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Egypt, Middle East and Africa

Hawawshi

Egypt's favourite street snack: pita bread stuffed with a thin layer of spiced minced beef, onion and chilli, then baked until crisp.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time32 min
DifficultyEasy

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220 °C (oven). Grate or very finely chop the onion, then squeeze it hard in your hand and discard the juice; leftover juice makes the bread soggy. Finely chop the chilli (seed it for less heat), bell pepper and parsley, and mince the garlic.

    Add in this stepOnion 1Green chilli 1Green bell pepper ½Flat-leaf parsley 10 gGarlic cloves 2

    oven

  2. Put the beef, prepared vegetables, cumin, baharat, pepper and salt in a large bowl and knead with your hand for , until the meat turns sticky and holds together. Fry a small piece to check the seasoning if you like.

    Add in this stepMinced beef (15–20% fat) 300 gGround cumin ¾ tspBaharat (Middle Eastern spice mix) ¾ tspBlack pepper ½ tspSalt ¾ tsp

  3. Slit each pita along about a third of its edge to open the pocket. Push in the meat and press it with your palm into an even layer about 1 cm thick, right to the edges. A thick centre means burnt bread and undercooked meat.

    Add in this stepPita breads (about 20 cm, the kind that opens into a pocket) 2

  4. Brush both sides of the bread with oil and lay them on lined baking trays (1 tray). Bake on oven for , turning them over halfway and swapping the trays if you use two. They are ready when the bread is deep brown and crisp and the meat juices sizzle at the edges.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil or melted butter 1½ tbsp

    oven

  5. Let them rest for 2 minutes, then cut into quarters like a pizza. The meat should show no pink; with a thermometer, the centre must reach 71 °C. Serve hot with pickles, tahini sauce and a cucumber-tomato salad.

Cook's tip

No baharat? Mix a little paprika, cinnamon, allspice and ground coriander. Butter instead of oil gives a richer flavour and deeper colour. You can wrap and freeze them unbaked, then bake from frozen for about 5 minutes longer.

Cooking it at camp

At the campsite, cook them over a grill or in a covered cast-iron pan on low heat, turning often. Spread the meat no thicker than 1 cm so it cooks through, and always check a cut piece. Mix the meat at home and keep it in the cooler below 4 °C.