Spinach Labneh Rolls

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Usually when the themes for the Blogging Marathon is declared, my attention always go on what I can make sweet, even though I don’t eat much or avoid eating nowadays. I guess that has been my tendency ever since I have started blogging. After all, what is my blog name? 😉 I have always loved sweets and will always love them, but just that the dimension now is changed from what it used to be before. Even though I still enjoy an occasional sweet indulgence, my focus has moved to have quality over quantity, and if I do love what I make, then I like to eat little of what is there rather than enjoy half the quantity cooked. I hope that makes sense. 😀

So when the Blogging Marathon #101 themes were out, I instantly jumped into selecting “Kid’s Delight: Savory Bakes” as one theme. Ramadan was the best time to test out the savory bakes, but then Allah’s plans were different and that wasn’t to happen. I did struggle to finish off the recipes for this theme, even though I had so many ideas in my head. The mood to execute them was literally zero and I had to wage a battle on myself to complete it.

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Usually, when I go to an invited home Iftar, I carry something with me. This year, on the first Saturday of Ramadan, my cousin called over to her house for Iftar. Last year, I had baked the Tandoori Chicken Buns, which was totally loved but this year I opted for a vegetarian bake, since I was sure almost all her snacks would be non-veg and this may feel a little different. So I baked these spinach zaater pinwheels for her.

This is a very straightforward recipe. I kept the dough majorly wholewheat. Usually my savory bakes are eggless, but this time I decided to add an egg for an added richness. The combination of spinach and labneh is quite well known in manakish and fatayers, that are baked snacks in the Arab world. Since I had a pack of frozen spinach waiting for its time, I decided to employ these flavors for the filling in the rolls.

I was a bit worried about how these would be accepted. I underestimated the quantity of labneh while I was tossing the spinach in and hence my filling was a tad bit dry. I have rectified it in the recipe by mentioning more labneh than I actually used. Otherwise,  I totally loved how it turned out. Thankfully, nothing much remained of the rolls. I have used frozen spinach but I feel using fresh would always taste better. You can substitute with two big bunches of spinach, washed and sauteed for a little while in a hot pan, then drained (just like I have done in the Palak Paneer). Off to the recipe…

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5 from 1 vote

Spinach Labneh Rolls

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6 -8

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• FOR THE DOUGH:
• 1 1/2 cups wholewheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp milk powder
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large egg room temperature
• Lukewarm water as needed
• FOR FILLING:
• 200 gm pack frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of excess water
• 2 x 200 gm pack labneh
• 1 small onion minced
• 4 tsp sumac
• 1 tbsp paprika powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• To make the dough, combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and give a good whisk.
• Make a hole in the center. Add the egg and olive oil and mix. Add lukewarm water little by little and bring the dough together. Knead till you have a slightly sticky yet soft dough.
• Oil a bowl and transfer the dough into it. Cover and allow it to double for an hour.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining all the fillings for the ingredients in a bowl. Mix them well.
• Oil a flat baking tray well and set aside.
• Once the dough has doubled, punch down the dough. Oil or flour your surface and roll the dough into a big rectangle. Spread the filling equally all over and roll tightly.
• Cut them into equal portions - makes around 12-14. Arrange on the oiled tray and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes till the top looks done. Grill for two minutes to brown the top.
• Allow to cool on a cooling rack. It can be enjoyed warm with a dip of your choice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to see what the other Blogging Marathoners are doing this BM#101.

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Also linking this post to the Kid’s Delight – Savory Bakes event hosted by Sowmya…