Arayes – Lebanese Meat-Stuffed Crispy Pita

8 months ago 65

Stack of Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Meet my latest obsession – Arayes! Pita pockets stuffed with seasoned nutrient kofta filling, past cookware fried until crispy. Think: Lebanese quesadillas. Enjoy for meal oregon walk them astir arsenic an appetiser. I can’t halt eating these!

Arayes – Lebanese thoroughfare food!

Every present and past I hap crossed a look that truly catches maine by surprise. Something I’ve ne'er heard of earlier that’s devilishly tasty, a small antithetic to the accustomed yet casual and comparatively accelerated to make.

Today’s Arayes is 1 specified recipe, introduced to maine by Chef JB, discovered during his globe trotting days.

Originating from the Middle East, Arayes is simply a pita oregon flatbread that’s stuffed with earthy seasoned nutrient kofta filling past cookware fried, grilled oregon baked until crispy. As with galore accepted recipes, determination are variations betwixt countries, including the seasoning successful the meat, the benignant of breadstuff used, thickness of nutrient etc.

The Arayes I’m sharing contiguous is simply a Lebanese one. It’s easy. You tin get each the ingredients astatine immoderate market store.

And it’s Outrageously Delicious. (You cognize I’m deadly superior erstwhile I capitalise!)

Dipping Arayes into Tahini yogurt condiment (Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita)

Making Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Pan fried Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Ingredients successful Arayes

Here’s what you request to marque Arayes.

Spiced kofta filling

Here’s what you request for the spiced kofta filling utilized to worldly the pita bread.

Ingredients successful Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Protein – Lamb is simply a favoured macromolecule successful the Middle East and goes truthful good with the Lebanese spice premix we’re utilizing today! However, beef is simply a precise adjacent second.
Spice mix – No antithetic players present successful this Lebanese kofta spice mix! There’s a reasonably generous magnitude – astir 3 tablespoons – which sounds similar a lot. This is due to the fact that the nutrient is dispersed precise thinly wrong each pita breadstuff truthful you really don’t extremity up with precise overmuch with each bite. So you privation it to beryllium dense connected the spicing!
Spice note: Mild kick, lone 1/2 tsp cayenne crossed 10 pita breadstuff halves. To trim to subtle, chopped down cayenne to 1/4 tsp. Or omit.
Onion and caller garlic – For aromatic flavour successful the kofta filling.
Parsley – Optional for bully small bits of greenish throughout.

Pita breadstuff and oil

Arayes is and tin beryllium made with each sorts of pita breads – large, small, thin, thick. Have amusive and experiment!

Pita Bread – The pita breadstuff I usage is 15cm / 6″ wide. You request pita breadstuff pockets that tin beryllium divided unfastened to worldly the nutrient inside. Thinner is amended arsenic it’s easier to navigator the nutrient through. Fellow Aussies – I usage Nana marque pita breadstuff from Woolies, Coles.
Alternatives/variations – I’ve made this with the breadier, thicker pita breadstuff pockets excessively (like utilized successful this recipe) and it works great, conscionable takes a infinitesimal oregon 2 longer for the nutrient to cook. Large Lebanese bread ~30cm/12″ wide besides works! You request 2 to 3, dispersed the nutrient wrong utilizing a food knife, cookware fry until crisp past chopped into pieces. And if you can’t find immoderate pita pockets astatine all, you could adjacent marque Arayes utilizing immoderate flatbreads you tin get your hands on, oregon adjacent tortillas! Just marque them similar quesadillas – dispersed the nutrient filling connected fractional past fold over.
Olive lipid spray works champion for cooking, I found. Using lipid successful the cookware makes the pita pockets a small excessively greasy. If you don’t person spray, conscionable brushwood the aboveground with olive oil.

How to marque Arayes

A unsocial measurement successful making Arayes is that the nutrient is earthy erstwhile stuffed wrong the pita bread. So arsenic it cooks, the nutrient juices flavour the wrong of the pita breadstuff portion the extracurricular goes aureate and crispy. It’s sooooo good!!

Grate the bulb utilizing a modular container grater. Why grate alternatively than chop? Because grated is finer than chopped truthful you don’t request to navigator the bulb separately earlier mixing into the meat. It volition navigator capable with the meat. Plus, the bulb juices marque the nutrient substance adjacent tastier!
Filling – Add the nutrient and each the different filling ingredients, past premix good with your hands.
Semi-circle shape – Divide into 10 portions, rotation into a shot past pat into a bladed semi-circle signifier approximating the size of fractional a pita bread.
Stuff the nutrient wrong the pita bread. PRO TIP: If you person occupation prying the pouch open, microwave for 15 seconds connected precocious to soften past tally a food weapon wrong the slit.

Flatten – Close the pita breadstuff past property down and retired to dispersed the nutrient to the edges of the pita bread. Though – nary request to beryllium excessively meticulous here! You conscionable don’t privation elephantine areas of meat-less pita bread.
Spray each broadside with oil. I similar spraying due to the fact that I recovered utilizing lipid successful the cookware makes the Arayes excessively greasy. Plus, you usage acold little oil!

Pan fry 4 min – Then cookware fry connected mean precocious for 2 minutes connected each broadside until crispy. The nutrient volition navigator done successful this clip due to the fact that it’s truthful thin! I bash 2 oregon 3 halves astatine a time. Cook arsenic galore arsenic you tin acceptable successful a azygous layer.
Keep cooked Arayes lukewarm successful a debased oven connected a rack acceptable implicit a tray (rack prevents underside from getting soggy) arsenic you proceed cooking. Or – get 2 pans going to velocity things up!
Serving – Pile Arayes onto a platter and service with Tahini dipping sauce. Serve them whole, arsenic they are. Or chopped them into smaller pieces – it’s up to you!

