Warm cumin, paprika, coriander and earthy fresh oregano season these savory grilled beef pockets. An easy yogurt sauce brings cool, creamy contrast. Alongside, meaty slabs of grilled eggplant, zucchini and bell pepper add juicy color to the platter.
For some, “Mediterranean” cuisine is synonymous with Greek, but I could imagine a dish like this originating from North Africa, maybe Morocco. I don’t cook North African cuisines often – I’m more familiar and comfortable with southern Italian and Provençal. But all the cuisines of the Mediterranean region have influenced each other and they share many common elements, so when I got the idea for this recipe I was happy to discover that my pantry was up to the task. There isn’t a single spice or condiment used here that I didn’t already have on hand.
Instead of cooking the meat first and then tucking it into the pita, the pitas are stuffed with the raw meat mixture and everything cooks together on the grill. The juices from the meat, and all the spices and aromatics, flavor and baste the bread as it cooks. The end result is similar to an empanada or quesadilla, with the crispy crust surrounding the spicy meat filling.
Lamb is more common in Mediterranean cooking but I opted for ground beef which has a milder flavor and was easier to find in my local supermarket mid-pandemic. An assertive combination of spices adds plenty of complexity and just enough heat. The lemon-spiked yogurt sauce cuts through the richness of the beef to lighten and brighten all the flavors.
The grilled vegetables couldn’t be simpler. Sometimes I’ll marinate vegetables for the grill using one of the variations on my Basic Vinaigrette, but with the yogurt sauce that’s not necessary here. All I did was drizzle them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper before grilling, and a squeeze of lemon juice after.
Making these beef pockets ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Make the beef mixture at least an hour ahead (or up to several hours ahead) to give the flavors time to blend.
- You can stuff the beef pockets up to an hour before grilling, but for the best flavor and texture, grill them just before serving.
- Reheat leftover pockets in the microwave or in a 300-degree oven until heated through, about 10 minutes. Add leftover grilled vegetables to pasta dishes or casseroles, or layer them with cheese on a crusty piece of ciabatta bread for a rustic vegetable pizza.
- The yogurt sauce can be made ahead and will keep for several days.
Mediterranean Spiced Beef Pockets with Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds ground beef (preferably 80% lean)
- 1 small or ½ a medium onion, finely minced
- ½ cup parsley, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
- Kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Pinch of ground clove
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- Half a juicy lemon
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium yellow summer squash
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 large yellow bell pepper
- 4 pocket-style pita breads, each 6 to 8 inches in diameter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh oregano sprigs
Directions
- Step 1 Crumble the beef into a large bowl. Scatter the onion, parsley and oregano evenly over the beef. Sprinkle the mixture with 1½ teaspoons of salt if using Diamond Crystal brand, ¾ teaspoon if using Morton’s. Combine the spices (cumin through clove) and scatter the mixture evenly over the beef so that the spices aren’t all clumped up in one place. Drizzle over 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss the mixture gently with your hands until all the spices and aromatics are evenly distributed throughout the beef, but don’t overwork it or compact it. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for at least one hour or up to several hours.
- Step 2 Make the yogurt sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt if using Diamond Crystal, or ¼ teaspoon of Morton’s. Cut the lemon half in half again through the end to make two large wedges. Squeeze out 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice into the yogurt sauce. Reserve the rest of the lemon for later. Stir the sauce until it’s smooth, cover it, and chill it until needed.
- Step 3 About 30 minutes before you want to start cooking, slice the eggplant into ½-inch thick rounds and arrange them cut side up on paper towels. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with kosher salt and let them sit while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- Step 4 Slice the zucchini and yellow squash on the diagonal into ½-inch thick slices and arrange them on a large baking sheet lined with heavy duty foil. Core the peppers and cut them between the ribs into large slabs. Add the peppers to the foil-lined sheet.
- Step 5 Place one pita bread on your work surface with the top (smooth) side up. Use a sharp knife to gently score a line across the diameter of the pita, cutting through the top layer but leaving the bottom intact. Pick up a small handful of the beef (about one eighth of the mixture) and gently stuff one half of the pita bread with the beef, carefully lifting the flap you created in the top and nudging the beef back toward the edges. Repeat with another small handful of beef in the other half of the pita. Smooth the top of the pita, aligning the cut edges in the center, and then gently push down on both halves with your palms to flatten and smush the beef filling so it spreads out inside the pita and fills the entire pocket. Set the filled pita on another large baking sheet lined with heavy duty foil. Repeat with the remaining pita breads and beef.
- Step 6 Use a paper towel to pat away any moisture that has formed on the eggplant slices, then transfer them to the baking sheet with the other vegetables. Drizzle all the vegetables generously with olive oil, then season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Step 7 Heat a grill to medium heat. On a standard-sized grill, you’ll probably have to cook in batches. Grill the vegetables first, until they’re softened and both sides are lightly charred, about 5 minutes per side, maybe a little longer for the peppers. Then grill the pita pockets for 5 minutes per side, or until the bread is lightly charred and the beef is just cooked through. Gently lift one of the center edges to test the beef in one pocket for doneness.
- Step 8 Carefully cut each pita pocket in half along the slit down the center. Arrange the pitas on a platter. Arrange the vegetables alongside. Drizzle the vegetables with a little more olive oil, and squeeze the remaining lemon wedge over the vegetables. Transfer the yogurt sauce to a serving bowl and scatter a few small oregano leaves over the top of the sauce. Scatter the remaining oregano sprigs over the platter for a garnish.
