Arayes

Ingredients

• 400g minced lamb, around 20 percent fat
• 1 small onion
• 20g flat-leaf parsley
• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 tsp Lebanese seven spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 4 large Arabic pita breads
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove

Before you cook

• Grate the onion coarsely, then squeeze it hard in your hands over the sink to drive out the water
• Finely chop the parsley
• Deseed the tomato and chop it very finely, then drain it in a sieve
• Split each pita around its edge to open it into two connected discs
• Crush the garlic clove to a paste with a pinch of salt

Steps

1. Put the minced lamb, squeezed onion, parsley, drained tomato, seven spice, cinnamon, salt and pepper into a bowl.
2. Knead the mixture with your hand for a full minute, until it turns slightly sticky and holds together.
3. Divide the meat into four portions.
4. Spread one portion across the inside of an open pita in a layer no thicker than 5mm, taking it right to the edges.
5. Close the pita and press down firmly with your palm to bond the meat to both sides.
6. Repeat with the remaining pitas and meat.
7. Brush both outer faces of each filled pita lightly with olive oil.
8. Set a heavy frying pan or griddle over medium heat and let it come up to temperature for 2 minutes.
9. Lay in one arayes and press it down with a spatula or a second pan.
10. Cook for 5 minutes, until the underside is deeply toasted and the bread has darkened.
11. Turn it over and cook the second side for another 5 minutes, pressing again, until the lamb is cooked through and its fat has soaked into the bread.
12. Cook the remaining arayes the same way.
13. Whisk the tahini with the garlic paste and lemon juice, then trickle in cold water a spoonful at a time until it loosens into a pourable sauce.
14. Cut each arayes into wedges and serve hot with the tahini sauce alongside.