatayer (pies) might open up while baking.
HOW TO SHAPE THE FATAYER
Roll out each dough ball into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Flip it, then add a heaping tablespoon of the spinach filling to the centre – be generous.
Lift up two sides of the circle, bringing them to the centre. Pinch to seal both sides into a line – go back and forth a few times to make sure itโs closed off.
Grab the remaining side of the circle and bring it towards the centre. Continue pinching its edges with the two sides from before.
Note: flipping the dough circle before stuffing helps in properly sealing off the pies, since itโs the stickier side.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST FATAYER SABANEKH
โข Resting the dough in a warm place is essential to rise properly. Allow the dough balls to rest again after shaping, for best light and airy pies.
Weigh the dough balls on a kitchen should be around 25g.
- Soak the spinach in lemon juice and salt to extract all the water from it. Squeeze by hand to drain out the spinach from excess liquid, before mixing the rest of the ingredients. This helps preventing the pies from opening up while baking.
- Generously but gently brush the Fatayer with good quality olive oil to give them that iconic golden colour.
NOW LETโS TALK COOKING:
Fatayer Sabanekh (Vegan Spinach Pies)
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 cups 250g all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup 50ml vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup 115ml water, lukewarm
For the Spinach Filling:
- 3 cups 250g spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp lemon juice + 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced (about 2 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 4 tbsp walnuts chopped/blended - optional
- Pinch of cayenne pepper - optional
Instructions
Preparing the Dough:
- Add the sifted flour to a large bowl. Mix in the instant yeast. Add the salt and sugar and whisk again, making a well in the centre.
- Add the oil to the centre. Cover the flour on top and rub by hand to coat it all in oil. Go in with the water and knead to combine until smooth.
- Gently push down with your fist to flatten down into the bowl. Cover with food wrap and kitchen towel. Rest in a warm place (inside the pantry cupboard), allowing it to rise for an hour to double in size.
Making the Spinach Filling:
- Add the roughly chopped spinach to a large bowl with 4 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix and cover for 15 minutes to extract the water out of the spinach.
- Squeeze the spinach by hand to remove all the liquids. Do this a few times to dry it up completely - See Notes (1).
- Add the squeezed dried spinach to a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix to combine then set aside until ready to use.
Shaping the Fatayer:
- Once the dough is ready, punch down and roll into a giant ball. Cut into 4 quarters, then continue cutting into 18 equal parts. Use a kitchen scale to weigh each for best results. Should be about 25g each - See Notes (2).
- Form each into a ball, pinching the bottom and rolling to smoothen out.
- Place separated on a flat plate, and cover in food wrap to rest for 15 minutes.
- Take one out - keeping the rest covered. Gently push with your fingers to flatten down.
- Roll out into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Flip it, then add a heaping tablespoon of theย spinach filling to the centre - See Notes (3).
- Lift up two sides of the circle, bringing them to the centre. Pinch to seal both sides into aย line - go back and forth a few times to make sure itโs closed off.
- Grab the remaining side of the circle and bring it towards the centre. Continue pinching itsย edges with the two sides from before. Repeat for the rest of the dough balls, keeping the shaped pies covered under a clean kitchen towel.
- Baking Spinach Pies
- (2) Bake in a preheated oven (or air fryer) on middle rack for 8 minutes at 400F (or 205C), then move to top rack for 2 more minutes to give it a nice golden colour - See Notes (4).
Equipment
Notes
- Make sure to remove as much water from the spinach as possible. The spinach has to be somewhat dry before adding the remaining ingredients. This helps prevent the pies from opening up when baking.
- I recommend weighing each ball of dough on a kitchen scale to get consistent size and shape for the Fatayer (pies).
- Flip the dough circle before adding the spinach filling to help seal off the pies. Itโs the stickier side.
- Oven vs. Air fryer: I donโt have a working oven. So I use my air fryer (at the bake option). โจ Because of its smaller basket size, timing may slightly vary for your own oven/air fryer. Adjust accordingly. Add 2 extra minutes at a time until the top is golden.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like this Lentil soup recipe by the same author. Click here for the recipe.
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Connect with Waseem on Instagram and find more recipes at PlantBasedArab.com.
The spinach pies look amazing! I am terrible at making dough. Would it be possible to use something like Bridgeford dough?C
Hi Claudia! Thank you ๐ Honestly, I get intimidated with homemade dough too, so I totally get it. But I do encourage you to give this one a try for the authentic Fatayer taste. It’s fairly easy to make. There’s also a video recipe for the whole process on my Instagram, if you’re up for the challenge!
As for the store-bought dough, I haven’t used Bridgeford before, but if you find one that’s somewhat sticky, and can be rolled into a thin layer to bake into pillowy airy pies, then that should work. Make sure it’s not dry dough (like phyllo) and doesn’t turn crispy/flaky when baked. The closest thing I can think of is Pillsbury crescent rolls?
Important to note that baking temp and times will be different.
Let me know what you end up doing! ๐
I tried these today and they were so good! Thank you for such a great recipe:)
Hi Amanda! So glad to hear you enjoyed these Fatayer Sabanekh ๐ Thank you for trying the recipe!