Lahm bi ajeen – Lebanese meat pie with sumac onion salad
Lahmacun is a Turkish flatbread topped with spiced minced meat and vegetables – lahm bi ajeen is its lesser-known Lebanese relation. Minced beef is spiced with Greenfields Lebanese 7 spice and sumac before being blitzed with onion, tomato, chilli and parsley, then spread on bread dough which is pleated around the edges to create an open-topped pie. Served with a red onion and parsley salad on the side, with Greenfields crispy fried onions, pine nuts and pomegranate molasses on top, it’s one of those wonderful, hearty things where one is never enough.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 500g of strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust
- 7g of dried yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 320ml of warm water
- 2 tbsp of olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- pomegranate molasses, to drizzle
- Greenfields Crispy Fried Onions, to garnish
- toasted pine nuts, to garnish
- pomegranate seeds, to garnish
Filling
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli, roughly chopped
- 600g of beef mince, 20% fat
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 1 1/2 tbsp of seven spice powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp of Greenfields Sumac
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
Salad
- 2 red onions, very finely sliced (ideally on a mandoline)
- 1 1/2 tbsp of Greenfields Sumac, plus extra to sprinkle
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Method
Begin by making the dough. Stir together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the warm water and olive oil, then mix at a medium speed for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be elastic and slightly tacky
- 500g of strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust
- 7g of dried yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 320ml of warm water
- 2 tbsp of olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, then cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes
Meanwhile, make the filling. Add the onion, tomatoes and chilli to a food processor and blitz into a coarse purée. Transfer the mixture to a fine sieve and drain away the excess liquid, pressing it lightly with the back of a spoon to give it a light squeeze
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli, roughly chopped
Return the mixture to the food processor along with the remaining ingredients and a good crack of black pepper. Blitz again until you have a smooth, cohesive paste – you really want to break down the mince. Transfer to the fridge to rest
- 600g of beef mince, 20% fat
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 1 1/2 tbsp of seven spice powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp of Greenfields Sumac
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
Preheat the oven to the highest temperature it will go, with a baking stone (or a heavy baking tray turned upside-down) inside. You want to get this base really hot, so ideally wait 30 minutes once the oven is up to temperature too
While you wait, make the onion salad. Combine all the ingredients (except the parsley) with a big pinch of salt and massage with your hands to help soften the onions a little. Stir through most of the parsley (reserving a little to garnish) and set aside
- 2 red onions, very finely sliced (ideally on a mandoline)
- 1 1/2 tbsp of Greenfields Sumac, plus extra to sprinkle
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Knock the risen dough back and divide into 8-10 pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball, then lightly flour your work surface. Roll each ball out into a 16-18cm circle. The dough should be very thin in the centre but then slightly thicker around the edges
Spread a thin, even layer of the beef mixture over each circle, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Pleat the edges by gently pinching and folding the border all the way around, forming shallow crimps (like you would a galette). This creates a raised rim without enclosing the topping
Cook the pies in batches on the hot baking stone/tray (use baking paper as a barrier if you’re worried about them sticking. They should take 8-10 minutes depending on the heat of your oven – they’re ready when the base is crisp and the pleated edges are lightly golden
Remove from the oven and drizzle with pomegranate molasses and olive oil, then scatter over the crispy onions, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds with the onion salad on the side. Finish with a final scattering of the reserved parsley
- pomegranate molasses, to drizzle
- Greenfields Crispy Fried Onions, to garnish
- toasted pine nuts, to garnish
- pomegranate seeds, to garnish
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