Recipe
Arayes are a popular Lebanese street food — stuffed pitas grilled or fried until crisp on the outside and juicy within. This version swaps the traditional meat filling for a beautiful mixture of charred eggplant, chickpeas, garlic, and onion, seasoned generously and served with a tangy tahini dipping sauce.
You will need
Serves 4
For the areyas:
- 30ml extra virgin olive oil
- 4 pitas
For the filling:
- 1 eggplant, grilled until charred
- 1 tin of chickpeas, liquid removed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 brown onion, finely diced
- A few sprigs of parsley, chopped (optional)
- Handful of coriander, chopped (optional)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper
For the dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of tahini
- 1/2 lemon, juice only
- Salt and pepper
- 50ml iced water
- 15ml extra virgin olive oil
To serve:
- 1 lemon cut into quarters
Recipe: Simon Toohey
Directions
30 mins to prep
10 mins to cook
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Step 1
Peel the skin from the charred eggplant and place into a bowl with the chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Mash them together with a potato masher until everything combines to create a sticky mixture.
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Step 2
Cut the pitas in half so they create 2 pockets each. Gently peel open each of the breads and place a spoonful of the eggplant mixture inside each one, gently pressing down to make it as flat as possible.
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Step 3
Heat olive oil in a pan and then gently fry the pita on both sides on medium-low heat until the outside is golden and the inside filling is hot.
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Step 4
For the sauce: Whisk the tahini with the lemon and then season with salt and pepper. Pour in the iced water slowly to help emulsify. Pour into a dipping bowl and top with the olive oil.
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Step 5
Serve each areya with a lemon wedge and enjoy!
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Recipe: Simon Toohey
