Beef Arayes Lebanese Meat-Stuffed Pita

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 30 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

4 tbsp Olive oil

2 Onions (chopped)

Salt & Black Pepper

6 Garlic cloves (minced)

1 1/2 tsp Caraway seeds (crushed)

1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds (crushed)

1 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Chile flakes

2 tsp Tomato paste

2 Plum tomatoes (grated, skins discarded)

350 g Minced beef

1 1/4 cups Cilantro

4 Pita

3 tsp Butter

1 Lemon (cut into wedges)

2 tbsp Tahini

Directions

Put 2 tbsp of oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat. Add onions and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring often until golden brown.

Add the garlic, spices and tomato paste and cook for an additional minute. Stir in the plum tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, until they've completely broken down and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.

Transfer the mix to a a medium bowl along with minced beef, cilantro, 1 tsp salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a serrated knife, cut the pitas in half and fill each pocket with about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture, flattening it out so it fills the pita evenly.

Put 1 1/2 tsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet and place over medium high heat or a grill. Add two of the sandwiches and cook for 3 minutes, flipping after a minute, until both sides have browned.

Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Continue process with remaining sandwiches.

Once they are all pan-fried, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Serve warm with lemon wedges and tahini sauce.

Nutrition

• Calories: 325 kcal
• Total Fat: 18.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
• Cholesterol: 57 mg
• Sodium: 170 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 20.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.1 g
• Total Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 21.8 g