Masterpiece Recipes-Turkish Cuisine: Turkish Pizza

A very thin, crisp piece of flat bread is sparingly topped with a mixed mince of meat (usually lamb or beef) and some combination of tomato, onion, pepper and herbs. Lahmacun generally comes with a lemon wedge and varied assortments of herbs, pickles, tomato slices, hot peppers, onions and other garnishes served alongside. Diners top their flatbread as they like, rolls or folds it as necessary, and eats — with gusto. No mozzarella here. To enjoy this great taste, you don't have to be in a small but fancy restaurant in Turkey, here is the recipe:

Turkish Pizza - Lahmacun

Turkish Pizza - Lahmacun
Origin: Turkish
Difficulty: Moderate-Hard

Ingredients:

For dough:
-(Must) 500 gr or equivalently 1 Ibs all purpose flour
-(Must) 300 ml (about 1 1/3 cup) water
-(Must) 1 tsp sugar
-(Must) 1 tsp salt

For Topping
-(Must) 500 gr or equivalently 1 Ibs ground beef, at least %20 fat
-(Must) 2 large onions, grated
-(Must) 4 large tomatoes, grated
-(Must) 1 tbsp red pepper paste
-(Must) 1 tbsp tomato paste
-(Must) 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
-(Optional) 1/2 cups parsley, finely chopped
-(Optional) Salt, pepper

After baked
-(Optional) Lemon juice
-(Optional) Finely chopped parsley and green onions

Turkish Pizza - Lahmacun

Directions:

Lets begin with the dough. In a bowl or mixer combine all ingredients of dough, knead until dough forms a solid ball. If dough is sticky add additional flour, if dough is dry add more water, 1 tbsp at a time. If possible refrigerate the dough 3-4 hours or even better 1 day since it's unleavened.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients of topping. Knead until it's mixed well.

Preheat the oven to 250C or 480F. Separate the dough to small balls (30 gr each). Place a ball of dough on a floured surface and roll into a round, flat circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Place the round on the oiled, preheated baking sheets or tiles. Spread with a thin, even layer of the meat filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. The dough should still be soft enough to roll up.