Sfiha

Sfiha is a small open-faced pie: soft dough is topped with seasoned minced meat, often mixed with onion, tomato and parsley. Lamb or beef is common, and recipes vary across the Levant.

Heat the oven to 230 °C and put a metal baking tray in to warm. Arrange the sfiha on the hot tray and bake for about 8–12 minutes, until the edges are browned and the minced-meat topping is cooked through.

Serve it warm with lemon wedges, plain yoghurt or a chopped salad of tomato, cucumber and parsley. Pickles and olives also make a good accompaniment.

Cool leftovers promptly, refrigerate in a covered container and eat within three days. Reheat on a baking tray at 180 °C until piping hot; an oven helps the base crisp up again.

Yes. Freeze baked sfiha in a sealed container, with baking paper between layers, for up to three months. Reheat from frozen on a tray at 180 °C until piping hot in the centre.

Chicken sfiha has less fat: 4.67 g per 100 g, compared with 6.2 g in sfiha and 6.25 g in beef sfiha.

A 100 g portion provides 15 g of protein. The amount in a single pie depends on its size.