Lahmacun | Turkish Pizza

May 25, 2017

Lahmacun is a round shaped flatbread-style pizza with spicy lamb or beef mince which is a traditional meal enjoyed in Turkey, North Cyprus and Turkish communities around the world, served with fresh lemon and salad which is rolled up and enjoyed.

As a child I would always love a good helping of these and they remind me of all the summers I spent as a child in Cyprus. If I go to a Turkish restaurant and these are on the menu then I will order a batch just for me. I can sit and eat my own body weight in these beauties!

Like I do, I decided that I wanted to try my own recipe of Lahmacun at home and I will be honest, they don’t taste as good as the ones made in a traditional Turkish clay oven.. my conventional oven just doesn’t cut it! But they are very tasty and a very enjoyable meal to share with the whole family, my kids love them!

So here is my homemade Lahmacun recipe for you to make at home.

Preparation & Cooking Time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

(Makes around 6, serves 4-6 people)

DOUGH

500g Plain All Purpose Flour
250g lukewarm water

1tsp Fine Sea Salt

MEAT

500g Lamb Mince
4 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 Red Pepper, finely chopped
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1tbsp Tomato Purée

1tsp Fine Sea Salt

Half a tsp Ground Cumin
Half a tsp dried Chilli Flakes

Half a tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 large handfuls of fresh Parsley, finely chopped

METHOD

For the dough

In a large bowl sieve the flour and mix in the salt

Make a well in the middle and slowly pour in the water and start mixing with a tablespoon

Then using clean hands knead the dough for 5 minutes

Cover and put aside

For the meat

Preheat fan oven to around 260 degrees fan oven, you need to get the oven very hot, place a couple of large baking trays into the oven to preheat with the oven

In a bowl sieve the tin chopped tomatoes to get rid of the juice, put to one side

In another large bowl add the lamb mince and using a spoon or fork break the meat up

In a blender add the sieved chopped tomatoes, red pepper, tomato puree, salt, pepper, cumin, chilli flakes and garlic. Blend for a few seconds so the sauce is smooth.

Pour the sauce into the mince and mix well so everything has combined well

Add the chopped parsley and mix well, set to the side

Put it all together

On a clean worktop, roll out your dough into a sausage shape and using a knife cut into chunks to make 6 rolls of dough

Using a rolling pin (keep the surface well floured to avoid sticking) roll out each ball of dough to a thin round pizza shape.

Carefully take out the baking trays and cover with parchment and lightly flour

Carefully transfer the rolled out dough to the baking tray (you will need to cook in batches if you only have one oven)

Using the back of a tablespoon spread the meat mixture over the dough, a think layer, and return to the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes minutes (keep an eye on them as every oven is different and can cook quicker or slower you don’t want to burn them!)

To keep the cooked Lahmacun warm, place onto a plate and cover with a couple of clean tea towels

Once they are all cooked, serve them straight away as they are best enjoyed warm

Fill them with a salad of freshly chopped tomatoes and cucumber, squeeze over some fresh lemon and my person favourite is to add some Turkish Onion Salad (if you would like a recipe please let me know!)