Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza)
Traditional recipe
Who doesn’t love Lahmacun?
In the Netherlands, this Turkish Pizza is often served rolled up and loaded with döner kebab, garlic sauce, crisp iceberg lettuce, cheese, and cucumber. During our college years, we enjoyed it more times than we can count, especially after a long night out. Delicious, but today we’re making traditional Lahmacun.
This is a thin, crispy flatbread with a seasoned ground meat topping, traditionally eaten with a fresh salad of iceberg lettuce and parsley. We add a few extra vegetables, such as tomato, cucumber, and red onion, and secretly still serve it with cacik (or garlic sauce) and sambal or sriracha. But how you eat it is entirely up to you!
What exactly is lahmacun?
Lahmacun, often called “Turkish pizza,” is a true classic of Middle Eastern cuisine. The dish consists of a thin, crispy flatbread topped with a seasoned ground meat mixture combined with ingredients such as roasted bell pepper, tomato, red chili pepper, tomato paste, and spices like cumin and paprika. To make the meat topping, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until finely chopped and smooth.
Unlike traditional pizza, lahmacun isn’t made with cheese and has a lighter, fresher flavor. You can roll it up with a simple salad or eat it flat like a pizza with extra toppings of your choice. In Turkey, lahmacun is often served with lemon and fresh herbs for extra flavor.
Make it yourself: no stress!
Don’t worry about the dough going wrong, because this really is a very simple recipe. The dough doesn’t take much time to make and only needs to rise briefly. Then roll it out into thin, round pieces, spread a thin layer of the seasoned ground meat mixture over each one, and bake them in the oven.
Within minutes, you’ll have a delicious lahmacun on your plate. You can decide how large you want to make them: go for smaller, easy-to-handle portions or make one large one. And whether you roll it up and eat it like a wrap or simply serve it flat like an Italian pizza is entirely up to you!
Serving tips
Traditionally, lahmacun is eaten with a simple filling of fresh parsley, iceberg lettuce, and a squeeze of lemon juice. But if you want some extra flavor and texture, add some slices of tomato, cucumber, and red onion like we do. Want to make it even creamier? Serve it with fresh cacik (a Turkish yogurt and cucumber dip) or garlic sauce. And if you like some heat, a spoonful of sambal, sriracha or hot sauce works wonders!
Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Homemade Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza) with a thin, crispy flatbread and seasoned ground beef topping. A traditional Turkish recipe that’s easy to make at home.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 7 oz ground beef
- 1/2 oz fresh Italian parsley
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 roasted red bell peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 packet active dry yeast (0.25 oz)
- 1 onion (or shallot)
- 1 red chili pepper (such as a jalapeño)
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek (or Turkish) yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Combine 4 cups all-purpose flour with 1 packet active dry yeast (0.25 oz), 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, and about 1 1/4 cups milk to form a firm dough. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. In our stand mixer, this takes about 5 minutes.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the ball of dough in the center. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the topping. Add 7 oz ground beef or lamb to a food processor along with 1 shallot, 1 red chili pepper, 1 tomato, 2 garlic cloves, 2 roasted bell peppers, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil, and a generous handful of fresh parsley. Process until finely chopped and smooth.
- Divide the dough into 8 to 10 balls and use a rolling pin to roll each one into a very thin round. Spread a thin layer of the ground meat mixture over each one.
- Carefully fold the topped flatbread in half once and place it in a large skillet. Unfold it again and cook over medium heat, without oil, with the lid on for about 5 minutes. It’s done when the edges are no longer soft.
- Place the lahmacun on a plate and let cool. I always use 2 plates and alternate them as I stack the lahmacun. This keeps them from sticking together.
- Note: The lahmacun will be fairly firm and crisp when they come out of the pan. Once they have cooled, they will soften again and can be folded if desired. Simply reheat them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Fill a lahmacun with iceberg lettuce and parsley (traditional) and roll it up. Serve with cacik (or garlic sauce), sambal, and a lemon wedge if desired. We also add tomato, cucumber, and red onion to ours.
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
