Arayes

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Move over burgers, arayes have arrived!

That’s the first thought that came to mind when the reviews poured in over our backyard table. In fact, they were so popular that a few days after making them with beef for visiting cousins during a poolside lunch, I made them again with lamb for Kyle’s welcome home dinner. Arayes have been on repeat ever since.

These hot pocket-like hand-held delights are highly seasoned and highly satisfying. According to Julia Turshen in her beautiful book, Simply Julia, arayes are popular throughout Arab cooking. Traditionally, they are meat stuffed-pitas (usually beef or lamb) that are grilled, or cooked in a hot cast iron pan slicked with a bit of olive oil. They are usually served with a garlicky yogurt but I’ve skipped that step and passed store-bought tzaiki which worked just as well.

A salad of chopped tomatoes. cucumbers and maybe some feta cheese tossed in olive oil and lemon makes this the perfect lunch or dinner. Guaranteed smiles all around. Enjoy!

Arayes
Print Recipe

Arayes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the arayes

  • 1 lb lean ground beef, lamb or turkey
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 4 6-inch pitas halved crosswise
  • cooking spray olived oil, preferred

For the yogurt sauce (or serve with store-bought tzaiki)

  • 1 c full-fat plain yogurt regular not Greek
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 Tbls water
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

For serving

  • 1 lemon cut into wedges

Instructions

First, make the arayes

  • Get your outdoor grill going with medium heat (make sure it's truly medium and not too hot) and make sure the grate is super clean.
  • Place the meat, minced garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and allspice in a large bowl and use your hands to mix everything together. Evenly divide the meat into 8 equal portions and stuff each pita half with the spiced meat. Press the meat into an even layer so each pita half is an even thickness.
  • Spray both sides of the arayes with cooking spray. Grill, turning each pita a few times during cooking, until the pitas are crispy and dark golden brown and the arayes are firm to the touch (this is how you'll know the meat is cooked through), about 7 minutes total.

Next, make the sauce (optional)

  • Place the yogurt, garlic, water and salt in a small bowl and wosk well to combine. Season to taste with more salt if needed.

And serve

  • Serve the arayes with the yogurt sauce for dipping and the lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Notes

For making ahead, you have two options. You can make the ground meat mixture, divide into eight balls and refrigerate covered until needed. Or you can assemble the stuffed pitas up to a couple of days in advance, refrigerate them and grill just before serving.