Middle Eastern Spinach Turnover Recipes

Steps:

• Shop finely cut spinach (after removing stems), rub with salt and squeeze liquid out. Shop onion fine, rub with salt and pepper and add to spinach. Fry pine nuts in a bit of butter, add to spinach. add juice of one lemon and two tablespoons of Pomegranate juice. Add olive oil and Mix all together. On a flattened basic dough cut circular pieces, place a bit of mixture on the circular dough and fold creating a triangular turnovers Place on an oven sheet, brush turnovers with olive oil, place in a pre-heated oven (200 degree C) for about 12/15 minutes or until slightly brown. Can be eaten hot ot cold.

Steps:

• In a skillet melt butter and cook onion for about 3 minutes or until softened. Remove skillet from heat and stir in spinach, feta cheese and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay out one layer of phyllo dough and brush with butter. Top with another layer of dough and repeat with butter and a third layer of dough. With a sharp knife cut rectangle into 3 evenly sized pieces. Place a heaping tablespoon of the spinach mixture in lower left corner of one of the pieces and fold up as you would a flag--folding the lower corner up to form a triangle and continuing to fold up in the shape of a triangle. Place triangles on a baking sheet, at this point they can be frozen and then stored in an airtight container. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed.

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture (dough will be stiff). Turn onto a floured surface; gently knead 10 times. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. , In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; reserve 1 tablespoon drippings. Saute onion and garlic in drippings until tender. Remove from heat; stir in bacon, spinach, cottage cheese and seasonings. Cool. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into 3-in. circles; brush edges with egg. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling on each circle. Fold over; seal edges. Prick tops with a fork. Brush with egg. , Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with salsa if desired.

Steps:

• Heat a small dry skillet over medium heat and add the clove, allspice berries, and coriander seeds or cumin seeds. Heat, shaking the pan, until the spices begin to smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes, then grind in a spice mill. Add the cinnamon, and set aside.
• In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt to a paste, and stir into the yogurt. Set aside.
• Place the baby spinach in a bowl and pour on boiling water to cover. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess water, and chop coarsely.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet and add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring, until they begin color (2 to 3 minutes), then remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the spices to the oil. When they begin to sizzle, cook for about 30 seconds and add the spinach, toasted pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the spinach is heated through and coated with the oil and spices, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and spoon the yogurt over the top. This is very nice served with Arabic bread.