Lahmajun and Yogurt Sauce

These middle eastern meat and vegetable topped flat breads are well worth the time it takes to make them. They can be served as an appetizer, snack or combined with a salad and yogurt sauce - a complete meal. I have included my flat bread dough recipe here, but for a quicker version, you can use bought pizza dough. I have to warn you, however, that the homemade dough is much easier to stretch or roll out before applying the topping.

Lahmajun

1 medium	Red or Green pepper, diced
1 large	Onion, diced
½ cup	Chopped parsley
2 teaspoons	Crushed garlic
2 teaspoons	Paprika
2 teaspoons	Salt
1 teaspoon	Ground pepper
1 teaspoon	Dry mint (or 2-3 teaspoons fresh mint)
6-oz. can	Tomato paste
14.5 oz can	Diced tomatoes, drained (petite diced is best)
2 lbs.	Ground lamb or beef
1 recipe	Flat bread dough or 2 lbs. pizza dough*
Garnish	Yogurt or yogurt sauce

Combine first nine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
Add meat and mix thoroughly, but don't over-mix.
Roll out or stretch dough into disks about 5-6 inches wide. Spread about 1½ tablespoons of filling evenly over surface, almost to the edges of the dough. These are rather small lahmajun - for larger lahmajun, use bigger pieces of dough topped with more filling.
Bake on parchment lined or lightly oiled baking sheet at 400 °F for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of yogurt or yogurt sauce! Chobani yogurt is a great choice, either plain or in the sauce recipe.

*If using store store-bought dough, allow the dough to come to room temperature in the original packaging. Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide each pound of dough into 15 pieces (30 total). Round each piece, dust with flour, cover, and allow to rest and rise (about one and one-half times in size) before rolling or stretching in Step 3. Store bought dough can be very difficult to roll or stretch out and often yeast growth is inhibited due to the dough being frozen or refrigerated for a length of time. If you have the time, my Flat Bread Dough recipe (below) works great! For additioinal reference, see my Pizza Dough Page.

Yogurt Sauce

2 cups	Yogurt
½ cup	Diced cucumber, optional
1 large	Tomato diced, optional
2 tablespoons	Chopped green onions
1 tablespoon	Red wine vinegar
1 small clove	Garlic, minced
½ teaspoon	Dried mint (1 t. fresh)
½ teaspoon	Salt
¼ teaspoon	Pepper
1 tablespoon	Olive oil
¼ teaspoon	Cumin

Mix well, cover and refrigerate.
Garnish with chopped chives, green onions, or fresh mint, if desired.

Flat Bread Dough

yields 30 flat breads

½ cup	Water (90-100 °F)
2 teaspoons	Active dry yeast
1 teaspoon	Sugar
1½ lbs.	Bread flour (~4¾ cups)
2 teaspoons	Kosher salt
1 tablespoon	Olive oil
1¼ cups	Warm water

Sprinkle yeast on top of water, sprinkle sugar on yeast and stir gently. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Measure flour, salt and oil into a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir to incorporate. Scoop the dough onto table or countertop for kneading.
Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. Time will depend on the speed and force applied during the kneading process.
Round the dough and place back in bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.
Take dough out of bowl and divide into 30 pieces.
Round each piece, flour generously and cover. Let rest until risen 1½ times in size. Dough is ready to use.

For more information on yeast doughs, check out these articles on my blog: