Sfiha or sfeeha () is a dish consisting of

flatbread A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...

cooked with a minced meat topping, often lamb flavored with parsley, onion, tomato, pine nuts, and spices. It is traditionally found in the countries of the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, and is closely related to manakish and lahmacun. Sfiha has become popular in parts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where it is known as esfiha or esfirra in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

or as empanada árabe (arab empanada), fatay or sfija in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, after being introduced by Middle Eastern immigrants to the former and to the latter from Syria and Armenia.

History

Flatbreads have been present in the

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent () is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran. Some authors also include ...

since prehistoric times. They have been cooked on hot surfaces such as stones, a metal sajj plate, taboon, or

tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large vase-shaped oven, usually made of clay. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti (as well as leavened ones, such as naan) and to roast meat. Tandoors are predominantly use ...

. In the medieval Arab world, with the development of the brick oven or ''furn'', a wide variety of flatbreads baked together with stuffings or toppings emerged, including sfiha, and spread across the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In Brazil, esfiha gained popularity in the late 20th century, and since has become one of the most popular fast foods.

Main ingredients

Every family has their own preference on what to add in addition to the meat. In

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, the main ingredients are: meat, onions, tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, pepper, and flavorings such as cinnamon, sumac, or pomegranate molasses. The region of

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

is especially known for its sfiha. In Syria, Palestine, and Jordan, sfiha is similarly made with minced meat or lamb, in addition to herbs and spices, with tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients. Esfihas in Brazil are oven-baked and may be open-faced flatbreads about four inches in diameter with meat topping, or folded into a triangular pastry like fatayer. They may have various toppings, including cheese, curd, lamb, beef or vegetables.

Sfiha Yafawiyeh

Sfiha Yafawiyeh is a variant named after the city of

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

where, instead of topping flatbread with meat, the bread is rolled into a spiral shape with the meat used as a filling. '' Sada El-Balad''

References

Arab cuisine Brazilian cuisine Iraqi cuisine Jordanian cuisine Lebanese cuisine Palestinian cuisine Syrian cuisine Lamb dishes Israeli cuisine Flatbreads {{Brazil-cuisine-stub

History

Main ingredients

Sfiha Yafawiyeh

See also

References