Lahmacun - Turkish Pizza

lostkat · 15-03-2009, 23:24

The delightful Will introduced us to the Turkish dish Lahmacun when we went to Cyrpus with him last year. We were in the Northern Dictatorship of Illegal Communist Brave Turkish Army Cyprus and absolutely starving, traipsing around after Will whilst he searched in vain for a restaurant that his father had recommended, when we happened upon a little street cafe and decided that our feet could take us no further until we had fed.

Will showed off his Turkish and ordered... things. When things arrived, they were a big stack of little flatbread type affairs with a spicey lamby mixture smeared on top. They were utterly DIVINE and vanished within a matter of minutes. Leon described them as Turkish pizzas, which is pretty much what they are really.

Anyway, we'd been scouring the internet for lahmacun recipes, when I noticed that none other than my beloved Nigella Lawson has a recipe for them in her Domestic Goddess book. I had all the ingredients except for the lamb, so I went and bought some and gave it a go tonight. The results? Abso-ruddy-lutely delicious. It felt like we were back in Communist Turkish Cyprus again, only without the awful company

Lahmacun
Serves 2 greedy pigfaces for tea, or 4 for lunch

For the dough:
150g bread flour
100g plain flour
1 tsp easy blend yeast
1/2 tsp salt
125ml warm water
1 tbsp olive oil

For the topping:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 fat garlic clove, finely grated
2 tbsp olive oil
250g either minced lamb or lamb pieces very finely chopped in a food processor
pinch of cayenne
pinch of ground allspice (I didn't have any, so I used a smidge each of nutmeg, ground clove & cinnamon)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp melted butter

2 oiled baking sheets

1. Start by making the dough. Combine the flours, yeast and salt, add the oil and water and mix to form a dough. Kneed for 5-10 mins until you have a smooth elastic dough. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat and cover in clingfilm. Let it rise in a warm place for around an hour until it's doubled in size.

2. Next, get on with the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan and soften the onion and garlic on a low heat without browning them (a pinch of salt will help this). Add the lamb, cayenne, allspite, cumin and tomato purée then stir to break up the lamb and cook for around 10 mins until the lamb is no longer pink. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Season if desired.

3. Once the dough has risen, knock the air out of it and divide into 8 egg-sized balls. Roll the balls out into circles approx 12-15cm in diameter and place onto the oiled baking trays. Let them rest for 10 minutes with tea towels draped over them.

4. Dollop approx 1 tbsp of the filling onto each circle of dough and spread to cover the centre well. Paint each little pizza with melted butter, especially around the edges, then place in the oven to cook for approx 10 mins until golden and bubbling.

5. When they come out of the oven, cover with a cloth and let them rest for 5 mins. This will get the cloth dirty, but it stops them from getting a hard crust - they should be soft enough to bend them in two or roll up to eat.

6. Chuck on a plate with some salad and devour.

Mmmm, just looking at this picture makes me want to cook them again!!

15-03-2009, 23:24	#1
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Lahmacun - Turkish Pizza The delightful Will introduced us to the Turkish dish Lahmacun when we went to Cyrpus with him last year. We were in the Northern Dictatorship of Illegal Communist Brave Turkish Army Cyprus and absolutely starving, traipsing around after Will whilst he searched in vain for a restaurant that his father had recommended, when we happened upon a little street cafe and decided that our feet could take us no further until we had fed. Will showed off his Turkish and ordered... things. When things arrived, they were a big stack of little flatbread type affairs with a spicey lamby mixture smeared on top. They were utterly DIVINE and vanished within a matter of minutes. Leon described them as Turkish pizzas, which is pretty much what they are really. Anyway, we'd been scouring the internet for lahmacun recipes, when I noticed that none other than my beloved Nigella Lawson has a recipe for them in her Domestic Goddess book. I had all the ingredients except for the lamb, so I went and bought some and gave it a go tonight. The results? Abso-ruddy-lutely delicious. It felt like we were back in Communist Turkish Cyprus again, only without the awful company Lahmacun Serves 2 greedy pigfaces for tea, or 4 for lunch For the dough: 150g bread flour 100g plain flour 1 tsp easy blend yeast 1/2 tsp salt 125ml warm water 1 tbsp olive oil For the topping: 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 fat garlic clove, finely grated 2 tbsp olive oil 250g either minced lamb or lamb pieces very finely chopped in a food processor pinch of cayenne pinch of ground allspice (I didn't have any, so I used a smidge each of nutmeg, ground clove & cinnamon) 1/2 tsp cumin 2 tbsp tomato purée 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 1 tbsp lemon juice 4 tbsp melted butter 2 oiled baking sheets 1. Start by making the dough. Combine the flours, yeast and salt, add the oil and water and mix to form a dough. Kneed for 5-10 mins until you have a smooth elastic dough. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat and cover in clingfilm. Let it rise in a warm place for around an hour until it's doubled in size. 2. Next, get on with the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan and soften the onion and garlic on a low heat without browning them (a pinch of salt will help this). Add the lamb, cayenne, allspite, cumin and tomato purée then stir to break up the lamb and cook for around 10 mins until the lamb is no longer pink. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Season if desired. 3. Once the dough has risen, knock the air out of it and divide into 8 egg-sized balls. Roll the balls out into circles approx 12-15cm in diameter and place onto the oiled baking trays. Let them rest for 10 minutes with tea towels draped over them. 4. Dollop approx 1 tbsp of the filling onto each circle of dough and spread to cover the centre well. Paint each little pizza with melted butter, especially around the edges, then place in the oven to cook for approx 10 mins until golden and bubbling. 5. When they come out of the oven, cover with a cloth and let them rest for 5 mins. This will get the cloth dirty, but it stops them from getting a hard crust - they should be soft enough to bend them in two or roll up to eat. 6. Chuck on a plate with some salad and devour. Mmmm, just looking at this picture makes me want to cook them again!! __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?