You guys. I’d forgotten how delicious Lahmajoun is. It’s been over fifteen years since I enjoyed me some “Turkish pizza”.
One bite, though, and I was transported right back to the best kind of “fast food”: delicious, healthy, and easy to make at home.
Why is Lahmajoun the book-inspired recipe for A Botanist’s Guide to Tradition and Treachery?
A Botanist’s Guide to Tradition and Treachery takes place in Turkey. The book’s time period is one when people change before dinner and enjoy meals consisting of numeorus courses.
I very much doubt that main character Saffron Everleigh was served lahmajoun during her trip. (Though who knows since I DNF’d the book.)
However, lahmajoun seems like a dish that would have been served by a Turkish street vendor while Saffron explored the local market. It’s also an easy, on-the-go meal that the local dig workers might have eaten on their lunch breaks.
Plus… I just really wanted to make lahmajoun.
What in the world is Lahmajoun?
I’m guessing most of my readers haven’t heard of lahmajoun before. This delicious dish – also spelled “lahmaçun” – is also known as “Turkish pizza”.
It consists of very thin dough slathered in a meat, veggie, and spice mixture. It’s heavy on tomatoes and peppers, though you don’t have to make it spicy. (I don’t.)
In another life, way before I met and married Mr Tart, I dated a Turkish guy. He introduced me to a lot of Turkish cuisine, and my favorite meal was lahmajoun. I would get excited whenever he brought home the pizza box for dinner. Because, yes, even though it was Turkish pizza, the restaurant served it in Italian pizza boxes for carry-out.
Lahmajoun is the best “fast food” I’ve found. It’s fresh, filling, and full of healthy ingredients. It’s also something fun you can eat with your hands.
I don’t miss my ex, but I’ve definitely missed lahmajoun.
A historical and cultural note about Lahmajoun (because people might come at me)
There’s a good amount of debate (and shockingly rude comments) about whether lahmajoun is of Turkish or Armenian origin. While “lahmaçun” is the Turkish spelling, I’m referring to the dish in this post as the Armenian “lahmajoun”. Mostly for ease of spelling for English language readers, and for SEO purposes.
I’m also calling this a “Turkish pizza” because that’s how it was introduced to me. By a Turkish person. Who was from Turkey. If you don’t like this, come at my ex; don’t come at me.
What I love about Turkish Pizza
I love red meat dishes that use cinnamon and allspice. The richness of beef (or lamb) just pairs so well with those warm, fragrant spices that Americans usually only break out for pumpkin season or Christmas.
Lahmajoun mixture combines ground beef, fresh tomatoes, peppers, and various spices to create a unique flavor. It’s a little like tacos, but more. The ground cinnamon and allspice in there really perk up the depth of flavor.
Lahmajoun is so fun to eat. Once the lahmajoun is baked, you sprinkle it with fresh lemon, shredded lettuce, and sliced fresh tomatoes.
While you can eat your Turkish pizza any way you want, the way I was told to do it is to roll it up like you would a fruit roll-up. (remember those?!?! omggggg.) Then you take a huge, honkin’ bite. YUM.
How to make Lahamjoun at home
Since I’ve only ever eaten lahmajoun as take-out, I was a little nervous about making it from scratch at home.
Okay… making it mostly from scratch. Lamhajoun is traditionally made with homemade pita bread. I didn’t feel like doing this, so I used pre-packaged, store-bought flour tortillas that I would usually use for tacos. I stand by this short-cut and don’t regret it one bit.
Prepping the rest of the ingredients only takes about 10 minutes. Which is pretty much the time your oven needs to preheat. You spread the lahmajoun mixture in a verrrry thin layer over the tortilla. Like, paper-thin. It doesn’t have to be perfect, either. Totally okay to have some gaps in there.
Pop the lahamjoun into a screamin’ hot oven (just a regular oven – no pizza oven needed!). It bakes for 8-10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the tortilla is brown and crispy. Then you’re ready to eat. Easy-peasy.
What do you serve with Lahmajoun?
Lahmajoun is one of those “all in one” meals – you get your carbs, protein, and veggies all at the same time. If you’re looking for tasty sides, serve with a classic Shepherd’s Salad or Chickpea Shepherd’s Salad, or with some Lemon Spinach Basmati Rice. I also love lahmajoun with a drizzle of homemade tzatziki sauce.
Some great dessert choices are Berry Rose Shortbread Cookies, Raisin Rugelach, and Orange Walnut Bundt Cake.
If you’re looking for more recipes that use “wintry” warming spices in savory dishes, try Ground Beef Gyros, Sunday Night Chicken, Apple Cider Beef Stew, Chicken B’stilla Pie, Chickpea Burgers with Mint Tahini Carrow Slaw, and Autumn Farro Salad with Cinnamon Berry Vinaigrette.
Lahmajoun Turkish Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 fresh tomatoes chopped and seeds removed
- 1 shallot chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ red pepper chopped and seeds removed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 lb ground beef raw
- 6 large flour tortillas
- Lemon wedges optional, for serving
- Shredded lettuce optional, for serving
- Sliced fresh tomatoes optional, for serving
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray/oil and set aside.
- Roughly chop and de-seed the tomatoes and the red pepper. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the shallot and parsley. Set aside.
- Chop the lemon, lettuce, and extra tomatoes for serving, if using.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine the chopped tomatoes, red pepper, parsley, shallot, tomato paste, and spices in a large food processor. Pulse ingredients until you have a slightly chunky salsa-like mixture.
- Pour the veggie mixture into a large bowl. Use your hands or a spatula to mix the raw ground beef with the veggie mixture until you have a combined chunky paste.
- Place a flour tortilla on each prepared baking sheet. Use a spoon to gently spread a heaping 1/3 cup of the beef mixture in a paper-thin layer over a tortilla, leaving a “crust” around the edges like on a pizza. Repeat process with the second tortilla.
- Bake lahmajoun for 8-10 minutes at 450F, until the tortillas are browned along the edges and the meat mixture is browned and set. Remove lahmajoun from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
- Repeat process with remaining meat mixture and tortillas. You should be able to make about 6 lahmajoun.
- To serve: Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the baked lahmajoun. Sprinkle on some shredded lettuce and sliced tomato. Roll up the lahamjoun like a fruit roll-up and enjoy!
