A RECIPE FOR FLATBREAD, ARMENIAN STYLE
Examiner.com
0-Manchester-Ethnic-Foods-Examiner~y2009m8d17-Flat bread-Armenian-style
August 17, 2:30 PM
When the flatbread craze took hold a few years back it was nothing
new to the Armenian community who have always had their own version
of these tasty thin-crust treats. Lahmajun-or Armenian pizza as
non-Armenians (odars in the Armenian tongue) refer to it-is usually
only available at ethnic markets and specialty stores. The only ones
close to New Hampshire are located in Watertown, Massachusetts. The
round individual servings are sold in cake boxes 10 or 12 to a box
and will last for a few months in the freezer.
An successful experiment of sorts, this recipe for Lahmajun is an
updated version using fresh herbs and pre-made dough found frozen
or fresh in most supermarkets. It’s also a riff on Lydia Shire’s
delectable Lamb Pizza with Goat Cheese from her restaurant, Blue Sky
in York Beach, Maine.
This idea stemmed from a small amount of leftover ground lamb sitting
in the fridge unused after making Dolmas, the Armenian version of
stuffed veggies. Nothing went to waste and this meal turned out to be
truly inexpensive (about $4.89), partly due to the scant amount of
toppings that the thinness of the flatbread requires. The number of
people one flatbread can serve varies on how much people like pizza,
but it could serve 2, 3 or 4 with a yield of 8 square pieces.
Lahmajun Flatbread Recipe:
1 fresh dough ball for a 12" Pizza Flour 1 tsp vegetable oil 2 chopped
cloves garlic ½ white onion, ¼ in dice ¼ lb ground lamb 2 heaping tbs
tomato paste ½ tsp ground allspice ½ tsp cayenne pepper ¼ tsp cumin
Pinch salt and pinch freshly ground black pepper 1 ½ cups chopped
tomato ½ cup chopped basil ½ cup chopped mint 2 oz goat cheese,
crumbled into dime sized lumps Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With
floured hands stretch the dough ball into a long rectangle to fit
a floured 12 x 17 baking sheet. The edges will be a bit thicker and
it’s okay if the middle looks extremely thin. As long as there are
no holes, it will be fine. Place pan with dough in the refrigerator.
In a medium non-stick saute pan heat the vegetable oil on medium
high heat. Add garlic and onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until
garlic is golden. Add lamb, tomato paste, and spices, salt and pepper
and saute for about 10 minutes until meat is fully cooked. Remove
pan from heat and add tomato, basil and mint. Stir to blend and let
mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge and spread mixture thinly and evenly around
the flattened dough, leaving about 1 ½" of crust around the edge of
the dough. Place pan in middle rack of oven and after about 6 minutes
remove and drop lumps of goat cheese evenly around the pizza. Place
back into oven for another 6 minutes or until bottom is golden brown
and toppings are sufficiently cooked. Use a spatula to lift the edge
or crust to check the underside for doneness.
Cut into squares with a pizza cutter and serve with crushed red pepper.
Send comments or questions to Tracey Dewhurst at
[email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
