Lebanese Meat Pies (Sfeeha's)

Step 1

Divide dough into small balls and roll to 1/8 inch thick. The rounds should be 3-4 inches wide. Let dough rest 20-30 minutes.

Step 2

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 3

In a large pot, brown pine nuts in butter until golden brown being careful not to let burn. Remove from nuts from pan but leave any remaining butter.

Step 4

Add ground meat, onions, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice to the pan and cook until meat is browned - about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in toasted pine nuts, yogurt and lemon juice. Let mixture cool slightly.

Step 5

Place 1 tablespoon of the filling into the center of each round. (A stainless steel scoop is great for this step.)

Step 6

To begin folding the dough into a triangle, bring the bottom third up over the meat then bring another third of the dough to the first fold and pinch together to form a tight seal.

Step 7

Fold the final third over and pinch with the first two thirds of the dough to create a tightly pinched triangle. Repeat until you run out of dough.

Step 8

Place filled triangles on a greased baking sheet (or one lined with a silicone baking sheet) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Step 9

Remove from oven and lightly brush with melted clarified butter.

Step 10

Serve with plain yogurt.