Does a warm pita stuffed with beautifully seasoned lamb and dipped in a zesty tzatziki sauce sound like something you need in your life? Of course it does! And this Lebanese street food has taken off big time in popularity and for good reason too. It is like a hamburgers exciting international cousin and I can’t wait to introduce you to this delicious pocket of warm spices.
Let’s get our arayes started!
The heart of this dish is the seasoning added to the lamb and this begins by combining 1 small yellow onion, 1 small tomato, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of fresh parsley, 1/3 cup of fresh dill and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary in a food processor. Pulse until everything is fully incorporated and fine in texture. Transfer this mixture into a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Press as much of the liquid out of the mixture as you can and discard it.
Into the same bowl, add 16 ounces of ground lamb, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of all spice, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
Now that the lamb is ready, cut four pitas horizontally. If you want to make your own pitas, check out my super simple homemade pita recipe.
Divide the lamb mixture into four equal portions and fill one half of each pita with a portion. Press the lamb out all the way to the edge of the pita and try to fill the pita evenly so the meat cooks the same throughout.
Top each pita with its matching half and place the filled pitas onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush both sides of the arayes lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with fine sea salt and dried parsley.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degrees and then carefully flip the arayes over and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.
While the arayes are baking, mix up a batch of my cool and creamy tzatziki sauce to go along with them. You will be so glad that you did! Find the recipe here.
Once they are done baking, transfer your golden brown arayes onto a cutting board, cut them in half and get ready to be super impressed.
These pitas are full of some complex flavors! Warmth from the all spice, heat from the chili powder, freshness from the parsley, dill and rosemary, depth from the garlic and tomato paste… everything comes together in an exceptional way.
This Lebanese street food is a must have for anyone who loves great flavors, warm spices and that general middle eastern cuisine yumminess that I am totally addicted to.
Enjoy!!
Arayes - Lamb Pitas
Ingredients
- 16 ounces ground lamb
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 small tomato, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 pitas
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Place the ground lamb into a large bowl and set aside
- Place onion, tomato, garlic, parsley, dill and rosemary into a food processor and pulse until fine and fully combined. Drain the liquid from the mixture and transfer it into the bowl with the ground lamb
- Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of all spice, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined
- Cut 4 pitas in half horizontally (see photos above)
- Divide the lamb mixture evenly between the four pitas
- Spread the meat evenly over the bottom half of each pita pressing it all the way out to the edges
- Place the other half of each pita over the meat and press down a bit to secure
- Lightly brush olive oil over both sides of the pitas and sprinkle with fine sea salt and dried parsley
- Place the arayes onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake for 10 minutes on each side or until golden brown
