By Johnson 
The combination of ingredients and the presentation of this Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita made for a unique and delicious dish.
What is Sfeeha? It’s a Lebanese dish that is a mixture of ground lamb or beef with spices that is made inside a formed piece of bread. They are lovely but the bread makes them time consuming; making Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita with the same ingredients but using pita bread makes for a wonderful and MUCH easier dish to prepare. Customarily served with a salad; this dish has it all wrapped together.
I first made Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita almost 15 years ago and thought it was time to introduce it to new readers. It sounds so strange, it was a true leap of faith, but trust me if you can, it is SO good! I’m not Lebanese but over the years I have become interested in trying things from different cultures and countries and it’s been a fun adventure. Maybe not as exciting as traveling but certainly fun in its own way.
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My international culinary journey started with my contribution to the Peko Peko Charity Cookbook. I was asked to contribute a dish, something simple that most of us could actually make for our families and I had recently seen something I thought perfect; Sweet Potato French Fries that were seasoned with Furikake.
FuriWhatkee was my first thought. But my friend Rachael, the infamous LaFujimama said I could find some at an Asian market. I was on Google within moments and discovered an H Mart within 15 minutes of my home and I was on my way!
Fast forward 2 months. In the interim I’d been to the H Mart a couple of times. A second time where I discovered that the pork belly I had looked EVERYWHERE for in order to make Maple Bourbon Bacon was readily available and in a variety of cuts!
On a subsequent visit, I brought some blogging friends with me and an employee suggested we also take a peek at the Arash International Market, which was directly across the street. Of course we did!
What a find! Spices galore only previously located at specialty spice stores. Sumac which I have previously only used for a favorite olive oil dipping sauce, Pomegranate Molasses which I had only seen before at a local spice shop at a ridiculously high price, some fabulous pita bread and Tahini, which is basically ground sesame seeds and a necessary part of hummus which I wanted to try making (and did; loved this made from scratch Artichoke Hummus).
It was fortuitous that a day or two later, I saw a blogging friend, Kalyn Denny tout a blog she had found and loved called Taste of Beirut. I went to check it out and lo and behold, the first dish I saw, this Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita, required in addition to ground beef – pomegranate molasses, tahini, sumac and pita bread; all items I had brought home from my international shopping spree. Didn’t it seem that fate was calling me to make this dish? I thought so!
I have to admit…grinding up ground beef in my processor to make a paste for Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita…that alone was unique but I also imagined that 7 spice was simply Chinese 5 spice with a couple more spices. I was so wrong; seven spice includes the following spices; I’ve given amounts of you need to mix your own (also included in printable recipe card at the bottom of this post):
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 5 tablespoons garam masala (optional though some consider it a nice backdrop to the other seven spices. I love it and had some on hand so did include it in my spice mix).
And I didn’t have Labneh, Lebanese yogurt cheese (which I’ve since found I can get at Arash) but had some queso cheese that Andrea had left behind from our blogger meeting. Why not? Mild and firm, I imagined it would be fine. And it was. Other substitutions include Greek yogurt or cream cheese.
Simple, yes. Delicious? That too. So delicious that I’ve made it several times and again, years later, I had friends over this past weekend when I served it for them. No one had ever heard of it or tasted it and they were equally surprised at how delicious it is..this time it went on the grill. Even better with that bit of smokiness.
Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita is sort of a tortilla; rolled up to eat in a Lebanese roll in a very similar manner. I’ve yet to try making the bread to roll it up; this is too easy and delicious; did I mention easy? But the taste is from the other side of this world and it was divine.
Honestly I still can’t believe I made a paste with ground beef but I’m over it; sure it’s unique and not something that is typically done in the US, but isn’t that the beauty of learning some foods from different cultures. I am so hooked!
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Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita
A fantastic Lebanonese dish made even easier using pita bread for the delicious ground beef mixture.
- 1 pound ground beef 98% fat free, if possible
- 4 ounces chopped onion
- ½ cup Italian parsley minced
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste 3 cloves of garlic mashed with a dash of salt
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons labneh If not available, substitute Greek yogurt
Spices
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon seven-spice
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon to taste of dried chili flakes
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dash allspice
For the Salad
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 cups Italian parsley chopped
- 1 cup onion or green onion chopped
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds optional; I didn’t use them
Chop the onion fine and combine with some salt; place it on a sieve lined with a paper towel and let the onion drain its juice for 30 minutes or so.
Place the meat, spices, drained onion, chopped parsley, tahini, pomegranate molasses, labneh and garlic paste in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 2 minutes or until the mixture turns pasty. Transfer to a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 375F and line a few baking sheets with foil. Place a pita on the foil and slather about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the meat mixture (depending on the size of the pita) on the pita, using a spatula to spread it as evenly as possible. Continue with the rest of the pitas.
Bake for 7 minutes, checking halfway through. When the meat looks cooked, remove from the oven.
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 5 tablespoons garam masala (optional though some consider it a nice backdrop to the other seven spices. I love it and had some on hand so did include it in my spice mix).
Nutrition Facts
Lebanese Sfeeha on Pita
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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