We are a house of pizza lovers, but sometimes it’s nice to mix it up a little and make something other than the regular cheese and tomato feast. This is where lahmacun (essentially a dough flatbread topped with a minced meat mixture) is a very tasty alternative. I put this scrumptious recipe together a few years ago for a tv cooking segment and realised that I’d never actually shared it here, time to rectify that!
I’ve used my favourite pizza dough as the base for this recipe, and it’s topped with a beautifully spiced lamb mince mixture that’s bursting with flavour. Once you’ve started munching it’ll be difficult to stop! Cut the lahmacun into easy to eat slices and top with chopped parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving.
The next time you have a craving for pizza I can highly recommend giving this lahmacun a go.
SPICY LAMB LAHMACUN
For the pizza dough:
- 300g flour
- 5ml (1 tsp) sugar
- 2.5ml (½ tsp) fine salt
- 7g sachet instant yeast
- 10ml (2 tsp) olive oil
- 150-200ml warm water
- extra flour for dusting
For the lamb topping:
- ½ red pepper, finely chopped
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 5ml (1 tsp) crushed garlic
- 15ml (1 tbsp) finely chopped parsley
- 250g lamb mince
- 5ml (1 tsp) smoked paprika
- 2.5ml (½ tsp) ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- 50g tomato paste
- a drizzle of olive oil
- fresh lemon wedges, to serve
- chopped parsley, to serve
1.) Start by making the pizza dough. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add the olive oil and 150ml of the warm water. Mix to form a dough (add a little more water if the dough is dry). Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to double in size.
2.) While the dough is rising place all of the lamb topping ingredients except the lemon wedges and extra parsley in a large bowl. Mix together well and set aside.
3.) Preheat your oven to 200°C and grease a baking tray. Dust your work surface lightly with flour and halve the dough. Roll each piece of dough into a rough rectangle. Transfer the bases to one large tray or two smaller trays and spread the mince mixture thinly and evenly over the top, leaving a small border around the edge.
4.) Bake lahmacun for 15-20 minutes until the topping and base have cooked through. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the lahmacun and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
Cupcakes and Couscous 