AI-generated image
Arayes
Arayes: Lebanese pitta stuffed with spiced kafta and grilled until crisp
Arayes are what Beirut grill houses and family barbecues do with kafta when they want something you can eat with your hands: pitta breads split and filled with a thin layer of lamb or beef mince mixed with onion, parsley and spices, then pressed and grilled until the bread is shatteringly crisp and the meat juices soak in. Cut into wedges, they come with tahini sauce, pickles and a tomato salad. Common mistake: spreading the meat too thickly — the bread burns before the centre is cooked; keep it about 5 mm. Chef's tip: brush the outside of the bread with the fat from the mince bowl or a little olive oil; it fries the pitta to a perfect crunch.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the tahini sauce
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb lamb or beef mince, 1 onion, 1 oz flat-leaf parsley, 1 ½ tsp Lebanese seven-spice (baharat), 1 tsp Aleppo pepper and 1 tsp salt with your hands for 2 minutes until sticky.
Step 2: Cut each 4 pitta breads in half and open the pockets. Spread a quarter of the meat thinly (about 5 mm) inside each pitta, right to the edges, and press closed.
Step 3: Brush both sides with 2 tbsp olive oil. Cook on a hot griddle pan or barbecue over a medium heat (or in a sandwich press) for 5–6 minutes a side, pressing down, until the bread is deep golden and crisp and the meat is cooked through to 160°F.
12 minStep 4: Whisk 4 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp water into a smooth sauce. Cut the arayes into wedges and serve hot with the sauce, pickles and tomatoes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 33 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arayes take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of flat-leaf parsley?
- Curly parsley or coriander, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese