Turkish pizza with chopped salad and herb tahini

SAMANTHA FERRARO

I watched the Turks walk around the old cobbled streets, bustling from the street food vendors with lahmacun in hand. Rolled up tightly and easy to eat on the go, from afar it kind of looks like a burrito.

As tradition states, lahmacun is commonly eaten with a sampling of toppings, including sliced raw onion, fresh herbs and a healthy splash of squeezed lemon.

I decided to modernise the recipe a bit. Instead of flatbread dough made from scratch, I used store-bought pizza dough, which worked beautifully! To add a bit more texture and contrast, my modern lahmacun is generously topped with chopped salad, a bright herb tahini dressing and an extra pinch of sumac and spicy red pepper.

Ingredients:

½ pound (.227 kg) pizza dough, at room temperature

¾ pound (.340 kg) ground beef or lamb (or mixture of both)

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon sumac

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried mint

Pinch of cayenne

1 tomato, roughly chopped and seeds removed

1 shallot, roughly chopped

Small bunch of fresh parsley and cilantro

1 bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the chopped salad:

2 cucumbers, peeled

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

A few fresh mint leaves, chopped

The juice of 1 lemon

Olive oil, for drizzling

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the herb tahini dressing:

½ cup tahini

Small bunch of fresh parsley and cilantro

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon cumin

Pinch of cayenne (optional)

1 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Water, for thinning out dressing

Additional toppings:

Sliced onion

Sumac

Lemon wedges

Directions:

First make the chopped salad. Chop tomato and cucumber to ½-inch (12.7 mm) pieces and add to bowl. Add the chopped mint, olive oil and spices and toss together. Set aside.

To make the tahini herb dressing, add everything except the water to a food processor and pulse to combine. Then add about ¼ cup of water to thin out consistency. It should be the same thickness as syrup and be pourable. Continue blending until everything is smooth and add more water if necessary. Taste for seasoning and set aside.

To make the lahmacun, in a large bowl, add the chopped meat and spices and mix together well. Then in a food processor, add the tomato, bell pepper, shallot, garlic and herbs, and pulse until blended well and it looks like a salsa. Remove and drain any excess moisture. Add the tomato mixture to the meat and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Next, divide pizza dough into 4 equal pieces, about 2 ounces (56.7 grams) each and roll out on a very floured surface with a rolling pin. Roll dough as thin as you can, or to about 8 – 9 inches (203 – 228 mm) in diameter.

Then take some of the meat mixture and use your hands to gently press the meat mixture evenly into the dough, leaving a shallow border.

You can either bake it in the oven, or cook it on the stovetop.

To bake:

Place lahmacun on baking sheet or pizza stone and bake at 450 degrees F for about 5 – 7 minutes or until meat and dough is fully cooked.

On the stovetop:

Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Place lahmacun in skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat mixture and dough is cooked through.

Once done, top with chopped salad, sliced onions, herb tahini dressing and serve with additional sumac and lemon wedges. (JTA via The Nosher)

Samantha Ferraro is the food blogger and photographer for The Little Ferraro Kitchen. She blogs about world cuisine recipes made easy.