These Armenian meat pies are called lahmajoon and are made to order in Armenian neighborhood bakeries in Beirut. They are a bit spicy, the dough encasing them is almost paper-thin (similar to a Mexican flour tortilla) and tender with crisp edges; rolled up in a piece of paper and doused with fresh lemon juice these lahmajoon are served fresh out of the oven.
It is hard to eat just one.
If you want to save time, you can buy frozen bread dough or flour tortillas. I am using an all-purpose pita bread dough that is a snap to make.
DOUGH: Makes 25 to 30 pies
- 4 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp of dry yeast
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1 tsp of salt
- 3 tbsp of olive oil (more to coat the dough)
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
FILLING:
- 1 onion, chopped (6 oz)
- 1 green bell pepper (8 oz), chopped
- 1 1/2 pound mixture of ground lamb and ground beef (lean)
- 1 1/2 cup of minced parsley
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp of salt
- 6 cloves of garlic chopped and mashed
- 6 oz of tomato paste
- 3 oz of red pepper paste
- 2 heaping tbsp of hot paprika or chile powder
METHOD:
For the dough:
- Place the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in a small measuring cup; add 1/2 cup of warm water and stir. Place it in a cupboard for 15 minutes and let it proof; in the meantime, place the flour, salt and 2 teaspoons of sugar in the bowl of a mixer or processor. Mix to combine; when the yeast has bubbled, pour into the flour mixture with one cup of warm water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix for a few minutes until the dough is a compact, shiny mass. Transfer to a counter, and knead it vigorously for 10 seconds; form into a ball, place in a bowl with a bit of oil, coat it with the oil all over; cover with a damp cloth or a plastic and let it proof in the turned-off oven or in a cupboard for 2 hours or so.
For the filling:
- Chop the onion very fine and sprinkle with salt; place on a paper towel set on a sieve over a bowl and let it drain its water for thirty minutes or longer. This is an optional step. Place the meats in the bowl of a food processor, add the spices, paste, minced parsley, chopped bell pepper and drained onion and process into a paste a few seconds.
- Turn out the dough on the counter and press to de-gas it. Chop off about 25 small balls of dough and cover them with a damp cloth; take one ball at a time and roll it out into a pie shape keeping the crust very thin; spread the meat paste on it with a long spatula evenly to the edges; set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake in a 400F oven for about 8 minutes. Cool a few seconds, squeeze a half lemon on it and eat stuffed with fresh veggies if desired.
57 Comments
These look SO good, Joumana.
I don’t have any lamb or hamburger on hand, but I have heaps of kangaroo mince. I’ll have to see if that works. 
Frozen tortillas almost seen like an injustice for these, but not sure I could wait to devour them.
Oh look at that! How can I resist eating a whole one just on my own? Fantastic flavors. You make magic with bread Joumana
chow! Devaki@ weavethousandflavors
My mouth is watering! CRispy and rich and bright – these look amazing!
Love Lahmacun and I had some fabulous ones in Istanbul…wood burning ovens and each one was made to order!
The allspice surprised and delighted me. It added just the right nuance to this. I am afraid you are right – one would never be enough. I love how you take dough and meat and enchant.
I admire your talent of writing great, detailed recipes! What’s amazing is, they are so easy to follow:) Thanks a lot for sharing your talent.
The meat piues look very delicious.
Ah, ça, pour une fois, j’en ai déjà fait ! par contre, ce que je ne connais pas, c’est cette manière de mettre la salade dedans … Ce doit être encore meilleur. J’essaierai !
Bisous et bonne journée
Hélène
Mmm, those look delicious!
Too good…
This is very similar to the spicy lamb Turkish pizzas we used to buy in Paris and now sometimes make at home. And they are fabulous!!! We each manage to eat 2 or 3 dinner-plate sized pizzas they are so outrageously delicious! Now I have to make them again. Fabulous, Joumana.
Super tempting meat pie,makes me hungry..
Mmmhhh, that is a wonderful speciality! That recipe is so great.
Cheers,
Rosa
My mouth is watering early in the morning. Love Lahmacun!!
Another winner, thanks Joumana. I find it impossible to resist anything wrapped in carbs!
I can not think of anything more delicious!
Thank you very much for the recipe, and all Armenian food recipes, you are doing amizing job.
Joumana, I’ve bought this meat pies at the local Middle Eastern store…and they sure are very tasty…yours look awesome, and the pictures are just beautiful.
Hope you are having a fantastic week and thanks for this great recipe
As an Armenian born in Beirut in 1958 I love the occasional nod you throw to the diaspora of Armenians in Lebanon. I relocated to California in 1960 but I’ve always wanted to return to the country of my birth to see the beauty that my parents said was Lebanon of the 1950s. I grew up with all sorts of Armenian and Middle Eastern foods as part of my parents’ kitchen and the company of their assorted “old country” friends. For that I will always be thankful.
And thank YOU for this excellent blog. I am a restaurateur and coffeehouse owner who appreciates the wonderful recipes and commentary you provide to the cuisine that you are rightfully proud of…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meat pie made quite like this! You’re right…I wouldn’t be able to stop at one!
