I first came across the Turkish lamb pizza while working in a local takeaway a few years ago. The boss brought some downstairs, and I was hooked. Turkish pizza is also known as Lahmacun. It’s the same principle as a pizza, but the dough is made with milk, barely kneaded and left to prove for 2 hours before being rolled with a rolling pin until it’s a few millimetres thick.
It’s all about the lush savoury topping and less about the dough, so long as it rises, is rolled thin enough and left to crisp long enough – you’re on the right track! This is my own take on the original Turkish Lamb Pizza recipe given to me all those years ago. I have found it better to use lamb instead of beef mince topping, and I use rainbow peppercorns and paprika salt.
It’s best to make the meat mixture for the topping at least 24 hours in advance to allow the meat to marinate in all of the different flavours. I like it the traditional Turkish way, but my family prefers to eat it in traditional pizza form, with chips!
Appetizing Turkish Lamb Pizza
Ingredients
Topping Ingredients
500 grams ground lamb (minced lamb)- 2 small pimento
½ medium green pepper
2 medium sun-dried tomatoes
1 large onion
2 teaspoons paprika
1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds- 1 ½ teaspoon rainbow pepper - ground
- 2 teaspoons paprika
5 tablespoons olive oil
Dough Ingredients
5 cups all purpose flour (plain flour Australia and UK)
¼ pint milk
10 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar- 1 ½ tablespoon yeast - fast-acting
Instructions
Topping Instructions
- Put all the toppings into a food processor, and using the blade attachment, the result should be a smooth paste with the consistency of baby food.
- Transfer the mixture into a bowl and cover with cling film and leave to refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
Dough Instructions
- Add all the dough ingredients in a bowl to comboine and knead either by hand or with a dough hook attachment for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cover and leave to prove for 2 hours.
- Cut the dough into 8 balls and roll out with a rolling pin until approximately 2 to 5 millimetres thick.
- Top each dough base with a tablespoon or two of the meat mixture.
- Bake the pizza on a baking sheet in a hot oven gas mark 7 for 12 to 15 minutes until the base is crispy and the topping is browned.
