Vegetarian Lahmacun Recipe | Turkish Pizza | Cook's Hideout (2024)

Vegetarian Lahmacun Turkish version of Pizza with a soft, thin crust with just a little bit of cheese and chopped veggies. Perfect as on-the-go food.

My family loves Pizza. Both my kids have polar opposite tastes in food, but the only thing that both of them like is Pizza.

I am always looking for new pizza recipes, especially ones that are unique and different from what we get in pizza corners here in the US.

To that end, I have tried quite a few different pizza variations like these:

• Indian style vegetable pizza
• Quick beer crust pizza
• Detroit style pizza
• Pizza dough with semolina

Today, I have a delicious vegetarian Lahmacun from Turkey. It has a thin crust which is usually served and eaten folded. Amount of cheese used is much light compared to the American versions.

I made this for Bread Bakers event. Host for this month is lovely Karen who blogs at Karen's Kitchen Stories. Our theme for the month is "Middle Eastern Breads'.

I love middle eastern food and try new recipes all the time. I tried some amazing Middle Eastern breads in the past, like this Naan-e-barberi and thisPita bread.

Ingredients

Lahmacun is a thin crust pizza and is made with flour, instant yeast, salt, sugar, water and oil.

The delicious part of this pizza recipe is the toppings. They are light and do not weigh down the flatbread down.

Traditionally Turkish peynir is used as the cheese topping. If you have a Middle Eastern or International grocery close to you, look out for this cheese.

But good old grated mozzarella is a great alternate.

Eggs are an interesting addition to the topping. This is my family's favorite part. It gives the pizza an amazing texture and a delicious taste.

Instructions

Make the Dough:

• Combine flour, instant yeast, salt, sugar and water in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix and knead until a soft, pliable dough forms. Remove the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
• Dough should be almost doubled. Punch down lightly and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a thin oval.
• Place the rolled out pizzas on 2 baking sheets, cover and set aside to rest.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone in the oven. If you don't have one, then put a baking sheet to preheat.

Make the Fillings:

• In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, drained chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.
• In another bowl, mix the cheeses, parsley, salt, pepper and beaten egg (if using). Mix well to combine.

Make the Pizza:

• Try and stretch out the dough as thin as possible. Spread the tomato paste evenly over the lahmacun, taking it almost to the edges. Top it with the cheese mix.
• Slide the pizzas on the heated pizza store or baking sheet and bake for 7~9 minutes or until the base is cooked, but still soft and the cheese is bubbling.
• Remove from the oven and roll each one up while still hot and enjoy right away.

To make Vegan Lahmacun:

• Saute 2 diced onions in olive oil along with 3 garlic cloves. Add 1 diced green pepper and 3~4 chopped tomatoes and fry till the onions are brown.
• Mix about 1 cup of olive paste with 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon chili flakes and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Smear the olive paste on the rolled out flatbread and top it with fried veggies and bake until done. Then roll, wrap and Enjoy!!

Tips & Substitutions

• Substitute some of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour. I add about 1 cup of white whole-wheat flour in the dough.
• Substitute Feta cheese with more mozzarella cheese.
• Feel free to use your favorite toppings - just grated cheese is a great option. Or top with roasted/ grilled veggies.

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