Speedy Spicy Stuffed Flatbreads (Arayes)
I like to think of these gorgeously spicy, juicy stuffed flatbreads – or arayes – as Middle Eastern style quesadillas. You’ve got a beautifully spiced kofta mixture stuffed into fluffy flatbreads and pan-fried until super crispy on the outside, and lovely and juicy in the middle. They’re a wonderful easy meal or fabulous as a party bite.
Arayes are a Middle Eastern street food classic. They are INCREDIBLY delicious and super easy to make.
I actually thought they might be a little fiddly when I first tried them, but it’s surprisingly easy to stuff the meat mixture into the flatbreads. And there are a couple of ways you can make it even easier. If you slice your flatbreads into quarters before stuffing them, it’s SUPER quick and easy. I recommend doing it that way if you’re making these for a party as little bites, rather than stuffing them as halves and slicing them at the end. This way, you get that lovely crispy crust on both sides of the little triangle.
They’re a wonderful easy meal (serve them with a creamy tahini yogurt sauce and chopped salad) and work perfectly as party food or appetizers. I made these for a party recently and they disappeared super quickly.
Plus, you can make them ahead of time and then pan-fry when you’re ready to serve. I’ve found that you can stuff them 24 hours in advance – store them in a covered container in the fridge.
Ingredients
- Ground beef. I like using lean ground beef so they’re not super greasy in the pan, but a higher percentage of fat will be fine too. You could also use ground lamb, or a mixture.
- Harissa paste. This lovely, smoky chili paste is loaded with garlic and lots of lovely spices. I love to use it as a shortcut to flavor in SO many recipes (it’s the key to a speedy shakshuka). Using it means you don’t need to use lots of other spices, and it also keeps the mixture nice and moist.
- Feta. This provides lovely little creamy, salty nuggets in the filling and works wonderfully with the flavors here. Skip it if you’re not a feta fan, or you could use grated halloumi cheese.
- Spices. You’ll need ground cumin, ground coriander and cinnamon here. Sometimes I like to add chili flakes for a bit more spice, but if you’re using the harissa, you shouldn’t need it.
- Flatbreads. Any thick flatbread will work well – pita bread is ideal. I often use these speedy two-ingredient dough flatbreads and they work perfectly. You can even make these with tortillas – just spread your filling over half the tortilla and fold it onto itself.
How to make them
Add all the ingredients for the filling to a large mixing bowl and mix well to combine. You want to make sure the seasoning is evenly distributed throughout the meat.
PRO TIP: I always recommend pan-frying a little piece of the mixture to test it for seasoning before stuffing the pitas. Check it has enough salt and spices for you.
There are two ways you can stuff your pitas. Either slice them in half, or slice them into quarters. If you’re making party bites, I recommend slicing them into quarters here, rather than after they’ve cooked. That way, every side will get a lovely, crispy crust and sear on the meat.
Carefully use your knife to create a pocket in your sliced pita. Don’t stress too much if you make a hole – it won’t matter too much unless it’s very large. Spoon the meat mixture into the pita, then spread it into an even layer. I find the easiest way to do this is to use your hands to shape it from the outside.
Drizzle a little olive oil into a pan, then cook the flatbreads until lovely and golden on the outside, and cooked in the middle. Serve with lots of lovely tahini yogurt sauce for dipping.
Watch how to make them
Got a question?
Can I prep the arayes in advance?You can! You can stuff them 24 hours ahead of time and just store them, covered, in the fridge. You can also make the meat mixture a couple of days in advance of stuffing them.
What can I serve them with?Some kind of dipping sauce is non-negotiable in my opinion! Here I’m serving them with a lovely tahini yogurt sauce, but you could use your favorite. They’re also great with garlic aioli, spicy gochujang aioli, green tahini sauce, whipped cottage cheese, whipped spicy feta dip or tzatziki.
Are there other ways to cook them?There are! They’re wonderful cooked on an outdoor grill or barbecue in the summer. You can also pop them in the air fryer for about 8 minutes at 380F/190C, or even use a sandwich press.
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I like to think of these gorgeously spicy, juicy stuffed flatbreads – or arayes – as Middle Eastern style quesadillas. You’ve got a beautifully spiced kofta mixture stuffed into fluffy flatbreads and pan-fried until super crispy on the outside, and lovely and juicy in the middle. They’re a wonderful easy meal or fabulous as a party bite. Prep Time 15 minsCook Time 10 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes
Ingredients
For the arayes –- 1 lb ground beef, or lamb (500g)
- 1 small white onion, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (plus extra to serve)
- 50 g feta, or marinated feta (2oz)
- Olive oil, for cooking
- Pita or flatbreads, depending on the size of your flatbreads, you’ll be able to stuff at least 6 – 8 with this mixture
- ½ cup plain, unsweetened or Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sumac
Method
- Mix the filling.Add the ground lamb, grated onion (dice the onion if you prefer but grating it is not only quicker, but it keeps the filling super moist), crushed garlic, ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, chopped parsley, crumbled feta and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix very well to combine and to ensure the seasoning is well-distributed.
- Prepare the flatbreads.You can either slice your flatbreads in half or into quarters before stuffing them. You can cook them as halves, and then slice them into quarters to serve, or cook them as quarters. It's totally up to you. Quarters will cook slightly faster. Carefully slice the flatbreads open so they become pockets. Don’t stress too much if it’s a bit messy, it doesn’t hugely matter as long as you don’t have big holes in your bread.
- Stuff the flatbreads.Stuff the filling into the flatbread pockets, so they’re about half an inch thick. Try to press the filling evenly into the bread (this will help it cook more uniformly).
- Make the tahini yogurt sauce.Mix the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and black pepper in a bowl until you have a creamy sauce. Taste, season with a little more salt and lemon juice if you like.
- Cook the flatbreads.Set a large pan over medium-high heat and add a little drizzle of oil. Add the stuffed flatbreads and cook for roughly 4 minutes on each side, then stand them upright to crisp up the open section. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining stuffed flatbreads. PRO TIP: This is a BRILLIANT one to prepare in advance and then cook on an outdoor grill or barbecue.
- Garnish and serve. If you’ve cooked the flatbreads in halves, you can choose to slice them into quarters to serve. Arrange them on a platter, then scatter over the set-aside flat leaf parsley and serve with the tahini dipping sauce on the side.
Nutrition
Serving: 2 flatbreadsCalories: 570kcal
Carbohydrates: 62.7g
Protein: 44.1g
Fat: 17.6g
Saturated Fat: 5.8g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 10.5g
Cholesterol: 90.8mg
Sodium: 1661.4mg
Fiber: 7.5g
Sugar: 6.2g
