Lebanese Spinach Buns - Fatayir

I came across this recipe for spinach buns a while ago and thought they might be worth trying...if only to get some spinach into my children...

Yesterday, we were invited for an after dinner glass of wine to my neighbor with Lebanese background giving me the perfect opportunity to dig out the recipe:

Crust:

• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3-4 cups whole wheat flour

Filling:

• 1 package frozen, chopped spinach (or equivalent fresh spinach)
• 1 cup finely minced onions
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbs. dried marjoram
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 200C (175C in Convention). Make a yeast dough with the crust ingredients, let rise while preparing the filling. Blend all the ingredients for the filling. When dough has doubled, knead for a couple of minutes. With a rolling pin roll it out very thin, but not too thin that it will break. Cut 10cm squares with a pastry wheel, place heaping teaspoon of filling on each square and fold into triangle. Pinch the edges together and place on slightly oiled baking sheet. Brush with some olive oil and bake in oven for about 20-30 minutes or until light brown. Cool on rack or serve hot.

The original recipe is from "Breads of the World" by Mariana Honig. However, like quite a few of her recipes, the ingredient measurements are off. She only called for 1 1/2 cups of flour which isn't nearly enough. I also had to adjust baking temperature and time.

My neighbor thought the buns were pretty good, although I think she was being polite as I had skimped on the salt and the buns definitely needed more flavour, salt or otherwise. She also mentioned that Lebanese have different fillings, i.e. meat. The spinach buns are traditionally eaten with a dip that sounded very similar to Tsatsiki.

And did the kids eat them? Yes! Eureka...