Lahmajun is a thin pizza eaten in the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean. Armenia is thought to be the origin of this traditional food. The thin dough is covered with a meat mixture rich in spices. The edges of the lahmajun get crispy in the oven and the middle is still slightly soft and warm. You can eat lahmajun just by itself but I like to accompany it a few different ways. One way is to squeeze fresh lemon juice on it right before you eat it. Another way is to add shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, onion, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then you roll it up and enjoy it as kind of a wrap. The third way is by dipping it in thick Greek yogurt. The spices work perfectly against the cool, refreshing Greek yogurt. Lahmajun is a healthier alternative to what we think of as pizza. There is much less fat in this food than regular pizza, and the dough is much thinner so.
Check out more delicious Egyptian recipes here!
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Photo Credit: Christine Dutton
Lahmajun Pizza (Egypt)
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
For the Filling
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/4 pound ground beef
- 1 tomato, grated
- 2 green peppers or sweet red peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- salt and pepper
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- dash of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp yogurt
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 tbsp tahini
Instructions
- Add yeast, sugar, olive oil, and warm milk to a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Sift flour into a large bowl. Add baking powder, warm water, and salt. Mix the flour with the yeast mixture into a ball of dough.
- Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onion, garlic, and meat and sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and peppers.
- Add pine nuts, salt, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon. Cook on medium low for 15 minutes.
- Add yogurt, pomegranate molasses, and tahini. Mix well and turn off the heat.
- Roll the dough into one large pizza or small individual pizzas. Add meat to the top of the prepared dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
About the Author: Koula Barydakis
