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Here’s a new twist on the ever-so-popular Lebanese dish. I’ve swapped out the Middle Eastern flavoring for something a bit more familiar, and the results were outstanding. Just ask my daughter and son-in-law… They taste-tested these for me and gave them a winning thumbs-up!
3 medium onions, sliced into thin rings
2 tablespoons oil
6 ounces (170 grams) pastrami, cut into thin strips
1 and 1/2 pounds (680 grams) ground beef (don’t use extra lean)
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
4 whole wheat pitas, sliced in half
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Heaven & Earth Ketchup
2 tablespoons Gefen BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Tuscanini Apple Cider Vinegar
In a large nonstick frying pan, sauté onions in oil over low heat until soft, brown, and caramelized, at least 45 minutes to an hour. Add pastrami and sauté an additional five to 10 minutes. Add sauce ingredients and mix well to combine.
Divide mixture in two and set one half aside for topping, keeping it warm. Allow the other half to cool slightly.
Place ground beef into a medium-sized bowl and break up with a fork. Add salt and pepper and the cooled half of the onion-pastrami mixture. Mix well to combine.
Heat your grill to medium-high. Stuff the pita halves with the ground beef filling, packing it in well and dividing evenly among the eight halves. Lightly spray both sides of the pitas with cooking spray.
Place the pitas, meat side down (don’t worry, the filling won’t fall out!), directly onto your grill grates. Lower temperature slightly and grill for five to six minutes. Flip the pitas onto their sides and grill each side for an additional two to three minutes, being careful not to burn them. Don’t worry if they are slightly scorched; that makes them crispy!
Serve immediately with extra pastrami and onion sauce heaped over the top.
Props and Styling by Goldie Stern and Renee Muller
Photography by Moshe Wulliger and Hudi Greenberger
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i have been making this weekly. my kids love it! I bake it in the oven on 375 and flip over when top is brown, and bake on 425 till top is crispy. i have also done it in the betty crocker. it can also be frozen in the pita.
Does the ground beef go into the pitas raw and get cooked on the grill, or am I supposed to cook tge ground beef earlier?
You place the mixture in the pita raw and cook it on the grill.
Without a grill Is there a way to make this in the oven?
I saw another arayas recipe that said to brush oil and back for 10 minutes on each side. Might be worth a try.
Amazing amazing recipe!! Delicious ( i did it on a George Foreman
Is there a way to make this without a grill?