Kebab Smyrneiko se Pita (Κεμπάπ Σμυρνέικο σε Πίτα)

Kebab Smyrneiko se pita is Smyrna's seasoned mince kebab folded into the everyday bread of the Greek grill: cumin first, a little cinnamon behind it, char from the fire, cold yogurt, ripe tomato, onion, and parsley. The shape is long and ridged, not a round keftes. The region is the dish's surname, and Smyrna's surname smells of cumin the moment the meat hits the grill.

One method decides it. Salt the mince, knead it until it turns tacky, then rest it cold before shaping. That rest is what lets the meat hold to the skewer without egg or bread, so the inside stays juicy and the outside takes char. Give it an hour and it behaves.

At the table, I keep the wrap plain: warm pita, yogurt with a breath of garlic, tomato that tastes of summer, onion, parsley, and a little green-gold oil. In Thessaloniki, the refugee kitchen made cumin a family marker; even now one bite tells you where the recipe came from. I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down.