Turkish Lahmacun

One bite of this crispy, meaty, lemony-herby rolled-up wonder and you'll be booking a flight to Istanbul (or just making it again next week).

Turkish Lahmacun

INGREDIENTS

For the dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast

½ teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup water ()

1 teaspoon salt

For the meat mixture

200 gr minced meat, half beef half lamb (you can use just lamb, beef or chicken as well.

Add half a teaspoon of butter if using just beef.

Add cumin, tomato paste and pepper paste to flavour if just using chicken.)

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

 50 gr  cured sausage (sucuk, chorizo, pepperoni, mortadella, pastrami, pancetta or bresaola)

6 tablespoons tomato puree

12 sprigs of parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon yogurt

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon isot (urfa pepper)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to its maximum heat, usually to 500 degrees.

Place a pizza stone, or baking steel, baking sheet or the back of a cast iron skillet in the oven to warm.

To make the dough, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, water, and the salt in a bowl and knead for 2 minutes.

When the dough becomes smooth and less sticky, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 10 minutes in a warm place.

Meanwhile, for the meat mixture, pulse the onions, garlic and sausage in a food processor until they become a paste.

In a bowl, mix the paste, minced meat, tomato puree, yogurt, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and the Urfa pepper.  The mixture should resemble a soft dough. If it's too dry, add a few of teaspoons of water to spread the mixture more easily.

Add in the parsley and give it a last mix.

To make the dough, divide the dough into 9 equal balls.

Dust the work surface and the rolling pin with flour and roll out the balls around 12 inches.

Spread a heaped tablespoon of mixture on the dough and slide the lahmacun onto the hot pan in the oven. Bake for about 2 minutes or until the edges are crispy and repeat with the rest.