Beef hawawshi sandwiches
This Cairo food staple is simple and versatile – a must have for your sandwich repertoire. Baking the beef mixture and sandwich together marries the flavours and allows the rendered fat to crisp up the pita. If you don’t want to bake your own Egyptian Whole Wheat Baladi Bread or can’t find the true Egyptian pita (check your local Middle Eastern grocer and ask for baladi bread), just substitute whole wheat pitas instead.
SERVES
4
TO
6
Ingredients
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1/2 white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1/4 bunch cilantro
- 1/4 bunch mint leaves
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon smoke paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup harissa
- 3 loaves Egyptian Whole Wheat Baladi Bread
- 1 cup Tahini sauce
- Hot sauce, for seasoning
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Finely dice the green pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and mint. Place in a large mixing bowl along with the beef, paprika, coriander, salt, cinnamon, and harissa. Mix well.
- Cut the baladi bread in quarters, then fill with the meat mixture. Place on the baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the bread is crispy. Serve with a side of tahini and a dash of hot sauce.
