Open-Faced Beef Sfiha: Soft Little Middle Eastern Meat Pies to Squeeze With Lime

Ingredients for Open-Faced Beef Sfiha

This recipe makes about 16 sfihas.

For the dough

• 3 cups all-purpose flour: plus a little for dusting.
• 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast: quick and reliable.
• 1 tablespoon sugar: feeds the yeast and helps browning.
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt: for flavor.
• 1 cup warm milk: about 110°F, warm to the touch, not hot.
• ⅓ cup vegetable or olive oil: keeps the dough soft.
• 1 large egg: adds richness and tenderness.

For the beef filling

• 1 pound lean ground beef: 90% lean is ideal, so the filling is not greasy.
• 1 medium yellow onion: very finely chopped and squeezed dry.
• 2 medium tomatoes: seeded and very finely chopped, then drained.
• ½ red bell pepper: finely diced.
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley: plus a few mint leaves if you like.
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste: for color and depth.
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice: for brightness.
• 1 teaspoon salt: to taste.
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice: the classic warm spice of the Levant.
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon: just a hint.
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper: freshly ground.

For serving

• 2 limes or lemons: cut into wedges.

Shopping and Prep Notes

Drain the vegetables well. This is the most important tip. Onion and tomato release a lot of liquid, and a wet filling makes soggy sfihas. Chop them finely, place them in a strainer, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and press them after 10 minutes.

Ground allspice is sold in the spice aisle of every US supermarket. If you can find a jar labeled "Lebanese seven spice" or "baharat" at a Middle Eastern market, use 1 ½ teaspoons of it instead of the allspice and cinnamon.

You can make the filling with ground lamb or half beef and half lamb for a more traditional flavor. Instant yeast, sometimes labeled "rapid rise," lets you skip proofing the yeast first, but active dry yeast works too if you let it foam in the warm milk for 5 minutes.