I had intended to post the first of my ‘Heal Yourself with your Voice’ blogs as my 100th entry on my website but I haven’t had a chance to create the photos to go with it. And I’m busy making Middle Eastern Spinach Pockets, so for now they will be my centenary celebration. Which means I might just have to eat them all myself. Oh shame! Nah. I’ll share them as I do with everything I cook or bake. Food is always to be shared with friends or neighbours. Anyone who says I’m a feeder I will just say I’m a good chef. Things I make taste good so people are always glad to receive.
Sumac is a wonderful red spice used in the Middle East and South Asian cuisines. I can’t imagine eating spinach without it. The fruits form dense clusters of reddish drupes which are known as sumac bobs. It’s a flowering plant of the genus Rhus – so let’s Rhussell some up. Sitting here as I write I am wrapped in the aroma of the sumac and salt, wilting the spinach and onions and my mouth is watering.
Ingredients
Dough
350g ’00’ pasta flour
2tbs olive oil
100g white sourdough starter (you can make these without sourdough just add more liquid)
Generous pinch of salt
100-150ml Oat Milk
Filling
300g spinach
Onion
1tsp fine sea salt
1tsp Ras El Hanout (I use the red variety not the golden one)
2tsp sumac
100g pine nuts
2tbs lemon juice
Method
Pop the first four of the dough ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Warm the Oat Milk and and slowly pour it into the bowl and mix to a dough. You will need to add a little at a time or it will go too sloppy. Then knead it until the gluten gets more stretched and elastic. This will take about 10 minutes. Cover in cling film and put the bowl aside for at least an hour. The longer you leave it the better the flavour.
Wash the spinach and spin it dry and place in a huge bowl. Mix in the finely chopped onion, sea salt, Ras El Hanout and sumac. It is essential that you get the salt and spices really well mixed in as they will allow the spinach to wilt and shrink. Dry roast the pine nuts and leave to cool.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each out into a thin disk. Mix up some flour gum using 1tbs of flour and 1tbs of water. Then run this around the edge of a disk and put an eighth of the filling in the middle and shape into a vague triangle. This helps when sticking the seams together.
Bring up two sides and stick together. Then pull up the bottom edge to meet with the two open edges and you will have a triangle.
Role the seams tightly and twist the pointed corner. repeat this on the other two seams.
Now complete all eight and let them rest while the oven heats up to 180C/350F/Gasmark 6. Then pop them in to cook for 20-25 minutes.
Waiting waiting for them to bake now. The smell is doing my head in. I’m so hungry for them now.
Gotta go now. Hot fatayers to eat. Thanks for reading my 100th post and reading my russellings. I really do appreciate all your comments and emails.
