Extend BBQ season with Fadi Kattan's arayes shrak from Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food

This recipe for arayes shrak comes to us from chef Fadi Kattans new cookbook, Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food. The stuffed pitas can be prepared on a grill (a great reason to extend grilling season!) or in a skillet year-round.

He suggests serving them with tahini-garlic sauce or a spicy dip, like a red or green shatta (chili paste), and plenty of pickles. His go-tos? Green chili, cucumber or carrot pickles. And if you have any leftovers, you can enjoy the arayes cold with a yogurt dip on the side.

To freeze the pitas, simply skip the last step. After thawing and reheating them in the oven, Kattan told us, you can then rub them with lamb fat to make them extra-crispy. He said if you don't have lamb fat, you could brush on some olive oil.

Read on for his recipe and his favourite places in the West Bank to enjoy this popular pita.

Arayes Shrak

By Fadi Kattan

The best arayes (stuffed pitas) in Palestine are made in the old city of Nablus, a bustling food haven in the north of the West Bank. I always go to the best baker in the Old City, Al-Wawi, to get half-baked pita breads, and then head to Bashar Al-Masris butcher shop, where they make the best arayes in town. The butcher expertly minces the meat in front of you, fills the pita, and bakes it in an oven, just until it is crispy. Then he takes it out and rubs a piece of lamb fat, called liyyeh, on the hot arayes and gives them a last browning bake in the oven. For the full experience, walk a bit further into the Old City, stop by the Al-Amad pickle shop, and get a variety of colourful pickles to enjoy with your arayes. For this recipe, instead of using a pita, I use shrak, a thin round bread that can be rolled to make arayes. Enjoy these with yogurt, tahinia, or a spicy dip on the side and plenty of pickles.

Ingredients

• 250 g / 9 oz ground beef
• 250 g / 9 oz ground lamb
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chili, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 20 g / cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• tsp ground allspice
• tsp ground coriander
• tsp ground cumin
• tsp ground black pepper
• 4 shrak breads (or substitute lavash, markook, or any thin bread)
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cube of lamb fat, 20 to 50 g / to 1 oz

Preparation

In a bowl, combine the beef, lamb, onion, chili, garlic, parsley, salt, allspice, coriander, cumin, and pepper and mix by hand until evenly combined.

On a work surface, spread a shrak flat and cut it in half. Fill a half-circle of bread with 1 tablespoon of the minced meat and roll it to get a cigar-shaped araye. Repeat with the remaining shrak.

Preheat a gas or charcoal barbecue (grill) to medium-high heat or a skillet over medium-high heat. Brush the grill rack or skillet with olive oil, add the arayes and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, until the outside is crispy and the filling is cooked.

Before you remove the arayes from the heat, rub a square of fat on both sides of the arayes and cook for another minute on all sides. Remove from the heat and serve.

Makes 8 arayes

Excerpted from Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food by Fadi Kattan. Copyright 2024 Fadi Kattan. Photography by Ashley Lima. Published by Hardie Grant. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.