Sfeeha صفيحة is the kind of food that can be served alone as a main dish or as a side dish. It’s often added as a great side dish if one’s is having a party or a big gathering. Sfeeha is made with either ground beef or lamb mixed together with onions, tomatoes, bell pepper. Some other recipes include tahini sauce to the mix.
Whenever my mom made this savory pastry I always felt like we were up for a treat. I very much enjoyed eating it while it’s freshly baked. The smell coming out of the oven while sfeeha is baking makes one so anxious waiting for the minute it’s fully baked and ready to be served.
How to make sfeeha:
Making the stuffing can be a bit tricky and whether the meat should be cooked before adding it to the dough or not. The main concern is that once baked the meat should stick to the dough and doesn’t come off.
My sister-in-law back home Maha, not only she makes a delicious sfeeha. Also the way it turns out makes it look like it’s coming out of a mold. So I turned to her to get the recipe. I did my best to make it look as good as hers. It certainly tastes so good, but maybe I wasn't close to the perfection looks as Maha’s sfeeha. So I will let you be the judge.
Start with the dough
In a large bowl mix together flour, salt and then add yogurt and oil. In a separate cup mix yeast with sugar in warm water. Pour over everything else and start kneading until the mix gets doughy and easy to work with. Using your hands rub the bowl with some oil and also rub some on the dough itself while keeping it as a big round shape then cover the bowl with plastic wrapping and a blanket and let it rest for about an hour.
Stuffing
Start preparing the meat stuffing. I like to mix half beef and half lamb, place the meat in a pot and on high heat while continuing stirring let the meat cook until the red color turns into more brownish, the idea here is not to fully cook the meat, but perhaps to get all the water out, this will help to get rid of all the water residue that comes out of the meat so it can help the meat stick to the dough while baking. This step will take about 15 minutes. Once done place the meat in a strainer to get all water out.
preparing the vegetable
The next step is preparing the vegetables to be added to the meat. Finely chop tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, salt, allspice, tomatoes paste, sour pomegranate molasses (optional) you can add lemon juice if the latter is not available. Mix everything well with the meat.
Heat oven on 420 F and once the dough is ready, with your hands take a small piece of the dough and round it in a ball shape. Place in a greased baking sheet, then flatten with your fingers (try not to flatten it too thin. it’s nice to have it a bit fluffy once baked) with a spoon scoop out some of the meat and vegetable mixture and place over the flattened dough, press well with hands to make sure the meat mixture sticks with the dough.
Continue this process until the tray is full, make sure there is some space between one sfeeha and the other, so they won't stick to each other while baking. After filling the dough with the meat mixture let it sit for another 30 minutes before baking.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the bottom turns golden brown. This makes about 25-30 depending on the size of each.
Sfeeha (open-faced meat pie) صفيحة
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- 60 resting:
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 25-30 pieces 1x
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Palestinian
- Diet: Halal
Description
Sfeeha صفيحة is the kind of food that can be served alone as a main dish or as a side dish. It’s often added as a great side dish if one’s is having a party or a big gathering. Sfeeha is made with either ground beef or lamb mixed together with onions, tomatoes, bell pepper. Some other recipes include
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 cups flour
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- ¾ cup oil (olive or vegetable)
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ - ½ cup of warm water
Stuffing
- 1 pound ground beef or lamb (or half of each)
- 3-4 tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomatoes paste
- 2 tablespoon sour pomegranate molasses or lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- Hot chili pepper (optional)
- salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, then add yogurt and oil, in a separate cup mix yeast with sugar in warm water, then pour over the flour mixture and start kneading.
- If dough is dry you can gradually add more water (1-2 tablespoons at a time), continue to knead until the mix gets doughy and easy to work with.
- Rub the bowl with some oil and also add few drops of oil on the dough itself while keeping it as one big round shape.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrapping and a blanket and let it rest for about an hour.
- Meanwhile start preparing the meat stuffing, place the meat in a pot and on high heat while continuing stirring let the meat cook until the red color turns into more brownish. This step will take about 15 minutes. Once done, place the meat in a strainer to get all the water out.
- Add finely chopped tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, salt, allspice, tomatoes paste, sour pomegranate molasses or lemon juice and mix everything well with the meat.
- With your hands take a small piece of the dough and rounded it in a ball shape, place in a greased baking sheet, then flatten with your fingers, with a spoon scoop out the meat and vegetable mixture and place over the flattened dough, press well with hands to make sure the meat mixture sticks with the dough. Continue this step until the tray is full.
- After filling the dough with the meat mixture let it sit for about 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the bottom turns golden brown.
Amber M says
Is this recipe from Palestine? Is it considered a Palestinian dish?
Wafa Shami says
Hi Amber, yes definitely is.
Angela says
I'm pretty sure these are Lebanese meat pies. That's where they come from originally.
Wafa Shami says
Sfeeha originally comes from the Levant region, which includes Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon.
Jena says
How many does this recipe make? Looks amazing!
Wafa Shami says
Hi Jena, thank you. This recipe makes about 25-30 pieces.
Lana says
This looks so delicious. I grew up in Palestine and this brings fond childhood memories when my mom used to make these. Thank you for the recipe.
Wafa Shami says
Great to hear. You are welcome.
Shazma says
Hello!
Just wondering if you can make this a day ahead and leave it in the fridge until needed?
Thanks heaps!
Wafa Shami says
Hi Shazma, yes absolutely and when ready to serve you can warm it up in an oven or toaster oven for 5-10 minutes. Freezing is also an option, place it in an airtight container or a zip bag and place in the freezer, it can last up to 3 months.
Shazma says
Perfect! That’s a massive help. Thank you so very much! Your recipes are delightful! X
Wafa Shami says
Awesome! You are welcome, so glad to hear that. Enjoy!
Kathy Myers says
I'm so happy to have found this recipe and especially appreciate the tips you provided. Thank you for sharing!!
Wafa Shami says
Hi Kathy, glad to hear that. Thank you.
Aarifah says
Is the oil meant to be 3/4 cup, and water only 1/4 cup? (I used the 1X scale).
The consistency didn’t seem right.
And after baking, it seemed quite dense.
(I added more water as I was mixing the dough, as it would have been way too stiff if I hadn’t.)
Kindly shed more clarity on this.
Thank you.
Wafa Shami says
Hi Aarifah, will do. Flour measurement and humidity affect how the dough will turn out, water adjustment is always helpful. Thank you for letting me know.