Always our choice for the starter should we go for a sit-down kebab, lahmajun is often called Turkish pizza. But there’s no cheese involved, and the bread base is a much thinner affair. If you make your own pizza dough you can of course use it for lahmajun – just stretch it out a bit thinner than you normally would. In London (and anywhere with a good Turkish shop handy) you can buy the large, round pitta breads which the kebab shops use. Sorry, but the regular oval pittas just won’t cut it here. Serve the lahmajun with yoghurt and garlic sauce, and also a nice hot chilli sauce on the side.
01.
Ingredients
4 large, round Pitta Bread
100g Minced Lamb
1 small Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2tsp Aleppo Pepper
2tsp Parsley
1/4tsp ground Allspice
1tsp Smoked Paprika
1tbs Tomato Puree
02.
Method
Heat some olive oil in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes before adding the minced lamb. Keep on sauteeing for five minutes, and then add the herbs and spices, plus the tomato puree. Give the pan a good stir to get everything nicely amalgamated, then add a little water, just enough so the mince can cook for 15 minutes without drying out. After 15 mins set aside to cool.
Lay out the pitta breads and then spread the mince mixture thinly over them, as you would tomato sauce on a pizza, and drizzle with olive oil. Place in an oven heated to 180d for 5-10 minutes, and serve the lahmajun piping hot.
