Essential · about 2 h 30 min, with 60–75 minutes of rising · Serves 4
Lamb Arab empanadas with yogurt, lemon and mint
The Arab empanadas or fatay of Syrian-Lebanese cooking that are eaten all over the country: thin bread dough closed in a triangle, with a raw filling of meat, onion, tomato and lemon that cooks inside the oven. This version keeps its traditional character and uses easy-to-find ingredients.
The change is in the lamb, instead of beef, spiced with cumin, paprika, sumac and lemon zest, and in the dough, which includes yogurt to be more tender. They are served open at the tip, with the filling in view, over a citrus yogurt sauce, with mint, toasted sesame and pickled red onion that bring freshness and acidity.
Special equipment: baking stone or steel, optional; instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
Pickled red onion
- 1 small red onion, in very thin slices
- 80 ml vinegar
- 40 ml water
- 1 level teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Dough
- 180 g warm water
- 6 g dry yeast
- 5 g sugar
- 400 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g plain yogurt (or 30 g more water)
- 25 g olive oil
- 8 g salt
Lamb filling
- 600 g ground lamb
- 250 g white onion, in very small cubes
- 120 g tomato, seeded, in 5 mm cubes
- 1 garlic clove, grated or very finely chopped
- 20 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1½ teaspoons sumac (4–5 g)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 10–12 g salt
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 40 g lemon juice
Yogurt and lemon sauce
- 200 g thick plain or Greek yogurt
- Juice of ½ lemon and a little zest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
Assembly and baking
- Oil, for the tray
Finishing
- Fresh mint or parsley leaves
- Sesame seeds
- Olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Pickled red onion
- Pickling. Mix the vinegar, water, sugar and salt, add the onion and let it sit at least 20–30 minutes.
Dough
- Kneading. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and leave 5 minutes. Pour it over the flour with the yogurt and oil, mix until a dough forms and add the salt. Knead about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Rising. Put it in a lightly oiled container, cover and let rise 60–75 minutes, until noticeably larger. Divide into 10 balls of 70–75 g, cover and rest 10–15 minutes before rolling.
Lamb filling
- Mixing. Put the lamb in a bowl with the onion, tomato, garlic, parsley, cumin, paprika, sumac, pepper, salt, zest and lemon juice. Mix gently, without kneading the meat, so the filling does not become compact. Cover and refrigerate 20–30 minutes.
- Checking. Before assembling, check the bottom of the bowl: if the tomato, onion and lemon released a lot of liquid, drain off the excess. It should be moist, but not watery.
Yogurt and lemon sauce
- Mixing. Mix the yogurt with the juice, zest, oil, salt and pepper to a smooth sauce, adjust the lemon and salt and keep it in the refrigerator. For a thicker texture, use Greek yogurt or drain plain yogurt 1–2 hours in a sieve with a cloth.
Assembly and baking
- Assembly. Preheat the oven to 240–250 °C (465–480 °F), if possible with a thick tray, stone or steel inside. Roll each ball into a disc of 12–13 cm, not too thin, and put about 40–45 g of filling in the center, leaving the edges free. Bring three points of the dough toward the center to form a triangle, pinch the three joins firmly and leave a small opening at the top, with the filling in view.
- Baking. Bake them on parchment paper or on a lightly oiled tray 8–12 minutes, depending on the oven and size, until the dough is well browned, with barely toasted edges and a cooked, crisp base. The filling should reach 71 °C (160 °F) at the center: cooked, but still juicy.
- Toasty touch. If you like, press the base of the freshly baked empanadas 20–30 seconds on a very hot griddle or heavy pan.
Finishing
- Sesame. Toast the seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat 2–3 minutes, moving them constantly, until they begin to brown, and remove at once.
The dish
Use wide, dark or neutral plates. Put a spoonful of yogurt sauce and drag it with the back of the spoon into a brushstroke. Arrange 2 or 3 empanadas in a triangular composition or a semicircle, and add a few small mint or parsley leaves and some rings of pickled red onion. Finish with a few drops of olive oil, toasted sesame and freshly ground pepper, without overloading: the empanada is the protagonist. Final look: golden triangles with the reddish filling in view, the white brushstroke of yogurt, the fuchsia of the onion and the green of the mint.
Key points
- Seed the tomato and drain the filling if it releases liquid: a watery filling softens the dough.
- Mix the meat without kneading it, so the filling does not become compact.
- Do not roll the dough too thin or overfill.
- Bake very hot and short, and verify 71 °C (160 °F) at the center of the filling.
- Pinch the joins of the triangle firmly so they do not open in the oven.
Pairing
A young Malbec, a Syrah or a Pinot Noir, avoiding very tannic or heavily oaked wines. Without alcohol, a fresh lemonade with mint, ice and still or sparkling water.
Notes
- Yield to confirm: the source indicates 40–45 g of filling per empanada, but the full filling weighs close to 1 kg and exceeds what fits in 10 empanadas of that size. In the first test, record whether it is better to make more generously filled empanadas or reduce the filling.