I first came across the Turkish lamb pizza when I was 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 principal 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!
Turkish Lamb Pizza
Print RecipeIngredients
- Topping Ingredients
- 500 grams of lamb mince
- 2 pimento piquillo by Fragata
- 1/2 green pepper
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 large salad onion
- 2 teaspoons of red paprika powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground rainbow pepper
- 2 teaspoons of paprika salt
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- Dough Ingredients
- 5 cups of flour
- 1/4 pint of milk
- 10 tablespoons of oil
- 3 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of fast-acting yeast
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.
