Name: Middle Eastern Smash Tacos with Tahini Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 450 g ground beef; 0.5 piece onion; 1.2 dl parsley; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp allspice; 1 tsp paprika; 2 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 8 pieces flour tortilla; 2 pieces persian cucumber; 80 ml red onion; 2 pieces roma tomato; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp sumac; 1.2 dl tahini; 2 tbsp honey; 1 piece lemon; 60 ml water

UntrainedChef

Tips from the kitchen

Grate the onion instead of chopping it. You want the juice and a fine texture so the meat layer presses flat and thin on the tortilla, not lumpy.
Press hard while the meat side cooks. A foil-wrapped brick or a smaller heavy pan works. Without weight the meat curls up and shrinks away from the edges.
Keep the meat layer thin, around 3-4 tablespoons spread to the edges. Too thick and the inside stays raw by the time the tortilla browns.
Make the tahini sauce thinner than you think you want. It firms up as it sits, so if it pours slowly off the spoon now it will be a paste by serving time. Loosen with a splash more water.
Salt the sumac salad right before serving. Sit it too long and the tomatoes and cucumbers weep water all over the bottom of the bowl.

Ways to vary it

Swap the ground beef for ground lamb if you want it closer to traditional arayes. Same spice mix works.
A pinch of Aleppo pepper or chili flakes in the meat gives it some heat without changing the base flavors.
If flour tortillas are hard to find, this works pressed into a split pita too. Cook it the same way, meat side down with weight on top.

Storage & leftovers

Keep the cooked tacos, salad, and tahini sauce in separate containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cooked meat tortillas reheat well in a dry pan over medium, a couple minutes a side to crisp them back up. I would not freeze these since the tortillas go gummy and the salad turns to mush.