I bet you all know the Lebanese Arayes, those pita pockets stuffed with seasoned lamb or beef filling, then cooked until crispy. My Arayes here in this post are not your ordinary Kafta Arayes, yet they have the same concept with the latter but the main difference is in the filling, we will be using the filling of sfeeha, the famous Lebanese Meat Pies,  so if you have a craving for sfeeha, but don’t have time to make a dough from scratch, I got this idea for you, it comes together in minutes, and makes an effortless lunch or dinner or a quick weeknight meal that everyone will devour! They are great to pass them around for a quick meal or part of the Lebanese mezze, yes who doesn’t like grilled stuff. To elevate it to a decent main dish serve it with plain yogurt, Lebanese Brown Lentil Soup, Turkisk Red Lentil Soup,  Lebanese Red lentil Soup or Lebanese Pickles — it’s a handy recipe, learn it and keep it in your repertoire, you are going to love this recipe, watch the video tutorial below.

Arayes with a Twist

What to serve with Arayes?

• Ready or Homemade Plain yougurt
• Turkish Red Lentil Soup / Mercimek Çorbası
• Lebanese Brown Lentil Soup
• Lebanese Red Lentil Soup
• Lebanese pickles

Tips to consider

• You need Lebanese bread or pita bread that can be separated open to stuff the meat inside. Alternatively, you can make them with any flat bread, including tortillas, dab the meat filling on half, fold over and cook!
• Use minced meat that has some fat in it. Even better, use a mixture of beef and lamb.
• It is important to get rid of the excess liquid in both onions and tomatoes to avoid a soggy arayes. Add salt to the chopped onion and set aside for 10 minutes. Squeeze them, using the palms of your hands, ridding from all the juices. Dice the tomatoes and drain them well.
• I like to use my panini press to give the arayes a charred look surface, and for more crunch, I cook them further for 3 to 4 minutes in a preheated oven for extra crispness.
• To make ahead, put together the stuffed bread, cover with clingfilm then keep them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking.
• Storage: Arayes in their both form are best eaten right from the grill or the oven.

Add salt to the chopped onion and set aside for 10 minutes. Finely dice the tomato and squeeze with you hands to remove the excess liquid. Squeeze the onions by the palms of your hands, ridding it from its liquid.

In a bowl, combine the meat, spices, chili, onions, garlic, oil, tomatoes and pomegranate molasses.

Cut the pita breads into quarters. Fill each quarter with a heaped tablespoon of the meat mixture, spreading it out so that the filling is even. Heat your panini press.

Brush each with the oil on both sides. and transfer to the heated panini press. Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes to ensure even browning. Alternatively, you can bake on a charcoal grill or in a preheated oven to 200°C/400°F for about 15 minutes, flipping every now for even baking.

Serve arayes with our authentic Lebanese hummus!

Arayes with a Twist

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Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Course

MAIN DISHES

Cuisine

#Middle Eastern

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Lebanese

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Description

if you have a craving for sfeeha, but don’t have time to make a dough from scratch, I got this idea for you, it comes together in minutes, and makes an effortless lunch or dinner or a quick weeknight meal that everyone will devour! They are great to pass them around for a quick meal or part of the Lebanese mezze,

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 500 g. /1 lb. 2 oz. minced lamb or a mix of both lamb and beef
• ▢ 2 medium sized onions finely chopped
• ▢ 1 garlic clove crushed
• ▢ 1 small tomato diced and drained (you don’t need the juice)
• ▢ 11/2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• ▢ ½ teaspoon seven spice or even allspice would be a good substitute
• ▢ A pinch of cinnamon powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon canola oil
• ▢ Red chili crushed / or cayenne powder, to your taste preference
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

 

To make the Arayes with a twist:

• Add salt to the chopped onion and set aside for 10 minutes. Finely dice the tomato and squeeze with you hands to remove the excess liquid. Squeeze the onions by the palms of your hands, ridding it from its liquid.
• In a bowl, combine the meat, spices, chili, onions, garlic, oil, tomatoes and pomegranate molasses.
• Cut the pita breads into quarters. Fill each quarter with a heaped tablespoon of the meat mixture, spreading it out so that the filling is even.
• Heat your panini press, brush each with the oil on both sides. and trasnfer to the heated panini press.
• Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes to ensure even browning. For a more crispy Arayes, crisp them in a preheated oven for further 2 minutes, this is optional.
• Alternatively, you can bake them directly on a charcoal grill or in a preheated oven to 200°C/400°F for about 15 minutes, flipping every now for even baking. For a super decadent meal, serve them with plain yogurt, hummus or with my Lebanese Brown Lentil Soup, Turkish Red Lentil Soup / Mercimek Çorbası or Lebanese red lentil soup.

Video

Notes

Keyword minced meat, pita bread

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