Vered's Israeli Cooking

Grilled pita with kebab (arayes)

Vered Guttman
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 Arayes is a Lebanese and Palestinian street food of grilled pita bread that stuffed in lamb kebab mixture and served with tahini sauce and chopped salad.

The dish is now very popular in Israel and besides for the beef or lamb kebabs you can find vegetarian versions of the dish, like a grilled pita stuffed with spinach and feta. If you want to try this vegetarian option, just sauté a large bunch of fresh spinach with a a little olive oil, crushed garlic and sumac until wilted. Add salt to taste. Stuffed the pita with spinach mixture and crumbled feta to taste. Continue with the recipe as directed below.

Grilled pita with kebab (arayes)
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Grilled pita with kebab (arayes)

Recipe by Vered GuttmanCourse: Main course, street foodCuisine: Palestinian, LebaneseDifficulty: easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

25

minutes

For a vegetarian option, see the note above.
Sumac is available at Middle Eastern and some Kosher supermarkets, as well as online.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1½ lb. ground lamb or beef (preferably neck or shoulder)

  • 1 yellow onion, grated, water squeezed

  • 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and chopped

  • 1 teaspoon dried mint

  • 1 teaspoon sumac (optional)

  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

  • 4 pita breads, halved

  • Olive oil for brushing

  • Tahini sauce for serving (recipe here)

  • Israeli salad (recipe here)

DIRECTIONS

  • Turn BBQ grill on (medium-high for a gas grill), or turn oven to 350 F degrees.
  • In a large bowl, mix lamb, onion, cilantro, pine nuts, mint and salt. Knead mixture with your hands for a minute then divide into 8 equal parts.
  • Stuffed each half pita bread with the lamb mixture, spreading it to the sides and pressing the pita bread to flatten. Brush the outside of the pita with olive oil.
  • If you’re using a BBQ grill, Put the pita halves with open side at the bottom and grill for 2-3 minutes, to let the meat cook inside. Transfer the pita to a cooler place on the grill and grill until crispy on both sides.
  • Alternatively, you can use a cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet on medium-high for a few minutes. Put the pita halves with open side at the bottom and grill for 2-3 minutes, to let the meat cook inside. Arrange on a baking sheet and transfer to a 350 F degrees oven for a few minutes, until crispy on both sides, flip pita half way through baking time.
  • Add tahini sauce and Israeli salad to the pita and serve.
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