Lahmatzoun
"Spicy, meat-filled pita breads. OAMC instructions available."
- Ready In:
- 28mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 4 arabic pita breads (approx 12 diameter)
- 8 slices tomatoes, thin
- 1 egg
- 6 ounces lean ground beef
- 1 1⁄4 cups onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1⁄4 teaspoon allspice
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1⁄3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
directions
- Saute the beef, onions and spices in the olive oil until browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Season to taste.
- Stir in parsley.
- Mix the butter together with the egg to make a spread.
- Spread the 4 pites with this mixture.
- Distribute the meat mixture evenly amongst the 4 pites and press down well with palm of hand so that it adheres to the pites.
- Don’t make the layer too thick.
- Preheat oven to 420°F.
- Bake pites for 5-8 minutes.
- Remove, top with 2 slices of tomato each and roll each pita up (use a sheet of aluminum foil to wrap around outside).
- Enjoy!
- Note. To freeze whole: Cool. Freeze whole between layers of waxed paper or foil. Omit tomatoes. To reheat: place in a single layer and heat at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. top with tomatoes and serve. OR Freeze meat mixture in a freezer bag. Thaw in fridge. Proceed with recipe.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
Excellent! I made the recipe as directed but using ground lamb. I was amazed that DH, who usually is not fond of meat seasoned with cinnamon, adored this! The sliced tomato was the perfect offset to the allspice-cinnamon flavors and the butter-egg wash kept the top of the pitas soft, while the bottoms browned. You will need to melt and cool the butter before adding the egg because softened butter doesnt't work. I could only find 6 inch diameter pitas and don't think there is enough mixture for 12 inch pitas. Thanks Evelyn, this was delightfully different than simillar versions I have tried! -
this is wonderful! i made it for lunch today, only 3 of us, and everyone was fighting over the last pita. the spice combo was what made the meal. i think this would be equally good inside of the pitas with the tomatoes and some cucumbers and lettuce . i omitted the egg and it turned out just fine. i also topped the tomato slices with some crumbled feta cheese and broiled it for 2 minutes before serving- 10 stars! -
Very easy to make and delicious. I doubled the meat because we eat more meat. Next time I will make some taziki sauce to go with it. Thank you.
-
I was looking for something relatively simple and greek that involved beef and pitas and this really hit the spot. Simple and satisfying. Thanks! -
I love these sandwiches, they are so easy! I used corriander and cardamom instead of allspice and cinnamon, and cucumber instead of tomato. I was concerned that I had used too large of an egg, as my spread was very thin, but I just drizzled it on and spread it around with the back of a spoon. It was very effective in sticking the meat to the bread. Next time I will go all the way to the edge, as this time I left about 1/2 inch border and the pita got too crispy to roll (so I folded it in half). For OAMC, or make-ahead, freeze the baked lahmatzoun flat between layers of foil or waxed paper (without the tomato). Reheat all at once in a single layer at 400 F for 8-10 minutes, or individually in the microwave for about 1:30 minutes. Top with tomatos and serve. Alternately, you can freeze the meat mixture. Thaw and proceed with steps 4-11 (no need to re-heat the meat prior to assembly).
see 3 more reviews
Tweaks
-
I love these sandwiches, they are so easy! I used corriander and cardamom instead of allspice and cinnamon, and cucumber instead of tomato. I was concerned that I had used too large of an egg, as my spread was very thin, but I just drizzled it on and spread it around with the back of a spoon. It was very effective in sticking the meat to the bread. Next time I will go all the way to the edge, as this time I left about 1/2 inch border and the pita got too crispy to roll (so I folded it in half). For OAMC, or make-ahead, freeze the baked lahmatzoun flat between layers of foil or waxed paper (without the tomato). Reheat all at once in a single layer at 400 F for 8-10 minutes, or individually in the microwave for about 1:30 minutes. Top with tomatos and serve. Alternately, you can freeze the meat mixture. Thaw and proceed with steps 4-11 (no need to re-heat the meat prior to assembly).
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<style>body { background: url("http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3512121819_f2f1aaf050.jpg?v=0"); background-repeat: repeat-y; }</style>
OK, here goes. I live in Athens, Greece. I moved out here many, many years ago from Ottawa, Canada - so I am blessed in having two wonderful heritages!
I suffer from compulsive obsessive behaviour with regard to food and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to find a 'society' where many have the same problem and try to find a cure.
So far, I've copied a couple of thousand recipes from this site and my psychiatrist has thrown the towel in and refuses to answer the phone when I call.
What did I do wrong?
Got 3 kids that keep me on the go - 10 and under at this point (2008) - I may not get round to updating this for a few years, so you'll have to do your own maths.
I teach English full-time and Greek Cookery part-time. I would like to make the cooking part of it full-time and the English Grammar part of it part-time.
That's all for now.
