1. Weigh it
2. Chop it
3. Toss it
4. Roll it
5. Press it
6. Bake it
7. Serve it
Lahmajoon (لحم بعجي, “meat with dough”) is an Armenian “personal pizza” made with very thin crust and a ground lamb topping. Here’s the recipe, transcribed by my mom and dictated by my Armenian grandmother, Gladys.
Serve with lemon juice on top, or a pickle, or put the whole salad on top and wrap it up in a blanket of lamb.
This is a fun process, but a bit time consuming. With three of us working full tilt, we made 20 lahmajoons in 2 hours. Yummy and well worth the time.
Holly
Looks more like an opportunity for three people to find an excuse for hanging out doin’ somethin’ together for a couple of hours.
This was fun to do. The photos actually skipped the removal of fat from
the lamb leg. I think I removed too much, actually, as when the lahmajoon
was broiling (to cook the topping), the characteristic sound of sizzling was missing. We learned a lot about it this time around. Holly is a much more experienced baker now and has some good ideas about the dough. This combination of pastry flour and all purpose was good, but it came out a bit stiff, which may have been my fault by cooking them till they were super well done (like I like my toast). The topping was real tasty but could’ve been even more spicy: more paprika, allspice, cayenne, black pepper and salt.
All in all, it was a big success and very delicious.
I like to have a good dill pickle handy when I eat Lahmajoon.
Holly wants to make this an annual Easter tradition.
Like I said, this was fun!
Yum! There’s a place near me that makes good lahmajun but I bet it’s even better homemade! I definitely want to give this a go – thanks for the recipe!
For 2 pounds of lamb, use twice the amount of dough as the original recipe calls for, and I’d recommend mostly all purpose flour, not pastry flour, as we used in our first attempt. Here’s my revised dough recipe (doubled):
2 pounds all purpose flour
2 C. warm water
1 T. salt
2 T. yeast
1/4 C. oil (canola, Crisco, maybe olive oil)
2 t. sugar
Mix them all together (I like the KitchenAide mixer). Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, then kneed it for about 5 minutes. Let it rise, covered for 2-3 hours to double in bulk. Divide the dough into 1.5 oz. pieces and set aside under a clothe in little balls for about 20 minutes while you heat your oven. Roll out each ball to about 6 or 7 inch diameter. Place two at a time on the baking sheet and top with about 2 T. of the meat mixture, spread out evenly. Bake at 450 until the bottoms of the pies are browning, then broil briefly to cook the tops. You really have to watch them or they’ll burn right up. Our smoke alarm kept going off as we were cooking them, adding to the excitement.
Also a little bit of “Sumac” powder will give your lahmacun an even better taste (powder available in most Arabic, Turkish and Indian stores). Te gudlol Tumenqe o lahmacun!
Just came across your blog after reading the (fantastic) head cheese post. Had my weekly lahmajun fix today at my fav turkish spot Mangal Kebab on Qns Blvd and 45th(ish).
But big props to you for actually making it. You thikn I can convince my Mom to make this? I could use the “my studio apt kitchen is soooo small” tactic.
Excellent, I’ll try this for sure!
Thanks for sharing!
You comment, “Lahmajoon (لحم بعجي, “meat with dough”) is an Armenian ‘personal pizza’ made with …” isn’t correct. “Lahmajoon” is a Middle Eastern food, it’s well known by the Turks, Arabs, Christians and Armenians alike who lived in the Middle East.
In the west, at a neighborhood with sizable Armenian community, it is commonly given the name “Armenian Pizza” because it’s easier for English speaking folks to say it and remember it vs. “Lahmajoon”.
It is all about the difference in spices the different countries use for the meat mixture as well as how finely the vegetables are chopped. Is it thick or thin crusted? Also a telling point of who (ethnic) made it. Armenian flavors are much more delicate than the Turkish flavors. So…..there you have it friends.
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