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Lamb Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza) Recipe

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★★★★★

4.5 from 63 reviews

Lamb Lahmacun, often called Turkish pizza, is a delicious thin flatbread topped with a spiced ground lamb mixture and baked to perfection. This recipe pairs the savory meat topping with fresh chopped salad, tangy herb tahini sauce, and zesty sumac onions, creating a flavorful, aromatic meal that’s perfect for sharing and folding like a wrap.

Ingredients

Scale

Dough and Meat Topping

  • 1 pound pizza dough (at room temperature)
  • Flour (for rolling the dough)
  • 1 pound ground lamb (or a mix of ground lamb and beef)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried mint
  • ½ teaspoon sumac
  • 1 small red bell pepper (chopped)
  • ½ small red onion (chopped)
  • 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
  • 1 small tomato (seeds removed and chopped)
  • Small handful of fresh parsley
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Chopped Salad

  • 2 Persian cucumbers (peeled and diced)
  • 1 large tomato (seeded and diced)
  • Fresh mint leaves (chopped)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Herb Tahini Sauce

  • ½ cup tahini
  • Small handful of parsley or cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Water (to thin the sauce, start with ¼ cup)

Sumac Onions

  • ½ small red onion (thinly sliced)
  • 1 teaspoon ground sumac
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Chopped parsley (optional)

Garnishes

  • Additional sumac
  • Aleppo pepper flakes
  • Lemon wedges

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a pizza stone, place it inside the oven while it’s heating so it gets nice and hot.
  2. Make the Chopped Salad: In a bowl, combine the peeled and diced Persian cucumbers, seeded and diced large tomato, chopped fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss everything well and set aside to let the flavors meld.
  3. Prepare the Herb Tahini Sauce: In a food processor, add the tahini, parsley or cilantro, garlic clove, lemon juice, and kosher salt. Blend until smooth. Slowly add water, starting with ¼ cup, to thin the sauce to a pourable but still thick consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then set aside.
  4. Make the Sumac Onions: Toss the thinly sliced red onion with ground sumac, lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and chopped parsley if using. Let this mixture marinate while preparing the rest of the recipe.
  5. Prepare the Meat Topping: In a food processor, pulse together the chopped red bell pepper, chopped red onion, garlic cloves, small tomato, and parsley until finely chopped. Drain any excess moisture by straining this mixture.
  6. Mix Meat and Spices: In a large bowl, combine the ground lamb (or lamb-beef mix) with turmeric, ground cumin, paprika, dried mint, sumac, and kosher salt. Add the strained vegetable mixture and mix thoroughly until well combined.
  7. Roll and Assemble: Divide the pizza dough into four equal portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a thin circle about 8 to 9 inches in diameter. Spread one portion of the meat mixture evenly over each dough circle, pressing the meat gently into the dough, leaving a small border around the edges.
  8. Bake: Carefully transfer each assembled flatbread to a baking sheet or preheated pizza stone. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until the dough is crisp and the meat topping is fully cooked.
  9. Garnish and Serve: Remove lahmacun from the oven. Top each with some of the chopped salad, sumac onions, a drizzle of the herb tahini sauce, and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper flakes and additional sumac if desired. Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side. Fold like a wrap and enjoy!

Notes

  • For extra crispness, use a pizza stone preheated in the oven before baking the lahmacun.
  • You can substitute ground beef or a mixture of lamb and beef for the meat topping according to preference.
  • If sumac is unavailable, consider a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of mild chili flakes for tanginess.
  • The tahini sauce can be thinned or thickened to your liking by adjusting the amount of water added.
  • Leftover lahmacun can be reheated briefly in a hot oven or skillet to restore crispness.

Keywords: Lamb Lahmacun, Turkish Pizza, Middle Eastern Flatbread, Spiced Lamb Pizza, Turkish Cuisine

Find it online: https://recipeswithria.com/lamb-lahmacun-turkish-pizza-recipe/