Somebody requested an Armenian recipe for a sort of "Pizza", I hope this
is it! This recipe is from Jeff Smith's book "The Frugal Gourmet - On
Our Immigrant Ancestors."
Armenian Meat Pies (Lehmejun)
Meat pie filling :
1 pound finely ground lean beef
1 14-oz can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed
1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, cored and finely chopped
1 tsp. peeled and minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
Mix all together and set aside.
The Dough:
1 pkg. quick-rising yeast
1 cup warm water (about 105 degrees F)
1 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Dissolve the yeast in the water in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in
the olive oil, sugar, salt, and 1-1/2 cups of the flour. Mix the dough
for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Knead in the remaining 1-1/4 cups of
the flour, using the dough hook, and knead until smooth. If you do not
have a powerful machine, such as a Kitchen Aid, then you should knead in
this last bit of flour by hand. Knead until the dough is very smooth and
elastic, about 10 minutes by machine, 20 minutes by hand.
Place the dough on a plastic counter and cover with a large stainless
steel bowl. Allow to double in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
Punch the dough down and shape into 12 balls. Use 4 balls at a time,
placing the remaining balls in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured
surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle. Do not roll too thin.
Arrange circles on two large, lightly greased baking sheets. Allow the
dough to rise slightly. Cover the entire surface with a thin layer of the
meat mixture, spreading it to about 1/4 inch from the edge. Bake at 375
degrees F about 25 to 35 minutes. Do the same with the remaining balls.
Source: rec.food.recipes
