Crispy Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pita - Arayes

• khẩu phần: 10 servings
• thời gian hoạt động: 15 minutes
• tổng thời gian: 30 minutes

Nguyên liệu

5 pita bread (, the thin pocket type, ~15cm/6" diameter, 250g/8oz pack, cut in half, Note 1)

Olive oil spray (or brush with olive oil)

1/2 brown onion

500g/ 1 lb lamb or beef mince (ground meat, Note 2)

2 garlic cloves (, finely grated)

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (, optional)

3 tsp ground coriander

3 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (sub plain paprika)

3/4 tsp ground allspice (sub mixed spice)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (reduce/omit for less spicy - Note 4)

1 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt

Sauce ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsp tahini (or Chinese sesame paste - Note 5)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove (, finely grated)

1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt

Hướng dẫn

Spiced meat filling:

Grate the onion in a bowl using a standard box grater. We want the juices and all! (Note 4)

Meat filling - Add remaining meat filling ingredients. Mix well with your hands.

Divide stuffing in 10 (about 55 to 60g per portion, 1/4 cup). Flatten into a semi-circle shape slightly smaller than the pita bread half.

Stuff - Gently open a pita then place the meat inside. Close, then press to spread to the edge and make it fairly evenly flat. (Is your pita tearing? See Note 5 for tip!)

Cooking Arayes:

Preheat oven to 50C/120F. Place a rack on a tray. (To keep cooked Arayes warm.)

Cook - Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Spray both sides of the pita with olive oil then place 2 or 3 pieces in the pan (whatever you can fit). Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, pressing down lightly with a spatula, until golden and crispy. The meat is spread so thin it cooks really quickly! {Sandwich press - Note 7}

Keep warm - Transfer cooked Arayes onto the rack and put in the oven to keep warm. Cook remaining pita.

Serve - Cut in half if desired (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't!). Pile Arayes onto a serving platter. Serve with Whipped Tahini sauce. Enjoy!

Whipped tahini sauce:

Place ingredients in a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Microwave for 15 seconds on high. Whisk again - it should resemble soft whipped cream. Use slightly warm or at room temperature.

Ghi chú

1. Pita bread – You need pita bread pockets that can be split open to stuff the meat inside. Thinner is better as it’s easier to cook the meat through but I’ve made this with thicker pita bread pockets too and it works great, just takes a minute or two longer for the meat to cook. (Aussies – I use Nana brand from Woolies, Coles.)

Other breads –

Large Lebanese bread ~30cm/12″ wide also works! You need 2 to 3, spread the meat inside using a butter knife, pan fry until crisp then cut into pieces.

Tortillas or other flatbreads – Smear meat on half, fold over like a quesadilla and cook!

2. Meat – Lamb is a favoured protein in the Middle East and goes soooo well with the spicing. But beef is a close second!

3. Spiciness: Mild kick, only 1/2 tsp cayenne across 10 pita bread halves. To reduce to subtle, cut down cayenne to 1/4 tsp. Or omit.

4. Grated onion is finer than chopped so it doesn’t need to be cooked separately before mixing into the raw meat. It cooks through with the meat! Plus, juices adds more flavour.

5. Tahini – A paste made with sesame seeds. Usually found in the health food aisle at grocery stores. Use hulled tahini (more common), not un-hulled which is darker and more bitter. The jar label will specify whether the tahini is hulled or un-hulled.

Use Chinese sesame paste as a sub if you have leftovers from another recipe I’ve shared, like this one or this one!

6. Trouble opening the pita bread? Can happen if it’s not super fresh! Microwave 30 sec on high to warm – this will soften it. Then insert a butter knife and run it along the pocket to loosen, then open. Warm one at a time, then do more as you get faster with stuffing!

7. Sandwich press – I tried making these in a sandwich press and while it does work, the bottom is not quite as crispy as pan frying because the weight of the lid presses down on the meat more which makes more fat come out. But for convenience, it’s excellent!

8. Make ahead! Assemble the pitas then keep them in the fridge for a couple of days, ready to cook on demand. Or – freeze!

Serving size – I find 3 pita halves sufficient for a meal with a side salad though heartier appetites would want more.

Dinh dưỡng

• Calo: 226 kcal
• Tổng Chất béo: 12 g
• Chất béo bão hòa: 6 g
• Chất béo không bão hòa: 6 g
• Chất béo chuyển hóa: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 39 mg
• Natri: 532 mg
• Tổng Carbohydrate: 17 g
• Chất xơ: 1 g
• Tổng Đường: 1 g
• Chất đạm: 12 g