Arayes with a Twist
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
- 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
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