Armenian Pizza (Lahmajoon)

A Stack of Lahmajoon

Sunday evening, just as I had ended participating in the retreat, neighbor S called to wish me for Mother's Day and to ask me if I would like to have some lahmajoon (also known as Armenian pizza) that she and her mother had made.  This something I have had before and have enjoyed, so, of course I said, "Yes, please, I'd love to have some".  A few minutes later, her older daughter brought me a whole stack of them!  They smelled wonderful (even Dancer came and meowed to ask what smelled so good and could he have some, too - the answer was, "No", and he didn't like that, one little bit!) and I was very hungry, so, I had two of them right away, for an early dinner! 

On Monday, I called S and thanked her, again, for the delicious meal and asked her for the recipe.  As with most ethnic recipes, she gave me approximations of the amounts of ingredients and gave me directions on how to make them.  So, every ingredient on the recipe below has an unwritten "about/approximately" in front of it! 

1 lb. ground turkey or beef
1/2 onion, diced and soaked in water for a few minutes to remove the strong taste/sweeten it and drained
2 cloves of garlic minced
some parsley
1 tomato, diced
1 bell pepper (optional), diced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 tbsp pomegranate molasses ("more than half a spoon, but, not quite a whole spoon")
salt
crushed Aleppo pepper (or paprika)
grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)

Mix everything together until well combined.  Spread some of the mixture in a thin layer on flat breads like pita or lavash (or tortillas), place on a baking tray and bake at 375F for about 7-10 minutes or so, checking every so often after the first 7 minutes to see if done to prevent the bread from getting burned. 

I have not made this yet, myself, but, I thought I'll share the recipe.  S said you can freeze them, but, I've been eating them for breakfast and late night snacks and there won't be anything left for freezing!  LOL!  I like them both cold, straight from the fridge, or warmed up in the microwave (or in a frying pan, which makes the bread a bit crispy). 

Thank you, S (and S's mom), for the delicious food and the recipe!  And thank you, S's daughter N for bringing me the food!  Much appreciated.

In the course of our conversation, yesterday, S asked me how I was and if I needed anything.  I asked her to let me know the next time she goes to the Armenian store.  She said she doesn't go to the grocery store, herself, but her husband and daughter do and she'll tell me the next time one of them goes.  About half an hour later, she called to tell me that her husband was going to the Armenian store and did I need anything!  LOL!  I barely had any time to think up a grocery list, but, I asked her to ask him to buy me some green beans (about 1 lb) and grapes if they had any (1-2 lbs) and, also, a package of frozen parathas (Indian flat bread).  She called me back to clarify if I wanted round green beans or flat (round, please) and what color grapes (red, please, if they had them, if not, any other type was also fine).  A short time later, her husband brought over the bag of groceries to me and I gave him the money for them.  Next time, I shall ask for a packet of red lentils, as the grocery store didn't have any available.  I have some red lentils for immediate use, but, dhal is a staple and it's something I like to have on hand.

Brunch: Lahmajoon

I am grateful for kind, generous, and helpful neighbors!  They are such a blessing to me!