🥙 Arayes

Name: Arayes
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Levant · Lebanon
Ingredients: 4 medium pita breads; 400 g ground beef; 1 onion, grated and squeezed dry; 20 g parsley, finely chopped; 1 tsp seven-spice mix (or allspice and cinnamon); 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 tbsp oil for brushing

Origin: Levant · Lebanon

450kcal

per serving · 200 g

225kcal

per 100 g

26 gProtein13 g / 100 g

20 gFat10 g / 100 g

40 gCarbs20 g / 100 g

Arayes are pita breads stuffed with a thin layer of spiced ground beef mixed with grated onion and chopped parsley, then grilled or toasted until the bread is crisp and the meat cooks through inside. The outside crackles, the filling stays juicy, and the fat from the meat soaks into the bread. They are cut into triangles and eaten hot with pickles and fresh vegetables.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground beef

Not veganbecause of: ground beef

Contains glutenbecause of: pita bread

Not keto20 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten

What it is made of

pita breadground beefonionparsleyspices

Recipe

4 servings30 min

Ingredients

4 medium pita breads
400 g ground beef
1 onion, grated and squeezed dry
20 g parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp seven-spice mix (or allspice and cinnamon)
1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp oil for brushing

Method

Mix the beef with the onion, parsley, spices, salt and pepper until evenly combined.
Cut each pita in half and open the pockets. Spread a thin, even layer of the meat inside each one, right to the edges.
Press the halves flat and brush the outside lightly with oil.
Grill over medium heat or in a ridged pan for 4–5 minutes per side, pressing down, until the bread is crisp and the meat is cooked through.
Cut into triangles and serve hot with pickles, tomato and cucumber.

How to make it lighter

Use lean beef (5–10% fat): the bread soaks up whatever fat the meat releases.
Spread the meat thinly and add more parsley and onion — the pita stays crisp and the portion is lighter.
Two halves with a big plate of cucumber, tomato and lettuce make a filling meal without a second pita.

History

Arayes are a popular street food and home dish across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. 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 →