Lahmahjoon Pizza Food

ARMENIAN PIZZAS (LAHMAHJOON)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Season lamb with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper and stir until just beginning to brown. Stir in the cumin, turmeric, paprika, and fenugreek.
• Immediately add the ground lamb. Squeeze lemon wedge over lamb, and drop the peel into the mixture. Break up the meat and stir until it has browned. Remove lemon peel.
• Stir in the tomatoes, ketchup, and parsley. Continue to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be spreadable but not too wet or the pitas will become soggy.
• Arrange pitas on a large baking sheet unless you are baking them directly on the oven rack. Spoon meat mixture onto pitas and smooth into an even layer to within 1/8 inch of the edge of the pita. Sprinkle feta cheese on the meat mixture.
• Bake pitas until the edges are slightly crisp and meat is lightly browned but not dried out, about 10 to 20 minutes depending on whether pitas are on a baking sheet or on the oven rack. Squeeze lime lightly over the top, sprinkle with chopped mint and enjoy!

ARMENIAN PIZZA (AKA LAHMAJOON)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pulse the garlic in a food processor to mince it. Add the onion and pulse to chop, then add the green pepper and pulse to chop. Add the lamb, tomato paste, tomatoes, parsley, cumin, cayenne, and salt and pepper; process until everything is very well chopped. The consistency should be wet and pasty, like hummus. Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture onto flour tortillas all the way to the edge. Bake directly on the oven rack for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the meat is cooked through. If the tortilla begins to inflate in the oven, pop it with a fork from the top. To serve, squeeze some lemon over the top, fold the pizza into quarters, and eat out of hand.

ARMENIAN PIZZA - LAHMAJOUN

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except tortillas together in a large bowl.
• Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Spread meat mixture thinly on each tortilla.
• Bake on large cookie sheets at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

MAMA'S LAHMAJOON (LAGH-MA-JUN)

Steps:

• For the dough: Bloom the yeast in the warm water for 5 minutes until foam appears. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, then add the sugar and salt, mix with a spatula. Create a well in the center and pour in the oil and the bloomed yeast. Fold together all ingredients until combined.
• Rub hands with a little vegetable oil and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes the dough should be smooth and thick. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof for 2 1/2 hours.
• Once risen, punch it down, divide the dough into 13 egg-sized balls, and roll each by hand. Roll each ball with a rolling pin into 7 or 8-inch diameter cakes, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• For the meat topping: combine meat, tomato paste, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, mint, and allspice in a bowl.
• In a food processor, pulse onion and fresh garlic until it has a thick-chunky texture, then add to meat mixture. Next add the bell pepper, jalapeno, and parsley to the food processor and pulse just until fine, then add to meat and onion mixture.
• Lastly, add the tomatoes to the food processor, puree, and then add to meat mixture. Mix well by hand or spatula. Let mixture marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 hours.
• Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture, about 2 ounces, on to each cake and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and edges of dough start to brown. To serve, stack the cakes on top of each other in a tower. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top, followed by a dollop of plain yogurt, roll up like a wrap and eat. Repeat with remaining cakes.

LAHMAHJOON PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add lamb and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain fat. Wipe out the pan; return the meat and shallots to the pan and stir in tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes. Add parsley, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, salt and pepper and stir to coat; remove from the heat.
• Preheat grill to low. (For charcoal grilling or an oven variation, see below.).
• Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel or large baking sheet. Roll out the dough (see Tip) and transfer it to the prepared peel or baking sheet, making sure the underside of the dough is completely coated with cornmeal.
• Slide the crust onto the grill rack; close the lid. Cook until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread the lamb mixture on the crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with feta and pine nuts.
• Close the lid again and grill until the toppings are hot and the bottom of the crust has browned, about 8 minutes.

LAHMAHJOON (ARMENIAN PIZZA)

Steps:

• Place ground lamb in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and break into small pieces until mostly browned. Drain any excess grease. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste, then season with parsley, basil, mint, cumin, and if using, cayenne. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate overnight to blend the flavors.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Distribute the lamb mixture evenly over the tortillas, and spread out to the edges. Place the tortillas onto a baking sheet.
• Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and place the lahmahjoons onto a large piece of aluminum foil so that two of them are meat side to meat side, then stack the pairs together, and bring the foil up over the top to keep warm. These can be served hot or cold. Cut into small wedges.

FOREVERMAMA'S ARMENIAN LAHMAJOUN PIZZA'S

Steps:

• Heat skillet over medium-high heat, add lamb or combination of lamb and beef to hot skillet. Cook to almost through, breaking up pieces.
• Place meat mixture into a sieve to drain fat.
• To same skillet that beef was cooked in, add oil. To hot skillet add the onions and bell peppers. Stir and cook until onion is translucent and bell peppers are almost browned. Add garlic and cook through until just gold and flavor has been imparted, being careful not to burn garlic. Add drained meat mixture and mix through.
• Stir in can of diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add cilantro, basil, mint and all remaining spices. Simmer until it is thickened but not too dry.
• Remove from heat, cool. To meld flavors, it is best to store in refrigerator overnight. I have also used it on the pizza's without the overnight refrigeration.
• Divide each 1 lb dough into 4 equal parts. Roll dough to a 6 - 8 " diameter pizza round. Place dough rounds on greased cookie sheets or stones. Dust with cornmeal or flour.
• Preheat the oven to 425-degrees-Farhrenheit.
• Distribute meat mixture evenly over dough, spreading to the edges.
• Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until cooked through.
• Serve hot or at room temperature.
• These are great with a sprinkling of lemon juice after they've been baked. In Armenia it is typical to top with salad (I like it with arugula) and folding the dough over to form a pocket. My husband's family also tops with sliced American or muenster cheese (after it is baked), folding the dough over taco-style.

LAHMAJOON

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix active dry yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 cup warm water. Allow to stand approximately 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, 3 tablespoons shortening, remaining sugar, remaining water and the yeast preparation. Knead until smooth. Use the remaining shortening to remove any dough sticking to the sides of the bowl, and to remove dough from fingers. Cover with a towel and place in a warm location until doubled in size, about 2 to 3 hours.
• In a medium bowl, mix ground beef, tomatoes, onions, parsley, green bell pepper, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly flour a large baking sheet.
• On a lightly floured surface, form dough into 12 balls. Separate each ball in half. Roll halves into balls. Place balls on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to stand approximately 10 minutes.
• Roll balls into 7 inch diameter circles. Spread approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons meat mixture over each circle. Bake in the preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink and dough is lightly browned.