🧀 Cheese arayes

Name: Cheese arayes
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Levant · Lebanon
Ingredients: 4 medium pita breads; 200 g akkawi cheese, soaked in water for 1 hour and grated; 150 g mozzarella, grated; 20 g parsley, chopped; 1/2 tsp dried mint or nigella seeds (optional); 2 tbsp olive oil

Origin: Levant · Lebanon

536kcal

per serving · 180 g

298kcal

per 100 g

23 gProtein13 g / 100 g

25 gFat14 g / 100 g

54 gCarbs30 g / 100 g

Cheese arayes are pita breads filled with a mix of salty white akkawi cheese, mozzarella and chopped parsley, brushed with olive oil and grilled until the bread crackles and the cheese melts. Akkawi brings salt and flavour, mozzarella the stretch. Cut into triangles, they are served hot as a snack, a breakfast or part of a mezze spread.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

Not veganbecause of: mozzarella, akkawi cheese

Contains glutenbecause of: pita bread

Contains dairybecause of: mozzarella, akkawi cheese

Not keto30 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

pita breadmozzarellaakkawi cheeseparsleyolive oil

Recipe

4 servings25 min

Ingredients

4 medium pita breads
200 g akkawi cheese, soaked in water for 1 hour and grated
150 g mozzarella, grated
20 g parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp dried mint or nigella seeds (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Soaking the akkawi removes excess salt; squeeze it dry, then mix it with the mozzarella, parsley and mint.
Cut each pita in half, open the pockets and fill them with an even layer of the cheese mixture.
Brush the outside with olive oil.
Grill or toast in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes per side, pressing down, until crisp and the cheese has melted.
Cut into triangles and serve hot with tomatoes, cucumber and olives.

How to make it lighter

A 180 g portion is about 535 kcal — the cheese is the main source, so a thinner layer makes a real difference.
Brush the outside with oil instead of pouring it: 1 tbsp of olive oil is about 120 kcal.
Mix in more parsley and some chopped tomato with the cheese for volume, and serve with a large salad.

History

The cheese version is a meat-free take on arayes, eaten across Lebanon and the wider Levant as street food and at home. The Arabic name means brides, though the reason for it is not certain.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →