The Raw ↑ and The Cooked ↓
The Flat ↑ and The Folded ↓
Lahmacun "meat with dough" is a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (most commonly beef and/or lamb), minced vegetables and herbs, then baked. Lahmacun is often served wrapped around vegetables, including pickles, tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, and roasted eggplant. I like mine with tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, and tzaziki sauce. If you like Olga's, you'll love this.
Dough:
3/4 teaspoon dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
4 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground lamb, ground beef, or a combination of both
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kirmizi biber, or Aleppo pepper, or a combination of paprika and cayenne pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I usually skip the parsley)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
To Serve:
Sliced white onions
Sliced Tomatoes
Feta cheese
Tzaziki sauce
The Raw ↑ and The Cooked ↓
The Flat ↑ and The Folded ↓
Make the dough:
Place all the dough ingredients in a kitchenaid mixer and mix with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, place on an oiled cookie sheet, and cover with oiled plastic wrap.
Let rest 1 hour at room temp.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with a baking steel or baking stone inside.
Prepare the filling:
Melt the butter in a skillet, add the onion and saute until
softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Transfer onion mixture to a large bowl, add remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly with your fingertips. If mixture seems too dry, add a teaspoon of water.
Make the Lahmacuns:
Place a ball of dough on a piece of non-stick foil or parchment paper and smash it into a flat circle with oiled hands. It should end up about 1/8-inch thick. Spread the dough with a thin, even layer of the raw meat filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bake each one on the foil for 1 minute, then pull out the foil. Bake for another 2 - 4 minutes. The meat should be cooked and the dough should still be soft enough to fold.
Top with sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, feta cheese, and Tzaziki sauce.
Fold in half and enjoy!
The Johnson Family Cookbook