Stranger Foods

TurkishLahmacun

Serves 8 | Prep 1 hr | Cook 15 mins

Often described as mini Turkish pizzas, these breads are traditionally fired up in seconds in the searing heat of a wood-fired oven. Topped with spicy minced lamb and herbs, they are great as a snack or a main meal. Making them in your own home isn’t a chore at all and you can achieve pretty spectacular results. This is great family food, although hold back on a little of the spicing if not everyone likes chilli heat.

Source: Persiana

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

For the dough

1 tsp caster sugar
2x 7 g sachets fast-action dried yeast, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
300 g strong white bread flour
1 tsp sea salt flakes, crushed
150 g Greek yogurt
50 ml olive oil, plus extra for brushing
lemon wedges, to serve

For the topping

250 g minced lamb
2 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp Turkish dried chilli flakes (Pul Biber) or 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (Pul Biber) or 2 red chillies
handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

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Add the sugar to the dissolved yeast and stir. Allow it to sit for about until it becomes frothy.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the sea salt flakes. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt with the olive oil until evenly mixed. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yogurt mixture, along with the yeast mixture. Work the flour into the liquid using your hands until a dough forms, then work the dough into a smooth ball, adding flour or a little splash of water if needed.
Knead the dough for , then allow it to rest for before kneading it again for . Repeat this process another 3 times, then return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave it to rest somewhere warm for a couple of hours until it doubles in size. Knock back the dough and divide it into 8 balls. Roll these out into roughly 15 cm diameter circles and brush with olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick baking paper.
To make the topping, put the lamb, tomatoes, onion, chilli, parsley and a generous amount of sea salt flakes and pepper into a large mixing bowl and work the mixture really well, pushing the meat through your fingers to break down the fibres. Turn out the mixture on to a chopping board and, using a large knife, chop it for several minutes until it resembles a paste.
Divide the topping into 8 portions and smear over each of the dough bases (you don’t need to cover the dough entirely). Place each on the prepared baking sheets and bake for , or until the dough is cooked and the crust begins to turn golden. Serve immediately with lemon wedges

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