pizza

I love Middle Eastern food.  I found this recipe for lahmajoun aka middle eastern lamb pizza on the we[heart]food website. Chris and Lisa of  we[heart]food.com got it out of their Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen book and it is so good.  I have made it many times and all the Wilson children will eat it.  It makes enough to serve a normal family of 8-10 which equals one Wilson family of 5.

Lahmajoun aka Lamb Pizza

Ingredients:

• Dough:
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1 t. sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 t. salt
• 2 1/2 T. olive oil
• Topping:
• 2 T. olive oil
• 3 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 2 large tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
• 3 T. tomato paste
• 1/3 cup flat leaf italian parsley, chopped
• 2 T. mint, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 1 T. pomegranate molasses (or reduce unsweetened pom juice by 2/3)
• 1 T. lemon juice, fresh
• 1/2 t. allspice
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. coriander
• 1/4 t. cloves
• 1/4 t. cumin
• salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Toast pine nuts in a small saute pan over medium heat stirring constantly as the brown really, really fast!
2. Meat topping:
3. Cook the onions in the oil over medium heat until softened but not browned. Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl combine the lamb, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add the parsley, mint, pine nuts, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, spices and onions. Knead the mixture until thoroughly blended. Divide into 16 equal portions.
5. Make pizza dough:
6. Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water with the sugar. Let stand until yeast dissolves completely and the mixture becomes foamy.
7. I do this next part in my kitchenaid, combine the flour and salt and add the yeast mixture, 1/2 cup water and oil. Mix until dough is elastic. You can also knead by hand for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a draft free, warm spot in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a kitchen towel.Let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and divide into 16 equal pieces. Form each piece into a smooth ball, cover and let rest for 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface roll out each of the balls into an 1/8 inch thick circle. Arrange on large, pammed baking sheets and top each circle with a portion of the meat topping, spreading out evenly to the edge. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
8. Totally delicious!