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| The first batch: tomato paste underneath and plain lamb mince on top |
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| Roasted red pepper sauce - delicious and sweet |
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| The second version - delicious and sweet. |
I had an almost genuine holiday.
Holidays have been
kind of lame since having children. They are not holidays as I remember
them, often they are an exercise in trying to entertain tired children
in an unfamiliar locale with less resources than usual. A 'holiday' in
Rotorua earlier in the year while my husband attended a conference
ended with tearfully trying to find an open chemist on a Sunday morning
for nits shampoo on four hours of broken sleep. Turns out the baby was
coming down with campylobacter while my oldest had her first case of
nits since starting school. My husband left the conference early, I
napped wearing earplugs for two hours then, with greatly restored
humour, we went luging.
So I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going up to Auckland recently for a few days while my husband participated in a marathon.
It was actually quite a decent break.
I
felt no more or less rested than usual, but I did a lot less cooking
and no driving whatsoever. This left me feeling more relaxed at least
and I came back with a more enthusiastic approach to family dinners.
Our
last meal in Auckland was at a Turkish restaurant. It was a bit
chaotic as the baby was grumpy and I was in pain due to an ill-timed ear
infection (blocked ears and flying, bleurgh). The meal, Lahmucan, was
delicious and one I felt that I could easily replicate at home. We have
pizza once a week and although it is an easy meal I find myself a little
bored with it. Lahmucan, Turkish-style pizza, is based on lamb mince
and a red pepper sauce. The version I ate was dairy free, but I have
seen other versions online with feta.
The mince mixture
made enough for two batches of pizza. Because I was experimenting we
had two versions over two different nights. I like both versions for
different reasons. The first version was pizza dough spread with tomato
paste and the lamb mixture very thickly covering the dough. The second
version I added all of the red pepper sauce to the remaining lamb
mixture, with a tablespoon of added tomato paste. I spread this a
little more thinly across the dough. Your choice! My internet research
indicates the second version is more authentic, the first version is
closer to the one I tasted at the restaurant in Auckland.
Lahmucan
Roasted red pepper sauce
Two red capsicums
Three cloves of garlic
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Cut
the capsicums in half and place, cut side up, in a roasting dish. Add
the garlic and then drizzle with a little olive oil. Add a little
sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast at 200C for about 40mins. Remove
from the oven and, when cool, blend the capsicum in a food processor or
blender until smooth.
This sauce is sweet and delicious. I'm thinking of roasting and puréeing capsicums most weeks through summer to add to meals.
Lamb mince
400g lamb mince
2 TBSP pine nuts
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
Sweat
the onion and garlic in a little oil until clear and soft. Add the
lamb mince and cook until well browned and broken into small grains.
Sprinkle with the spices and pine nuts and cook for five more minutes.
Set aside.
Other ingredients:
A very generous handful of fresh Italian parsley
One lemon
Half a cup of tomato paste.
One batch of pizza dough (One batch makes three large pizzas)
Version one: Lamb mince only
Preheat
the oven to 220C for at least half an hour. Put an oven tray or pizza
stone in the oven to heat. Roll half of the dough out as thinly as you
can on a sheet of baking paper and spread with tomato paste. Thickly
cover with the lamb mince then transfer the pizza to the oven and bake
until the dough is crispy. When the pizza is out of the oven squeeze a
generous amount of juice from half a lemon over the top, sprinkle with
parsley and serve.
Version two: Roasted red pepper and lamb mince
Preheat
the oven to 220C for at least half an hour. Put an oven tray or
pizza stone in the oven to heat. Roll half of the dough out as thinly
as you can. Mix all of the red pepper sauce with the lamb mince mixture
and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Thickly cover the dough with the
lamb and pepper mixture and then bake until the dough is crispy. When
the pizza is out of
the oven squeeze a generous amount of juice from half a lemon over the
top, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
