Lebanese Lamb Fatayer (Traditional Middle Eastern Meat Pies)

Lebanese Lamb Fatayer are soft, golden pastries filled with perfectly seasoned ground lamb, onions, herbs, and warm Middle Eastern spices. Popular throughout Lebanon and the Levant, these savory meat pies make a delicious appetizer, snack, or light meal. If you've ever enjoyed an empanada or a meat pie, you'll love Lebanese lamb fatayer-they're lighter, beautifully spiced, and perfect for eating by hand.

Recipe Summary

• 🥙 What is it? Lebanese lamb fatayer are savory Middle Eastern meat pies - a soft homemade yeast dough folded around a spiced ground lamb filling seasoned with zatar, allspice, and garlic.
• ❤️ Why you'll love it? A handheld street-food classic that works as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner - golden and crispy outside, juicy and aromatic inside, with a flavor cousin to Turkish pide.
• 👩‍🍳 How do you make it? Let a simple yeasted dough rise, then divide and roll into ovals. Sauté onion, garlic, tomato, and ground lamb with zatar and allspice, fill each oval, pinch into a boat shape, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with nigella seeds, and bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.

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What is fatayer?

Fatayer are traditional Middle Eastern pastries made with soft yeast dough that is folded around savory fillings such as spinach, cheese, or seasoned meat before being baked until golden. Popular throughout Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine, these hand-held pastries are a staple of family gatherings, bakeries, and mezze spreads. Their tender bread and flavorful fillings make fatayer a beloved comfort food enjoyed as an appetizer, snack, or light meal. I have another recipe for cheese fatayer.

What does fatayer mean?

The Arabic word "fatayer" refers to stuffed pastries or savory pies. Depending on the region, they may be filled with lamb, beef, spinach, cheese, or herbs. Throughout the Middle East, they're a staple of bakeries, markets, and family gatherings.

why you'll love this recipe

• Soft homemade dough that's surprisingly easy to make
• Savory lamb filling seasoned with authentic Middle Eastern spices
• Great for lunch, dinner, or appetizers
• Easy to freeze and reheat
• Perfect for entertaining
• A wonderful introduction to Lebanese cuisine

Step-by-step photos

• Step 1: Make the dough per the recipe instructions. While the dough is rising, make the filling. When the dough is ready, cut the dough into six equal parts and roll into long flat cigar-shaped pieces, then brush the edges with an egg wash.
• Step 2: Add the filling to the center of the dough.

• Step 3: Fold up the ends of the dough and pinch the ends together.
• Step 4: Brush the outside of the dough with the egg wash.

• Step 5: Sprinkle the outside with nigella seeds and place on a baking tray.
• Step 6: Add some chopped parsley to the finished fatayer and serve.

This Lebanese lamb fatayer is easy to make

Lebanese food is immensely flavorful, not to mention healthy since it uses lots of whole grains, vegetables, and fish. Ground lamb is the meat of choice, and there are countless and wonderful ways to prepare it from a roast, to an aromatic stew, to grilled kebabs, and kofta. The possibilities for lamb are truly endless.

Lebanese lamb fatayer is the culinary cousin of the humble pizza and is also similar to the Turkish pide. The spice that makes everything come together is zatar, a mixture of spices used throughout the Middle East. The key ingredient in zatar is sumac, a reddish powder from the sumac tree. The Romans used sumac for centuries until the arrival of citrus fruits.

Lebanese lamb fatayer is another family favorite. I've made it with lamb or beef.

Frequently asked questions

More Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Recipes to Try

If you enjoy these Lebanese lamb fatayer, there are plenty of other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes to explore. Try my Lebanese cheese fatayer for a savory meatless version filled with creamy cheese, or burek, a flaky Balkan pastry with a hearty meat filling. For another delicious way to enjoy lamb, Moroccan lamb tagine combines tender meat with warm spices and sweet apricots. Savory feta walnut scones are perfect for brunch or alongside a bowl of soup, while Mediterranean parsley salad and Turkish gavurdagi salad add fresh, colorful flavors to just about any meal.

📖 Recipe

Lebanese Savory Lamb Fatayer

Analida Braeger

Learn how to make authentic Lebanese lamb fatayer-savory Middle Eastern meat pies filled with seasoned lamb and warm spices. Perfect for lunch, appetizers, or family dinners.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main dish

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Servings 4 pieces

Calories 413 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Dough

• 1 ¾ cup flour all purpose
• ¾ cup warm water (about 100'F)
• 2 teaspoon yeast rapid rise
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt

Lamb Filling

• 8 oz lamb ground
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 Roma tomato cored, seeded, and diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ¾ teaspoon zatar
• 1 tablespoon curly parsley chopped for garnish
• 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water for egg wash
• ½ teaspoon nigella seeds for sprinkling

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Instructions

 

Make the Dough

• In a large bowl place flour and salt and mix well.
• In a small bowl place the warm water (the water should be between 100-110°F)). Add the yeast and sugar, stir lightly and let it sit until frothy ( this will take about 5-10 minutes).
• Add the yeast mixture to the flour and blend well until a soft dough forms.
• Rub a deep bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside the oven. Cover and let it sit until double in size (between 1-2 hours). While the dough is rising cook the lamb filling per the instructions below.
• Preheat oven to 400°F

Cook the lamb filling

• To make the filling, heat the oil in a non-stick skillet and saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the tomatoes, and the ground lamb.
• Use a spatula to break lamb into small pieces, and sprinkle in the salt, allspice and zatar.
• Cook until brown and then allow to cool to room temperature.

Fill the fatayer and bake

• Turn dough onto a floured surface. Punch down and knead for about 5 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, and roll out each part into a 9" x 3" oval.
• Place filling down the center of the oval and then brush around the edges with the egg wash.
• Pinch the top and bottom of the oval to create a boat shape, and fold sides inwards.
• Place individual fatayer on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle each individual fatayer with nigella seeds.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until fatayer appears golden and crispy. Garnish each fatayer with chopped parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 17gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 1507mgPotassium: 295mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 270IUVitamin C: 5.9mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 3.8mg

Keyword baking, bread dough, filled dough, lamb filling, Lebanese pizza

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