Oregano Balls

There are countless recipes passed down through generations for making Palestinian oregano fatayer (pastries).

Every family you talk to holds their mom’s or nana’s recipe close to their heart, believing no other recipe can match the flavour and taste of their own recipe.

We’ve gathered a collection of these recipes from mamas and grandmas near and far, and every month, we’ll try one in hopes of discovering the best versions.

We will start this series with my aunt’s recipe.

Ingredients(I cut the ingredients below in half in my video):

• 1 cup warm water

• 1 tbsp milk powder

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 3 cups flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 3 cups fresh oregano

• Extra olive oil to coat the dough

• Nabulsi or Alkawi cheese, cut into cubes

  
  

Instructions

1. Mix warm water with sugar, milk powder, and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes.

   
   

2. In the meantime, mix together the dry ingredients and add the oregano, then stir it in.

   
   

3. Add the yogurt and olive oil to the wet mixture, then mix.

   
   

4. Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients as you knead the dough. Knead the dough in a machine for 5 minutes or by hand for 10 minutes.

   
   

5. Place the dough in a bowl coated with olive oil, coat both sides of the dough, cover it, and let it rest in a warm place for about an hour, or until it doubles in size.

   
   

6. Preheat the oven to 250°C

   
   

7. Divide the dough into balls, flatten them, add cheese, then form them back into balls.

   
   

8. Coat the fatayer with milk, egg, or olive oil, and bake for 7 minutes at 250°C.

We are starting strong with this recipe. It might be my bias, but this recipe creates the perfect fluffy and flavourful cheese balls.