Washington Beef Arayes

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Makes 8 servings

The Intenet is going wild for these heavenly, super tasty spiced meat pockets! We made them using Washington-grown ground beef, and let me tell you, these make an excellent snack or incredible lunch or dinner. The meat holds its shape due to all the herbs and onion, and the tender pita is the perfect vessel to hold all that beefy filling. We just had to make an intense herby yogurt for dunking, too!

Stay tuned, because Sunday I have a round 2 dinner idea using this recipe that is perfect for your upcoming 4th of July celebrations. We are turning the same gorgeous beef filling into meatballs and giving them a swim in some barbecue sauce!

This post is sponsored by the Washington State Beef Commission.

Arayes

1 pound ground beef (80/20)
1 bunch cilantro, divided
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, divided*
1/2 large (or 1 small) yellow onion
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon aleppo pepper flakes or chili flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 pita pockets cut in half

Herby yogurt

1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
Remaining halves of cilantro and flat leaf parsley
1 clove fresh garlic
Salt to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make the arayes filling, pulse onion, cilantro, parsley, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, chopped herbs, onion, and seasonings with your hands until it’s completely incorporated. The mixture should form a nice ball with no loose herbs about the bowl. 
  3. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. 
  4. Cut your pita bread in half and stuff 1/4 of the meat inside the pocket of each half.  Gently but firmly press the bread into the meat to form a tight seal. Then slice each half in half again to make 8 triangular meat pockets.
  5. In a large skillet add, sear each meat side of the pocket in 1 tablespoon olive oil. This is essential to maintaining the shape of the pocket.
  6. Add each seared pocket to a lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. 
  7. To make the herby yogurt, whirl all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve alongside the hot arayes! Enjoy!  

*Some flat leaf parsley bunches are huge! You want about 1 cup packed herbs per division.