Beef

Arayes

These Middle Eastern stuffed pitas are toasted and crunchy, and filled with a seasoned layer of spiced meat.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium (8-ounce) yellow onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup (about 3/4 ounces) loosely packed parsley leaves
  • 1 pound ground lamb or beef, lean, or a 1/2 pound each of combined
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice or seven-spice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons, plus 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 5 (6-inch) pita bread rounds, halved crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • greek-style yogurt, for serving (optional)
  • toum, for serving (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Place a broiler-safe wire rack in a baking sheet and set aside. Place onion, garlic, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped into a rough puree, about 6 to 8 pulses, brushing down sides of bowl as needed; you should have about 2/3 cup onion mixture. Place in a medium mesh sieve set over a medium bowl; press on mixture to drain excess liquid; discard liquid. Combine onion mixture and ground lamb and beef in a large bowl and mix until evenly combined. Add tomato paste, smoked paprika, red chile paste, pepper, and allspice or seven spice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and mix to combine.
  2. Spoon about 1/4 cup filling into each pita; spread and flatten so filling is evenly distributed and reaches edges of pita. Brush some of the olive oil onto each side of pita and sprinkle evenly with remaining 5/8 teaspoon salt.
  3. Place filled pita halves onto prepared baking sheet and. bake on center rack until filling is cooked through and pita is crisp on each side, 18 to 20 minutes, flipping pitas halfway through cooking. If desired, turn oven to broil and cook on each side until desired crispiness, about 1 minute per side. Serve with yogurt or toum.