One meat pie could feed a small family! However, I do believe I could polish off one by myself… Thank you for including your recipe for all-purpose pita bread, too!
Joumama, I need a huge favor. I need a recipe for Semsemeya. Mon mari l’aime beaucoup. He just loves the real thing. Please help me out to make some. Thanks.
@Sonia: I posted the recipe a while back and it is fairly easy to make.http://www.tasteofbeirut.com/2009/11/sesame-candy-semsemiyeh/
wow those look pretty good!! a must try, I don’t think I’ve had the Armenian version yet!
I have never seen Armenian meat pies eaten this way but I love it. They SHOULD all be eaten with delicious crunchy veggies inside. Good stuff!!
wow.beautiful , I love armenian/turkish lahm ma ajjeen. they look like you took them to a wood oven..I can never manage get the dough so evenly golden baked, the underneath crust that is., with a conventonal home oven, btw our dough recipe is about the same….how did u do this? thank you in advance
Sensational! this is what I usually indulge in when I visit our local Armenian place. Love it Jou!
Yummy yummy! Love the savory toast twist. ANd really, what is more delicious than a meat pie? These make me hungry!
Cheers!
I have been looking for a thinner alternative to Mexican tortillas, so maybe your recipe is the key..Thanks! (and the rest is just marvellous! )
@Samir: I baked them at 400F and placed them on a silpat (silicone mat) or parchment paper. You can also try a BBQ grill, but watch it carefully!
It could also have to do with the filling: If you used chopped tomatoes, they would wet the dough and keep it from browning; you may add some flour to the filling in that case (about 1/2 cup of flour for 2 pounds of filling); also, did you add sugar to the dough? that helps it brown.
Joumana, this meat pie looks very delicious….& easy recipe too…Thanks for sharing.
Mmm…looks delicious! I used to have a Persian roommate who would make something similar, but she took a short cut and used pillsbury croissants. They were so good. I think of them every now and then, so this will be a nice recipe to try!
Yummy. Looks so delicious: I am hungry!
These look amazing! I also love how rich spicy flavors are juxtaposed with fresh vegetables and lemon juice.
J’appelle ça la pizza turque. Je rends à César ce qui lui appartient.
Je note. A tester dès que possible.
A très bientôt.
I have no intention of eating just one, and I can say that with absolute certainty.
Superbe cette recette on dirait une pizza sandwich…excellent !!!!
joumana- lovely post- we have an Lebanese-Armenian grocery store/bakery here in Toronto called Arz- they sell gorgeous lahmajoon in their baked goods section along with sfiha and khafeh- it is just utterly delicious. for those days when i cannot make it there- your recipe will come in handy. x shayma
we add suger but not that much ..a teaspoon only ..will add a tbsp as this recipe calls for..
A family favorite. I normally fry the meat before baking although this is not traditional. There’s a Turkish bakery nearby that makes pide, very similar except shaped into a boat.
Thanks for the recipe.
Je n’ai jamais testé mais j’adore les manger!!!!
Dès que je finis mon déménagement, je test ta recette
those look delicious and tasty !
A wonderful specialty… I’m drooling
Wow, I am definitely going to give these a try! It looks delicious!
Bonsoir joumanah! encore de jolies recettes!!
Tu sais j’ai fait pas mal de recherches il y’a longtemps sur cette fameuse pizza et je peux dire qu’elle n’est ni turque ni arménienne mais arabe!
tu parles surement l’arabe tu aurais du tilter sur la phonétique du mot
lahm = viande
ajin = pain
d’après mes recherches ca pourrait être probablement de syrie
@Gula: En arabe, on les appelle lahem bel-ajeen, mais on les fait différemment et les Arméniens du Liban la prépare de cette façon. Tu as raison, comme le nom est arabe, l’origine doit l’être aussi vraisemblablement!
I love this recipes, these look so good. It is almost lunchtime here and my stomach is growling. Love how every country has its version of this kind of food.
That looks amazing! I have to give them a go!
“En arabe, on les appelle lahem bel-ajeen, mais on les fait différemment”
How would I prepare this recipe differently were I to make it Lebanese-style? Is it just the dough that’s different, or are the seasonings different? Could you post a Lebanese recipe?
@Halim: I have posted the Lebanese sfeeha, in two different posts; the latest: http://www.tasteofbeirut.com/2011/05/lebanese-meat-pies-sfeeha/
3 Trackbacks
[...] recipe: Armenian Meat Pie (Lahmajoon) Hot out of the [...]
[...] on it, it can cost between $.75ish and $2.00!) So. Good. Also commonly known as Lebanese pizza, lahme bi ajeen is actually of Armenian origin, and is basically a flat meat pie made with very thin bread. It has [...]
[...] one occasion, our Professor asked the class to name some Jewish foods. One of the Syrian Jews said, lahm b ‘ajin. Ears perked and eyebrow kicked up to the crown of my head, I looked at him quizzically and said, [...]