Fatayer with spicy tomato salsa

Fatayer is a delicious mini Middle Eastern closed pie that is filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, or a combination of the above. Their triangular shape makes them a great ham ant as chen style treat to pack for Purim.

I make mine with a homemade dough, stuffed with spinach, bok choi and feta or tofu. If you prefer, you can replace the bok choi with an extra 500g spinach. It’s a simple recipe that goes really well packed with little pots of my lovely spicy tomato salsa, tahina sauce and delicious Middle Eastern green zhug.

DOUGH:

125g plain flour

150g yogurt (thickest you can find, Greek is best, vegan alternatives work great here)

½ tsp salt

4 tbsp olive oil

FILLING:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, sliced thinly 2 cloves garlic (optional) 500g bok choi, chopped roughly

500g fresh spinach, washed well

200g feta cheese or silken tofu, crumbled or finely diced

½ tsp cracked black pepper ½ tsp salt

METHOD:

Make your filling – place olive oil in pan add the onions and garlic on medium heat until soft but do not let them change colour.

Add the green vegetables and cook – stirring - until all the liquids have evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix in the tofu or feta. Remove from heat and allow to cool completel.

Make the dough by combining all the ingredients in a large bowl and mixing. Knead for a couple of minutes to form a soft dough.

Heat your oven to 180°C. R oll the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out 10cm circles. Place 1 tsp of filling in the middle of each circle and pinch the corners and edges to form a triangular pie. Place on baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Brush lightly with olive oil.

Bake until golden on top and bottom – about 10-15minutes, depending on the size of your pastries

Make the dips:

Salsa: blitz 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 sprig of mint (leaves only), 1 small green chilli (to taste), 1-2 cloves garlic (to taste), 2tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp salt. Zhug: blitz a bunch of coriander (leaves and stalks), 3 cloves of garlic, 2-3 green chillies, 1tsp lemon juice, salt and ¼ tsp cumin.

Tahini: mix 120ml tahini with 120ml ice cold water. Add juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine, check and correct seasoning.

Shiri is co-founder of The Black Cow Camden Instagram: theblackcowcamden