Lahmacun, lahmajin, or lechmajun—however you hear it or pronounce it, the satisfaction on your palate is guaranteed and unforgettable.
A crispy, thin flatbread loaded with spicy, peppery minced meat, drenched in lemon and brightened by the freshness of parsley, lahmacun is a hearty delicacy with devoted fans.
You will often hear it called the “pizza of the East,” this Turkish minced-meat pie, yet lahmacun does not resemble anything you have tried in pizza or any Western-style open pie.
Lahmacun appears roughly 5,000 years ago in the Arab countries.
As happens with food, flavors “travel” with people, “take root” in new places, adapt to different conditions, make use of local ingredients, and take on a new form while still preserving the original idea in their “DNA.”
A thin flatbread made from very few and simple ingredients such as flour, water, and salt. Lamb and beef mince, peppers, tomato, and plenty of spices. That is how lahmacun began.
The Best Lahmacun
The best lahmacun I have ever tried was on the Asian side of Istanbul, in the Kadıköy district. On a narrow, lively street, Halil and the large staff of his shop make lahmacun right in front of you, and you can hardly believe how delicious and how cheap a dish can be.
Locals accompany it with ariani or ayran, a popular drink made from diluted yogurt with cold water and salt.
Excellent lahmacun can also be found in regions of Greece such as Komotini, as well as in shops run by Armenians, Turks, or Syrians.
But it is easy to make lahmacun at home. You have a very good recipe and no… excuse!
Ingredients for the Base
- 500 g strong flour (I used type 00, for pizza), but I also tried it with all-purpose flour and it worked well
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- lukewarm water, as much as it takes (about 220–240 ml)
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Ingredients for the Filling
- 500 g beef mince (or a mix of beef and lamb)
- 2 medium firm tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 dry onion
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- a few sprigs of parsley
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sumac
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- salt
Instructions
In a bowl, add the flour, then the salt and mix. Add the yeast as well and mix well.
Add the olive oil and gradually the water while you begin kneading.
We want a firm dough.
Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a floured work surface, then begin kneading it for about 2 minutes.
Place the dough back in the bowl, cover it, and let it rise. This will take about 1 hour.
Prepare the Filling by Hand
Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the stems off the tomatoes. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers.
Place the vegetables on a large cutting surface.
Using a large knife, cut all the vegetables into slices.
Then begin chopping them as finely as possible.
If you have a large pizza cutter or the herb-chopping tool (mezzaluna), it is even better to use that.
We want all the vegetables to become very finely chopped. You will notice that during chopping the vegetables spread out; gather them back together with the knife and continue chopping.
Add the parsley and continue chopping.
Add all the spices and the salt, add the mince onto the cutting board as well, and begin chopping the vegetables and mince together, mixing them very well with each other.
This helps all the ingredients combine better and makes the mixture juicy.
Add olive oil as well.
Add the tomato paste and continue chopping and mixing.
Transfer the mixture from the cutting board to a large bowl. Knead the mixture for a few minutes.
Set it aside.
Bring over the dough that has already risen.
Sprinkle a little flour on a work surface. Place the dough on it. Cut it into 6 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a clean towel and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
Rolling Out the Dough
Take each dough ball and roll it out with a rolling pin, or even with your fingers, into a round or oval shape. Try to make it quite thin.
Transfer the dough bases to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Spread a few spoonfuls of the meat mixture over the dough bases.
We want it to cover the entire surface of the dough discs, leaving only a very small border around the edges.
Bake the lahmacun in a preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes at 200°C.
We want the base to brown well and the mince to cook through.
When the lahmacun comes out of the oven, add finely chopped fresh parsley, lemon, and yogurt if desired.
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