Lamb Turbans Savory Pastries

Sorry for the horrible photo.  The "pretty" ones are gone.  They really do look much better. :)

I posted a variation here. S. loves these little pastries and they are easy to make. I made a batch last week, for his birthday.

Special Ingredient:  dibs ruman, pomegranate molasses; you can buy it online.  I did not have any left so added some fresh pomegranate kernels instead.  I am sure the taste would have been enhanced by dibs ruman.

By the way, these pastries can be refrigerated for several days.  Just reheat in the oven until warm and slightly crispy.  Microwave works, too, but they won't be crispy, of course.  Perfect for easy finger foods!

Dough Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (it did not seem like enough so I added 1/2 tsp, just in case!)
• 1/8 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (King Arthur's)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil -- don't add now, use for dipping later!

Get your breadmaker bowl out, add ingredients in order suggested by the manufacturer, and set on Dough.  For more adventurous ones, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water.  Cover and set aside to proof for a few minutes, until the mixture foams.  Combine flour and salt.  Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, then knead into a soft dough.

Regardless of the method, once the dough is ready, shape it into a log.  Divide the log into 2 dozen small portions.  Shape each portion into 1 1/4-inch rounds.  Lightly dip each round into the olive oil and place on a large tray.  Cover the rounds with plastic wrap and set aside, allowing to rise for at least one hour.

Filling Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups grated onion (I use food processor)
• 1/4 lbs ground lamb (I use beef -- less fat and much cheaper)
• 3/4 cups peeled and seeded on the vine tomatoes, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces.
• 3/4 tsp salt (I will reduce to 1/2 tsp next time -- filling was a bit too salty for me)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger (I did not have any so skipped)
• 1 tbsp dibs ruman (see note above)
• 1 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed, if available)
• 1 1/2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Toast pine nuts.  You can either preheat the oven to 350 F and toast in the center for 5-7 mins or toast in a small skillet, stirring often.  You want them golden brown but not burned, of course.  Cool pine nuts before using.

Grate the onion and drain in a fine-mesh strainer, to remove as much of the liquid as possible.  Combine onions with all remaining ingredients, including toasted pine nuts.  Mix well and place into the fine-mesh strainer to drain.  Note:  If you're not ready to make pastries, refrigerate the mix w/out draining.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Use your fingers to flatten each dough round to 3 1/2 inches in diameter.  Place 2 generous tsp of filling in the center.  Lift the edges on one side and pull like a hood over 1/3 of the filling, then start tucking edges in, a small portion at a time, clockwise, like a turban.  Maybe like forming a rose bud, one petal at a time?  Pinch the last edge so the "turban" does unfold.  :)

Transfer rounds to the greased cooking sheet or tray.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until pastry edges are golden brown.  Serve warm.

Sfiha: Savory Syrian Pastries

The original recipe is here.  According to S. (who polished off half of them, with yogurt, for lunch), these pastries taste just like his mother used to make.  She lived in Syria for many years and is a very good cook so I guess this recipe is as authentic as it can be.

Ingredients:
Dough
1 cup warm water (I used warm reduced-fat milk because I had some leftover milk and wanted to experiment)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp sugar
1 packet dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
Filling
1/2 kg (16 oz) ground lamb meat (I used lean ground beef)
1 kg (32 oz) firm tomatoes, finely chopped (I used 4 medium tomatoes)
5 medium onions, finely chopped (I only used 1 large onion)
1 tsp salt
A generous dash of ground cayenne red pepper, ground cinnamon, and ground allspice
2 tbsp butter, finely diced
2 tbsp Greek-style yogurt
1 tbsp sesame paste (tahini)
1 tbsp pomegranate thickened juice (if available -- I did not have any)
4 tbsp fried pine nuts (S. loves pine nuts so I used 5 tbsp, lightly toasted is a dry skillet)

1. Add all dough ingredients to the breadmaker in the order provided.  Set on Dough.
2. Mix ground meat, tomatoes (drain excess juice, if necessary), onion and spices.
3. Add yogurt, sesame paste, and pomegranate (if you have it).
4. Lightly toast pine nuts.
5. Add pine nuts and butter to the meat.
6. Mix to incorporate all ingredients.
7. When the dough is ready, place it in a bowl lighlty sprayed with non-stick spray.  It should be very pliable -- very easy to work with.
8. Break off pieces of dough and form into walnut-size balls. Roll between palms to smooth.
9. You can roll out balls with a rolling pin or just shape with hands, to form approximately 3" circles.
10. Place some meat (meatball-size?) mixture on the dough circle and flatten just a bit, to spread the meat.
11. Bring edges up and press to make a square -- see my photo above.
12. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
13. Spray the cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
14. Arrange meat pastries on the sheet, making sure that their sides don't touch (you don't need much space between them, just make sure they don't touch).
15. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until pastries are golden brown and the meat is cooked.
16. Serve warm, with Greek-style yogurt.