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Cheese Fatayer

Cheese fatayer are delicious Lebanese cheese parcels, made with an easy fatayer dough recipe and stuffed with a flavorsome cheese mixture. You'll love these!
Course Bread
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Diet Halal, Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 18
Calories 115kcal

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water, divided 300ml
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (divided) 313g
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (plus extra for brushing pastry) 55g
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the cheese filling:

  • 100 g shredded mozzarella cheese 4 oz
  • 100 g feta cheese 4 oz
  • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mint, optional

Instructions

For the dough:

  • Mix together 1 cup of water (240ml), instant yeast, sugar, and 1 cup (125g) flour until combined. Set aside for 10 minutes for bubbles to form.
  • Add the olive oil, 1/4 cup water (60ml), salt and 1.5 cups of flour (188g) Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined, kneading a few times with your hands to make sure all the flour is incorporated and dough is shaped into a ball. 
  • Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 min- 1 hr until puffy and nearly doubled.
  • After this rise, divide dough into 16-18 balls about 40-45 g each. Let these dough balls rest for another 10 min or so, meanwhile prep the filling and preheat oven to 400F (205C). Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.

For the cheese filling:

  • Mix together the feta, mozzarella, chopped parsley, dried mint and egg.

To assemble:

  • Roll out the dough balls into thin 5 inch (12-13cm) circles.
  • To make the cheese fatayer, place a big heaped tablespoon of cheese filling in the center of the dough circle. Fold one dough half up and over the cheese filling to the other half to make a half moon shape. Press the dough down firmly to seal, and crimp edges with a fork.
  • Place the pastries on the prepared baking sheets, brush lightly with olive oil and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Video

Notes

 
You can also fill the same dough with cheese, meat or labneh, or roll into little pizzas and top with zaatar, cheese or regular pizza ingredients.
Make ahead instructions:
You can prep the cheese filling in advance and place it in the fridge for 1-2 days tightly covered.
To make the dough a day in advance, put the dough in the fridge tightly covered. The next day, take it out and let it come to room temperature before dividing the dough into balls and rising for another 10-15 minutes.
Storing leftovers and freezing the fatayer:
Leftover fatayer will last in the fridge 3-4 days in a tightly covered container. Reheat in an oven or gently in the microwave- they'll taste better reheated in the oven.
Lebanese fatayer freeze so well. Whatever you don't think you're going to eat over the next couple of days, pop onto a baking sheet into the freezer in a single layer until frozen solid, then pile them together in a freezer bag or container. Reheat in the oven or microwave.

Nutrition

Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 215mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2363IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg