Tomato Tomatoe

Mediterranean smash pita

Being Italian, I typically always make meatballs with my ground beef. I wanted to venture out and try something a bit different. When I visited Santorini, Greece a few years ago, I remember ordering Greek keftedes, or Greek meatballs. They were tender, juicy and had a beautiful warming flavour from the spices. When I was thinking of what to do with my ground beef it dawned on me that I should make something similar to what I had tasted in Greece all those years ago. I thought it would be fun to use the meat on a pita. I saw a few recipes using this idea and it looked amazing! I knew I needed to try it. These smash pitas turned out to be so delicious and they’ve now been added to my weekly meal rotation. The meat is tender, juicy and slightly caramelized. It comes together with a bright tzatziki, fresh vegetables and creamy feta cheese. Definitely give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed!

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Mediterranean smash pita

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 3 cloves garlic (large)
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Tzatziki

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 small cucumber, shredded and squeezed of liquid
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1 glove garlic, grated
• salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

• Pickled red onion
• Feta
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Pita bread or tortilla shells

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, add ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, spices, garlic, white onion, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands. Do not overwork the mixture. Set aside in the fridge while you prepare the tzatziki.
2. To make the tzatziki, grate garlic into a bowl and add shredded cucumber, ensuring that you squeeze out the liquid by placing it in a cheese cloth or paper towel. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
3. Heat a large non stick fry pan to medium heat with 1 tbsp of avocado oil. Take your pita bread and spread a thin layer (about 1/4 inch thick) of the meat mixture. Once the pan is hot, add the pita with the meat side facing down on the pan. Let this cook for 3-4 minutes until the meat is golden and caramelized. Flip the pita over and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes until the pita is slightly toasted.
4. Serve with tzatziki, pickled onions, tomato, cucumbers and feta cheese.

Notes

• If you don’t want to use all of the meat for smash pitas, you can roll the remaining meat into meatballs and fry them on all sides until golden. You will need to bake them in the oven for at least 10 minutes (at 375 degrees F) after frying to ensure that they are cooked all the way through.