Arayes – Crispy Meat Stuffed Pita

How do I describe the deliciousness of this dish? Let me count the ways. Probably the best way would be to say that DH said, this is unbelievable, you gonna make it again soon? the first time I made it. The second time I made it it was clear it was the top of his go to dinners. It also comes together pretty darn quick without too many ingredients which in my opinion is a big plus on days when you want something fab to eat and can get it ready to roll in about 20-30 minutes.

So I’m happy to introduce you to this wildly popular Israeli (and Mediterranean in general) food. Now there are many who grill this on an outdoor grill but since I’m not one who grills often (and in winter you anyway don’t wanna have to fight the elements) I went with pan grilling. I used my cast iron skillet, which gives a wonderful crispy shell to the pita bread but any heavy bottomed skillet will do the trick, including non stick – just don’t use a lightweight pan for this.

K. It pays to make your tahini first,(which you really need to serve with this, it adds a wallop of flavor and it’s traditional) I didn’t take a pic of how to make it but will tell you how, quite simply. Take a medium bowl (or it can be done in a blender/food processor if you wish) and add crushed garlic, fresh lemon juice and salt and I have a little trick I often use to hasten incorporating the the sesame seed paste, I use boiling water and slowly add the sesame paste to it, whisking all the time till a smooth, creamy thick cream is formed and then add the finely chopped parsley. I like to make mine almost as thick as hummus (not quite but close) a technique I learned maybe 40 years ago from DH’s cousin Yanka who ran a food eatery at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station all those years ago and was a marvelous cook. The first time I tasted her thick tahini that you dolloped as opposed to the watery version, I was sold. But it’s up to you, the amount of water you add is what will keep it thicker or thinner. Also, chop up some cucumbers and tomatoes and maybe a red pepper for your Israeli salad as a go with. They are ready and set aside.

So gather your arayes ingredients

As you can see, it’s fairly simple. The pita, which you will cut in half, ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley and spices as well as olive oil.

So place parsley, spices, garlic and onion in blender or food processor and blend or process fine.

Alternatively, crush garlic, chop onion and parsley very fine and add cumin, nutmeg, paprika, salt and black pepper to a bowl.

Now add the chopped meat to the herb mixture and combine thoroughly.

Slice the pitas in half and gently stuff the halves with the meat mixture, evenly apportioning the mixture in all the pita halves, like so:

Push the mixture down flat to the insides of the pita along it’s contour.

Now brush both sides of the pita halves with olive oil.

Heat your heavy bottomed pan to medium heat and lay down your pita halves – I can usually fit four halves in at a time. There should be a little sizzle thing going on.

I tried to angle the shot so you can see that I do not overstuff the pita since there will then be no need to cook the pita in the oven. Keep it flat and don’t cook on high heat and it will work. K. I’m gonna give you a couple more pics to show how the meat is starting to brown inside the pita.

I now take a flat pot lid and press down on the pita to make sure it’s making complete contact with the bottom of the pan so it will brown properly and to keep it flattened.

Keep cooking and you can leave the lid on (without continually pressing down) for a few minutes and then remove and peek at the bottom to see if it’s browned. If so, flip to other side. If pan seems to need a bit of oil, brush a bit on the pita before flipping, but you’re not frying in a ton of oil, rather searing.

As you can see above, the pita is fully browned on top and nearly fully browned on the bottom and the meat inside is cooked through. One more thing, you also stand the pita halves on the pan to get browning on the meat.

K. Crispy all over and ready to serve. Take the pitas and arrange on a platter and serve with your prepared tahini and chopped salad. Fabulouso!

Arayes – Crispy Meat Stuffed Pita

6 pita breads
olive oil to coat pita

Beef filling:

1 medium or 1/2 a large onion
1-2 cloves garlic
a small bunch of fresh parsley, cleaned and thick stems removed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
500 grams/ about 1 pound ground beef

Tahini :

slightly more than 1/2 cup water (118 ml), boiling
1 cup (236 ml) sesame seed paste (pure Tahini)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
small bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine or 2 cubes frozen chopped parsley, defrosted

To serve:

Israeli salad (fine chopped cucumbers and tomatoes and maybe a red pepper with olive oil, salt and lemon)

Directions:

Prepare tahini in a bowl, mixing everything together till smooth and thick. Set aside. Chop your salad and set aside.

For the Arayes:

In a blender or food processor (or finely by hand) chop the onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper till chopped fine. Place in bowl and add the ground beef and mix well. Set aside. Take the pitas and cut in half. Evenly apportion the beef mixture and push into each pita half and flatten with your hands. (see pic above). Brush each half on both sides with olive oil. Take a heavy bottomed pan and bring to medium heat. Place about 4 halves in you pan and cook a few minutes and take a lid and press down on the pitas firmly to flatten them and let lid sit 2 minutes and remove and continue cooking till bottom is golden brown and you see meat beginning to cook. Flip pitas (if it looks like a bit more oil is needed, brush on pita, not on pan) and cook on other side till browned and crispy. Lastly stand pita up – open meat side face down and continue cooking till browned. When cooked through and crispy set out on platter and serve with tahini and chopped salad.