Spin-off of Joanna Gaine's Fatayer

 

I've seen it spelled a few different ways, but whichever way you choose, it's still butter, flour, and Middle Eastern spiced meat, a combination that won't steer you wrong. 

I came across this dish when flipping through Magnolia Table, a cookbook written by Joanna Gaines and gifted to me by my best friend, Carly. (Might I add, Carly carried this hefty book in her backpack throughout her entire first day of visiting me in Boston, which involved trekking all over the city through wind tunnels!)

Fatayar is eaten across several Middle Eastern cultures, and there's tremendous variety in how it's prepared. The dough is typically yeasted and you may see these pies filled with cheese or meat. There's different ways to assemble them, from little triangle-shapes that resemble hamantaschen to toad-in-a-hole Jerusalem bagel look-alikes and hand pies reminiscent of empanadas. 

Jo's recipe, which calls for store-bought biscuit dough, ground beef, cheese, and shredded hash browns, is also inspired by her Texan roots. My spin involves an easy, crowd-pleasing biscuit dough, ground lamb, warm spices, and herbs. I've never eaten fatayar outside of what I've made at home, so my take on it is a personalized homage to the concept. The last time I made this, I shared this with my family and a dear friend over a table filled with a meze and fresh, vinegar-y greens, and I'm convinced that associating a good flavor combination with an even better memory promotes this recipe to a permanent place in my rotation.

Recipe: Spin-off of Joanna Gaine's Fatayar
Adapted from Joanna Gaines (main recipe and method) and Deb Perelman (biscuits)

for the biscuits:
2 1/4 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (15g) baking powder
1 tsp (6g) kosher salt
3/4 tsp (5g) baking soda
9 tablespoons (125g) of cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup (175mL) buttermilk* 

for the filling:
3 tablespoons of water
1/2 cup (about 40g) of bread crumbs 
1 pound of ground lamb meat (I love Beechtree Farms)
1/2 onion, finely minced
1 clove of garlic, grated
2 tsp of cumin
1/4 tsp of cayenne
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1 tsp of salt
a few cracks of freshly ground black pepperserve with a thick plain yogurt, green tahini**, and a fresh butter tomato sauce

1. Make the biscuits: whisk together the dry ingredients. Using clean fingers, rub the chunks of butter with the flour until they become large, flat shingles (about the size of marbles). Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Use your hands to gently knead it, just until it comes together. Optional step: roll the dough out, fold it into quarters, and roll it out again to help create a few more layers. Set the dough aside in the fridge. 
2. Make the filling: combine all of the ingredients with your hands. 
3. Taste-test the filling: heat a skillet on medium-high heat (with a light coating of oil if you're not using a non-stick pan). When it's hot (the meat should sizzle when it hits the pan), cook a tablespoon-sized portion of the filling until browned on both sides and fully cooked through. Taste test and adjust the seasonings as you see fit.
4. Assemble: line a sheet tray with parchment. Take a 1/4 cup portion of dough and drop it onto the sheet tray. Use slightly dampened hands to flatten it out into a triangle shape (no need to be perfect). Drop a heaping tablespoon of filling into the middle. Use your hands to fold the three sides towards the center, and pinch the overlapping edges together to seal. Alternatively, for less fuss, you can use a tablespoon to make a well in the mound of dough and top it with the filling. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Pop the tray in the refrigerator while the oven preheats to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. When the oven is preheated, bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the meat is cooked through (165 degrees Fahrenheit). 

*I rarely use buttermilk, and if my brother isn't around, we hardly have milk on hand. To make 1 cup of dairy-free buttermilk, I mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with enough almond milk (about 7 tablespoons) to get to the 1 cup mark in my liquid measuring cup.  

**A choose-your-own-adventure process to making green tahini:
Blend 1 cup of tahini, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 clove of garlic, 2 cups of your desired green herbs (I like a mix of basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, chives - whatever you've got in the fridge/saved in the freezer), enough water to achieve your desired consistency (1/2 - 3/4 cup), and salt & pepper to taste.