Instructions: (Adapted Arabic)

Bread becomes an edible container for ground meat laced with tahini sauce.

Prepare dough to the point of rolling out. Knead slightly then knead in fennel and caraway seeds. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Grease a 10-inch pie plate. On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 12 inch circle. Fit dough into prepared pie plate, making a raised edge as you would for a pie. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Or,

to prevent dough from puffing during baking, fill with dried beans and bake 35 to 40 minutes; remove beans before adding meat filling. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add meat, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is browned and crumbly. Drain off fat, if necessary. Add chives or green onions and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Remove baked bread from pie plate. Place on a platter. Spoon meat mixture evenly into bread shell. Pour half the sesame-seed sauce over meat mixture.

To serve, cut into wedges and top with remaining sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Sesame-Seed Sauce: Combine sesame-seed paste, garlic, lemon juice and salt in blender. Process until smooth. Gradually blend in water for desired consistency. Mixture should be thick for using as a dip and thin to use as a topping. Turn into a small bowl. Stir in parsley. (For dips, press your finger in center of dip, making an indentation and fill indentation with olive oil. If sauce is to be used as a topping, leave plain.)

Makes 2 cups.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.