Platter of Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Close up of Arayes - Lebanese Meat Stuffed Crispy Pita

Whipped Tahini Yogurt Dipping Sauce

I deliberation you’ll truly similar the Whipped Tahini Yogurt dipping condiment too. It’s got a unsocial texture astir similar brushed whipped cream. Made with conscionable tahini, yogurt, citrus and garlic, the instrumentality is to lukewarm the substance successful the microwave somewhat earlier whisking. Then arsenic you whisk it, it becomes astir a spot aerated similar whipped cream! Neat small instrumentality I picked up from a Fatteh recipe by Nigella Lawson.

If you’ve got immoderate of the condiment leftover, usage it arsenic a dip oregon slather onto toast similar you would with goats cheese, past heap connected marinated mushrooms oregon roast vegetables for a delicious crostini. Enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch however to marque it

Crispy Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pita – Arayes

Recipe video above. Lebanese thoroughfare nutrient – pita breadstuff stuffed with spiced kofta meat, cookware fried until crispy! Think of these arsenic Lebanese quesadillas.

The unsocial method present is that it's cooked with earthy nutrient inside, truthful the tasty nutrient juices soaks into and flavours the pita breadstuff arsenic it cooks. It's outrageously delicious. I stake you go arsenic obsessed with these arsenic I have!

Course Appetiser, Main

Cuisine lebanese, Middle Eastern

Keyword arayes, stuffed pita bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings pita halves

Calories 226cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

5 pita bread , the bladed pouch type, ~15cm/6" diameter (250g/8oz pack), chopped successful fractional (Note 1)
Olive lipid spray (or brushwood with olive oil)

Spiced nutrient filling:

1/2 brown onion
500g/ 1 lb lamb oregon 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 little spicy – Note 4)
1 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt

Whipped tahini yogurt sauce:

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

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Spiced nutrient filling:

Grate the onion successful a vessel utilizing a modular container grater. We privation the juices and all! (Note 4)
Meat filling – Add remaining nutrient filling ingredients. Mix good with your hands.
Divide stuffing successful 10 (about 55 to 60g per portion, 1/4 cup). Flatten into a semi-circle signifier somewhat smaller than the pita breadstuff half.
Stuff – Gently unfastened a pita past spot the nutrient inside. Close, past property to dispersed to the borderline and marque it reasonably evenly flat. (Is your pita tearing? See Note 5 for tip!)

Cooking Arayes:

Preheat oven to 50C/120F. Place a rack connected a tray. (To support cooked Arayes warm.)
Cook – Heat a ample frying cookware implicit mean precocious heat. Spray some sides of the pita with olive lipid past spot 2 oregon 3 pieces successful the cookware (whatever you tin fit). Cook for astir 2 minutes connected each side, pressing down lightly with a spatula, until aureate and crispy. The nutrient is dispersed truthful bladed it cooks truly quickly!
Keep lukewarm – Transfer cooked Arayes onto the rack and enactment successful the oven to support warm. Cook remaining pita.
Serve – Cut successful fractional 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 successful a heatproof vessel and whisk to combine. Microwave for 15 seconds connected high. Whisk again – it should lucifer brushed whipped cream. Use somewhat lukewarm oregon astatine country temperature.

Notes

1. Pita breadstuff – You request pita breadstuff pockets that tin beryllium divided unfastened to worldly the nutrient inside. Thinner is amended arsenic it’s easier to navigator the nutrient done but I’ve made this with thicker pita breadstuff pockets excessively and it works great, conscionable takes a infinitesimal oregon 2 longer for the nutrient to cook. (Aussies – I usage Nana marque from Woolies, Coles.)

Other breads –

Large Lebanese bread ~30cm/12″ wide besides works! You request 2 to 3, dispersed the nutrient wrong utilizing a food knife, cookware fry until crisp past chopped into pieces.
Tortillas oregon different flatbreads – Smear nutrient connected half, fold implicit similar a quesadilla and cook!

2. Meat – Lamb is simply a favoured macromolecule successful the Middle East and goes soooo good with the spicing. But beef is simply a adjacent second!

3. Spiciness: Mild kick, lone 1/2 tsp cayenne crossed 10 pita breadstuff halves. To trim to subtle, chopped down cayenne to 1/4 tsp. Or omit.

4. Grated onion is finer than chopped truthful it doesn’t request to beryllium cooked separately earlier mixing into the earthy meat. It cooks done with the meat! Plus, juices adds much flavour.

5. Tahini – A paste made with sesame seeds. Usually recovered successful the wellness nutrient aisle astatine market stores. Use hulled tahini (more common), not un-hulled which is darker and much bitter. The jar statement volition specify whether the tahini is hulled oregon un-hulled.

Use Chinese sesame paste arsenic a sub if you person leftovers from different look I’ve shared, similar this one oregon this one!

6. Trouble opening the pita bread? Can hap if it’s not ace fresh! Microwave 30 sec connected precocious to lukewarm – this volition soften it. Then insert a food weapon and tally it on the pouch to loosen, past open. Warm 1 astatine a time, past bash much arsenic you get faster with stuffing!

Serving size – I find 3 pita halves capable for a repast with a broadside crockery though heartier appetites would privation more.

Nutrition for 1 portion (ie fractional a pita).