The low-fat cook: a savory sandwich for a simple meal, Middle Eastern-style - Spiced Beef Pockets - Brief Article - Recipe

Sunset, April, 2002 by Linda Lau Anusasananan

In restaurants around the Middle East, thin slices of meat, impaled on long skewers, turn on vertical rotisseries. As the edges of the meat cook, they're sliced off and enclosed in soft flatbread--labvosb. The sandwich is called shawarma. Hilda and Ray Marangosian of San Mateo, California, devised this fast, light version, which requires no special equipment or shopping. Just stir strips of beef in a frying pan, stuff them into pocket bread, and add broiled tomatoes and a simple yogurt sauce.

Spiced Beef Pockets

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes

MAKES: 6 servings

2 pounds boned beef sirloin steak, fat trimmed

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground allspice About 1/4 teaspoon pepper

12 Roma tomatoes (2 lb. total)

6 pocket breads (6 to 7 in. wide), cut in half crosswise

Salt

1/2 cup thinly slivered red onion

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 cup diced dill pickles or cucumber

1 cup Sesame Yogurt Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Rinse beef and pat dry; slice crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips 2 1/2 inches long. In a bowl, mix beef, lemon juice, allspice, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; let stand 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, rinse and core tomatoes; cut each in half lengthwise. Set halves, skin up, in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan. Broil about 4 inches from heat until richly browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200[degrees]. Stack pocket breads and wrap in foil. Warm in oven with tomatoes until ready to serve, 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Set a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat. When hot, add beef mixture; stir until meat is no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a wide bowl or platter. Boil juices until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 4 minutes; pour over meat. Stir in salt to taste.

4. Arrange tomatoes beside beef. Sprinkle onion and parsley over meat. Serve pocket breads, pickles, and Sesame Yogurt Sauce alongside. To eat, spoon beef mixture, tomatoes, onion, and pickles into pocket bread halves. Add yogurt sauce to taste.

Per serving: 438 cal., 18% (79 cal.) from fat; 42 g protein; 8.8 g fat (2.7 g sat.); 47 g carbo (3.8 g fiber); 788 mg sodium; 93 mg chol.

Sesame Yogurt Sauce

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 5 minutes

MAKES: About 1 cup

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced Salt and pepper

1. In a 6- to 8-inch frying pan over medium heat, stir sesame seeds until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, and toasted sesame seeds. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Per tablespoon: 11 cal., 25% (2.7 cal.) from fat; 0.9 g protein; 0.3 g fat (0.1 g sat.); 1.3 g carbo (0.1 g fiber); 11 mg sodium; 0.3 mg chol.