A Palestinian meat pastry
As we welcome in the month of October, we thought we’d pass on some easy but delicious dinner inspiration this week. This recipe is for Arayes or 3arayes, a delicious dish made of fluffy pita bread (you can find in Arabic stores or make your own bread if you feel ambitious!) and a meat mixture. The recipe is very easy and most likely will be a winner with the family. Serve with hummus, salad and even fries.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. of ground beef or lamb (lamb is our favorite but both work well, add a little bit more olive oil to the mix when using beef as it tends to be drier).
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- a drizzle of olive oil
- a handful of parsley
- 1 to 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- Spices (to taste):
- salt
- pepper
- chilli pepper
- cinnamon
- cumin (don’t overdo it)
- paprika
- And of course the pita breads (sliced in half)
- And extra olive oil for baking.
Method:
Preheat your oven to about 350 Degrees F.
In bowl, put your ground meat in. Next to make your life easy, in a food processor add the onions, parsley leaves, garlic, drizzle of olive oil, and tomatoes. Next, pulse until finely chopped/mixed. Add this mixture to the meat in the bowl, add all your spices and pomegranate molasses. Now, with your hands or a sturdy spoon mix well until all the ingredients and spices are well incorporated.
Open up your pita breads and start smoothing your mixture into the breads, try to make it more on the thin side, it makes the Arayes crispy on the outside when theres thinner, even layers of meat. Next on an oven tray drizzle olive oil, put your Arayes on the tray and flip them over to make sure they are coated with oil on both sides. Next, place your Arayes on the tray evenly, you can do this in batches. Pop in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, then flip them over, and check if the meat is cooked. They should come out golden, and crispy and cooked on the inside. Sa7teyn! Remember you can always substitute the pita bread for gluten free bread to enjoy if you go by a gluten free diet.