If there is one pastry item that deserves a standing ovation from the Lebanese kitchen, it is sfeeha (pronounced s-f-ee-ha with the “a” like apple).
What is sfeeha? A little meat pie; made extraordinary by the folks in Baalbeck (the number one tourist destination in Lebanon, site of incredible Roman temples).
Why extraordinary? The meat mixture, first of all, is a combination of ground lamb (beef is good too), with onion, parsley, tomatoes, a dash of chili pepper, pomegranate molasses, labneh and (the key!) a bit of tahini. The meat mixture is uncooked and bakes with the dough.
When these little beauties bake, the fragrance that permeates the kitchen is something to experience.
If you make these for a party, wait to bake them when your guests arrive.
INGREDIENTS: Makes 40 sfeehas
For the dough:
- 3 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons dry instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of powdered milk (buttermilk is fine)
- Olive oil, as needed for stretching the dough
- 1 cup of warm water (110F)
For the filling:
- 3/4 pound of ground lamb @90% (or beef )
- 1 large onion, chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 3 tablespoons of tahini
- 3 tablespoons of labneh (or drained yogurt)
- 1/2 cup (packed)of flat-leaved parsley (leaves only)
- 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses
- Spices: 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice,1 teaspoon of sumac, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (can replace with chili flakes, or smoked paprika).
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of red pepper paste
- 1/2 teaspoon of mashed garlic (about 3 cloves)
METHOD:
- Prepare the dough first: In a small bowl, pour 2 ounces of warm (110F) water and add two teaspoons of dry yeast; add two teaspoons of sugar and mix well to combine; let the yeast bubble up in a warm and enclosed place. Meanwhile, place the flour, baking powder, salt and powdered milk in the food processor bowl. Process to combine well; add 1/4 cup of olive oil and process for one or two minutes until the mixture looks very sandy. At this point, add the proofed yeast mixture along with another 3/4 cup of warm water (add the water gradually); when the dough leaves the sides of the bowl it is ready and you can transfer it to a greased bowl and turn it around to coat it with oil and let it sit in a warm enclosed place to rise for a couple of hours until doubled in size. (I like to place the dough in the oven).
- Prepare the meat mixture: Chop the onion as fine as possible and sprinkle with the salt, allspice, sumac and a dash of cinnamon. Place the chopped onion on a sieve and let its waters come out. In the meantime, place the meat in a bowl and add the salt, pepper and red pepper paste and tomato paste. Add to the meat the chopped parsley leaves, pomegranate molasses, tahini and then the drained onion, labneh (or use drained yogurt) and tahini. Adjust seasoning based on your personal preference. Fry the pine nuts in butter and add to the meat mixture. Cover the meat mixture and set it in the fridge till the dough is ready. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- Making the sfeehas: Roll out the dough and punch it to remove all the air pockets; roll into a large circle, about 1/8 inch (more or less) thick. Cut rounds with a cookie cutter and on each round place a generous amount of filling (about 2 tablespoons). Pinch the two opposing ends of the circle and then the two opposing other ends. Take the back of a spoon and press on the filling to enclose it within the pocket. Line up the pies on a baking sheet. Heat the oven to 500F and bake for about 10 minutes until the pies are golden and the meat is cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature with some yogurt salad if desired.
36 Comments
They LOOK extraordinary! Problem taste even better.
Oh my – tahini – pomegranate molases – yogurt – how delectable. This is sweetly-spiced, enticing meats! Imagining the aroma. Happy.
I xould barely get through the recipe without salivating. Dear Joumana, how do you manage to do this each and every time! I wish I could eat the screen
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandlfavors
Joumana, you just made my favorite Lebanese dish. My Grandmother and Mother’s version had fewer filling ingredients, so I’m eager to try your version for a different twist on the familiar for me. And you can never have too many recipes for Sfeeha.
Oh, I love these! A scrumptious speciality.
Cheers,
Rosa
Succulent meat pies, looks delicious and addictive..
This is about the best recipe I have seen for sfiha. When I am allowed a touch of pastry again these will be first on the list. Your food rocks.
We had these at a tiny place near Baalbeck, they were so very good!
These truly are exquisite savory pastries/pies.. ..I didnt not know garlic and the red pepper paste were used in their filling..is this an innovation?
These must be super duper delicious meat pies…I know that from the ingredients list. Packed punch of flavors – yum!
