Stuffed Pita

When you take Greek-inspired ground beef studded with cumin, loads of fresh herbs, onion and an obscene amount garlic, stuff it into a soft pita and bake it, wonderful things happen. The pita becomes cracker-like crispy, the meat filling juicy and succulent and the cool cucumber tatziki, a perfect finishing touch.

Stuffed Pita

Sometimes the biggest mistakes are the happiest ones. Such was the case when I set out to make a gyro-inspired lamb kabob ending in near failure. The flavor was there but the meat mixture didn’t hold together as I’d hoped so instead of glistening grilled kabobs, I ended with a sort of in-cohesive meat mixture. Not completely unfortunate but not share worthy either. Back to the drawing board I went!

My next go around I decided to do myself (and you) a favor by skipping the kebab altogether. We made some tweaks to the ingredients and decided to stuff the meat mixture into store-bought pita pockets. Traditionally these Stuffed Pitas are called Arayes – a Lebanese in origin meat mixture stuffed into flatbread. They’re pan-seared until crisp and the inside is cooked though. Ours echo the same foundation but we put a Greek-inspired spin on them with tzatiki sauce, oregano, cumin and lemon.

They’re the perfect prep ahead meal that will leave you looking like a rockstar at the dinner table.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients

Admittedly, there are a lot of ingredients but most of them are pantry ingredients you may have at home.

Meat. I am a big lamb fan so I’ve used both here but in the recipe I ultimately went with a lean ground sirloin. I like that it’s lower in fat and calories but with the other ingredients gives you that traditional gyro flavor.

Onion + garlic. I love to use red onion instead of yellow or white here. I find it to be sweeter plus it gives off a lovely purple hue. Of course any type of onion will work great. And obviously garlic is a must.

Herbs. It’s still summer so I’m big on fresh herbs right now. I used a mixture of fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary and parsley but any combination works great.

Spices. The fresh herbs give the stuffed pitas a hit of brightness but the dried spices really bring it home. I love to use lots of cumin, dried oregano, a hint of cinnamon and of course plenty of salt.

Binders. We use plain breadcrumbs (whatever you have will work) and an egg.

Lemon. Plenty of lemon juice gives the mixture brightness. Don’t skip it!

The tzatziki

Greek yogurt. Plain non-fat greek yogurt is what you want. For extra richness use full fat Greek yogurt.

Cucumber. Some tzatzikis dice the cucumber but I like to grate it over the yogurt so every bit of cucumber juice permeates the yogurt.

Lemon. A little fresh squeezed lemon juice is perfect.

Garlic. Fresh garlic is a must! It gives it a bite you cant get with granulated garlic.

Dill. If you have fresh dill, use it. If not, no biggie.

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Let’s make Stuffed Pita

Despite the long ingredients list our Stuffed Pitas are quite simple to make.

Combine the meat mixture. Add the ground sirloin, fresh herbs, dried spices, panko, egg and salt to a medium bowl. Use a grater to grate the onion and garlic directly into the bowl. Use your hands or a fork to gently combine the mixture.

Prep the pita. Slice each pita in half. Gently pry the pita open. Stuff some of the meat mixture into each pita. Close the pita and gently flatten.

Place the pita on a baking sheet covered with a cookie cooling rack. Bake until the pita is crisp and the meat is cooked through.

Make the sauce. While the stuffed pitas cook, make the tzatziki sauce. Add the yogurt, lemon, salt, and dill together. Just as you grated the onion over the mixture, grate the cucumber and garlic over the Greek yogurt. Mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Can I make Stuffed Pita in Advance?

Absolutely. In fact, I implore you to do so. I would say 24 hours in advance is the most I’d do but you could also freeze them for up to a month and then bake.

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