Lahmacun (Turkish thin meat flatbread)

Name: Lahmacun (Turkish thin meat flatbread)
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: For the dough: 500 g flour; 1 tsp instant yeast; 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp sugar; 2 tbsp olive oil; about 300 ml warm water; For the topping: 250 g very finely minced halal lamb or beef (with a little lamb fat); 1 small onion, grated and drained of its juice; 1 red bell pepper (or 2 tbsp red pepper paste) and 2 small tomatoes, peeled and seeded; 2 cloves garlic and a small bunch of parsley, chopped; 1 tsp red pepper flakes (pul biber), 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt and black pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; To serve: lemon, parsley and sliced red onion

Recipe No.: W-91

InternationalTurkish100 minServes 4

The name "lahmacun" is said to come from the Arabic "lahm bi ajeen" ("meat with dough"): a very thin flatbread spread with a light layer of finely minced meat with tomato, pepper and parsley. It is associated with cities of south-eastern Turkey such as Gaziantep and Urfa and is baked at a very high heat in minutes. It is not eaten like pizza: you squeeze lemon on it, stuff it with parsley and sliced onion, roll it by hand and eat it hot. Its success lies in a thin dough and a sparing topping.

Origin of the dish: Turkey (the south-east) — Associated with cities such as Gaziantep and Urfa, and similar to "lahm bi ajeen" of the Levant

Photo: Lahmacun.jpg by Rainer Zenz (assumed author per Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Lahmacun

500 gflour (For the dough)
1 tspinstant yeast
1 tspsalt and ½ tsp sugar
2 tbspolive oil
about 300 mlwarm water
250 gvery finely minced halal lamb or beef (with a little lamb fat) (For the topping)
1small onion, grated and drained of its juice
1red bell pepper (or 2 tbsp red pepper paste) and 2 small tomatoes, peeled and seeded
2 clovesgarlic and a small bunch of parsley, chopped
1 tspred pepper flakes (pul biber), 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt and black pepper
2 tbspolive oil
To servelemon, parsley and sliced red onion

Method

Mix the dough ingredients and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then cover and leave for an hour until doubled.
Process the topping ingredients (from the meat to the oil) in a food processor in short pulses until it becomes a nearly smooth paste, and drain off any extra liquid.
Heat the oven to its highest temperature (250°C or more) with a heavy tray or a baking stone inside.
Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each on a floured surface into a very thin disc (about 2 mm, 22–25 cm across).
Spread a thin layer of the topping on each disc, right to the edges.
Bake the discs 6–8 minutes on the hot tray until the edges brown and the topping is cooked, while the edges stay soft.
Squeeze lemon over them, fill with parsley and onion, roll by hand and eat hot.

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