I have made similar little treats before but this version is nothing short of stunning. I cannot wait to try it. It is beautiful and it must taste divine.
@Samir: the addition of mashed garlic and red pepper paste is one I decided to try and (thankfully) it worked!
@Tom: My grandmother’s sfeeha was with fewer ingredients as well, a more restrained version with only meat, pine nuts, onions and labneh; this version is richer but the taste is way more flavorful
merci Joumana pour la recette, j’adoooore ces sefiha libanaises que je mange toujours avec grand plaisir!!
YUM! I love the lamb filling you got going on there.. with some labneh. These look so perfect.
The pies look fantastic, so many great flavors packed in there. I’d never be able to stop at just one!
I just love visiting your blog, Joumana. Every single day you make something wonderful.
I think I was born in the wrong country!!
Oh that is how you get that shape ?! I have seen it so many times but could never figure out … dumb me !!
Looks so delicious and perfectly baked to that golden color …
Délicieusement gourmands ces petites étoiles….
Merci pour la recette jadore ces petits chaussons j’en prend souvent au resto!
Les tiens ont l’air délicieux!!
I love sfeeha , and I have my own recipe, well, in fact was gave to me by my friend´s mom, A Lebanese who lived in Sao Paulo, she had fairy hands.
These little pies look absolutely scrumptious, so flavorful with all the spices you use in the filling!
Seems that every culture has some sort of meat pie. Love the shape of those.
These look divine!
I love what you’ve used in the filling here – pomegranate molasses, tahini – talk about flavor!
Mouth watering delicious!!
I made these the other night, and they were a big hit. My husband ate 12 in one sitting. Hah. Mine didn’t look as pretty as yours because the dough kept shrinking up as I was moving/filling the circles (any idea why?) but we loved them. Definitely going to try your idea for the sfeeha pita next!
@elly: the flour may be the reason; if you can get a hold of a flour called flour 00, try it; it is used a lot in Lebanon and it is very soft and good for these types of pastries. Otherwise, try mixing some cake flour with the all-purpose or bread flour as it has less gluten.
Thanks! I’ll give it a try next time around.
Hi Joumana,
These look just fantastic. I have just given it a try, they are in the oven right now, and the smell is delicious. I have had kind of a hard time making them because the dough kept shrinking… and only now while writing this do I see that elly has had exactly the same problem. So I note down your comment on the type of flour and will for sure give it another try!
@Eli: Let me know!
I forgot another question: Why do you use both yeast and baking powder in the dough? (Trying to learn a bit about bread and baking, hence the question)
@Eli: to make the dough fluffier. I will investigate the ins and outs of this and give you a thorough explanation soon! (there is another type of mini-turnover, spinach fatayers, in which the dough simply does not have ANY YEAST; the dough without yeast is made with a flour called 00 and does not shrink at all! (guess it is very low in gluten and protein, it is the flour used here for all turnovers and bread rolls)
Hello
I followed your recipe, except didnt do all the fancy stuff with the food processor for the dough but simply kneaded it by hand. While the meat mixture was delish (I loved the tahini and red pepper paste) the dough did not keep shape in the oven. It all spread out and my pies completley lost shape and turned into flat thin pizzas with a small mound of meat in the middle. I tried different shapes and techniques (less meat more meat, thinner “walls” etc…) but nothing helped please let me know if you have any tips. Thanks so much, and I love your blog!!!
@Dania: Can you tell me what type of flour you used? I admit I always use the food processor for kneading the dough because it saves me so much time. If the dough turned into flat thin pizzas it sounds to me like the flour does not have much gluten to give the pies the elasticity. Also, how long did you knead the dough by hand? Did you let it rise and how long?
Yes, I used all purpose flour, and I let it rise about 1 1/2 hours (it had doubled by that time). I kneaded for about 10 minutes until it had formed into a dough. Also my sfiha did puff up so they did not get flat in the oven, but they did not keep shape the dough kept falling flat back into an oval shape. Only a few kept shape. I would appreciate any tips you may have.
@Dania: I would try without baking powder and just one teaspoon of yeast and see if that helps; also try rolling the dough real thin and pinching the two ends real tight to enclose the meat filling; observe the sfeehas, are they falling apart before they go into the oven to bake? that’s my two cent. Another option is to not use any yeast, like the dough I use on fatayer, and use flour 00 or some all-purpose and 1/4 cake flour. the goal is to reduce the gluten.