This thin, crisp Turkish flatbread is typically rolled into a cone before eating.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
Tomato sauce:
Meat:
Assembly:
For tomato sauce:
Step 1
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and serrano chile and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands, piquillo peppers, brown sugar, vinegar, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often and mashing with a potato masher (or a spoon), until thickened, 15–20 minutes. Let cool slightly, then purée in a blender until smooth; season with salt and pepper to taste.
For meat:
Step 2
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5–8 minutes. Add lamb, beef, Aleppo pepper, ras-el-hanout, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
For assembly:
Step 3
Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 500°F. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, gently stretch dough into 12" rounds and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. (If dough springs back, let rest 10 minutes, then stretch again, resting as needed, until dough is thin).
Step 4
Spread each round of dough with a layer of tomato sauce; season with salt and pepper and top with a thin layer of meat mixture. Working in batches, cook lahmacun until crusts are browned and crisp, 10–12 minutes.
Step 5
Toss parsley and lemon juice in a small bowl. Top each lahmacun with parsley mixture and drizzle with oil.
Step 6
DO AHEAD:Sauce and meat mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and keep chilled.
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Reviews (4)
Back to TopFirst of all, Ras El Hanout is a spice mix that is Moroccan, not Turkish. Second, this recipe does not even come close to Lahmacun, also known as Lahmajun. It is an Armenian and Turkish staple. There is NO sauce, raw meat mixture is placed on dough in a very thin layer and baked on very high temperature just like pizza. It is also a very popular Middle Eastern staple, because the Turkish, Armenian, and Levant cuisines interacted so much through history that we do not know where the recipe originated. Each claim it. No matter, it is a delicious light meal.
lailabakes
NJ
1/26/2016
I also cannot vouch for authenticity, but this is delicious. I assembled it simply as one big pizza. Doing it that way, probably could have cut the meat portion in half. Delicious!
KellyRee
Dallas, TX
12/15/2013
I can't vouch for authenticity, but this was delicious. I made my own pizza dough but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The spiced tomato sauce is so good. Next time I will cut the butter in half for the meat mixture. Don't skimp on the parsley and lemon - it adds a nice fresh contrast. Both my husband and 5 year old daughter rated this as a definite make-again...
lilys_mama
Chicago, IL
11/13/2013
Recipe may taste good. However it's VERY FAR from the way Arabs, Armenians, Turks make it. Sauce is never pre-cooked. Very simple meat & ingredients pizza, made to order on the spot.
Anonymous
San Diego, Beirut, Aleppo, Istambul
11/3/2013