Pita Bread Oven Burgers Hawawshi Recipe

"These burgers are inspired by Egyptian Hawawshi, adjusted to suit my family's taste. My son had a school project about Egypt and we wanted to make some food from the region. To make this more authentic, you can add coriander, allspice, cardamom and/or cinnamon to the meat mixture; I've also read recipes that include green bell peppers in addition to (and, in some cases, in place of) the jalapeno. My husband enjoyed these dipped in mustard and my son liked diced raw red onion with his. I used the leanest ground beef I could find in the store, to avoid having the grease soak through the pita bread. Make sure you buy a pita bread that has pockets, or this recipe won't work as written. I opted to grate the vegetables, so I could squeeze out some of the moisture (again, trying to prevent liquid from soaking through the pita bread). I used 2.25 pounds of ground beef because that was the size of the package I bought from Walmart."

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Step 2

Using a sharp knife, cut the pita bread in half, exposing the pockets.

Step 3

Remove the moisture from the grated vegetables by wrapping them in paper towels and squeezing them, getting as much of the liquid out as possible.

Step 4

Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT THE PITA BREAD into a large bowl and mix well with your hands until all of the ingredients are combined; do not overmix.

Step 5

Stuff the pita pocket with approximately 1/2 cup of meat mixture, then gently press the pocket closed so the meat spreads into the whole pocket (the layer of meat should be even, and fill the entire pocket). You can use the back of a spoon to press the meat mixture in the pocket, if that works better for you.

Step 6

Place on a baking sheet pan (use parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray to prevent sticking, if you don't trust your baking sheet).

Step 7

Brush the tops of the pitas with oil.

Step 8

Bake for 15 minutes; carefully flip the pitas over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the meat is fully cooked and the pita is crispy on both sides.