Mediterranean Cravings

I had my first taste of Lebanese food in NYC at Ilili in Flatiron and immediately fell in love.  The bold  flavors of grilled meats combined with the crisp, fresh vegetables was exquisite.  Mediterranean food is light, healthy, and full of flavor so it doesn't fall too far down the list of foods I crave, and the best thing about it is that it's simple to make.

So earlier this morning I had read an article about meats and different ways to cook them.  After finishing up a nice gym session, I decided I needed to stop by Whole Foods to pick up lean meat to "grill".  Anyway, I ventured aisle after aisle unable to wrap my taste buds around what I wanted to cook with ground meat.  So I thought back to all my favorite ground meat recipes and then remembered my obsession with Ilili's grilled meat kababs.  And there began my journey of Mishwi or Meshweh aka Kebabs on pita.

Grilled Meshweh, my way.  Cook and Prep time: 30-40 minutes, Cooks enough for 4

Ingredients: 1 lb of Minced Lean Meat - ground lamb, beef, or chicken will do. 3 Tablespoons of freshly chopped Parsley, some for garnish 1/2 Onion, diced; some julienned for garnish 1 medium-sized Tomato Spice blend - Nutmeg, Garlic, AllSpice, Cinnamon, Pepper 1 Teaspoon Salt 4-8 Pitas, small 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

How to: Combine Meat, chopped parsley, diced onion, spices, Salt until mixed well.  Pull up your sleeves and slap on some gloves if you need to dig in. Once meat is blended, pull apart chunks of meat and roll into long spears - usually just a handful.  Make sure spears are even in size.   Once you have all your spears finished, pierce it with a kabab stick (optional) and throw on the grill/ or a Grill Pan (for all my Manhattanites). While the meat is cooking, lightly sprinkle Pitas with AllSpice and throw on the grill until toasted.  Then combine Julienned Onion, Sliced tomatoes, and Parsley in a bowl with Olive Oil to make a vegetable mix.  Set it all aside. Once meat is finished, it's time to plate!  Place one pita on a medium plate, place 2-3 pieces of the cooked meat on top of the pita and top it all off with the vegetable mix.  Enjoy!