Lahmajoon (Armenian Pizza)

Megan has decided that she wants pickles on everything. Not just sandwiches — everything. She put pickle slices on a piece of pizza last Thursday and I just watched it happen without saying a word because I am a supportive husband and also because she looked so pleased with herself that it would have been cruel to comment. I've read enough stuff online to know that pregnancy cravings are real and I take them seriously. I have restocked the dill pickle supply in this apartment three times in the past two weeks. We're good on pickles.

Her other craving is smoked meat, which works out perfectly because I have a smoker on the balcony and this is basically my origin story. I did a whole pork shoulder on Sunday — overnight smoke, apple wood, the kind of thing that takes commitment and patience and fills the whole block with a smell that makes your neighbors text you asking what you're doing. The pulled pork went into tacos Monday, into a hash with eggs Tuesday, and into a soup Wednesday. Megan ate the soup directly from the pot standing at the counter and said it was "the best thing anyone has ever made" which I'm choosing to believe is pregnancy talking but I'll take it.

Work at Lakefront has been good. We're dialing in the summer Wheat recipe and there's been good conversation about fall seasonals. I feel like I've been at this brewery long enough now that people ask my opinion on things and actually wait for the answer, which is a newer experience than I'd like to admit. Megan's at 22 weeks. Everything at the last appointment looked perfect. I held her hand and bounced my knee and it was great.

Megan’s pickle-on-pizza moment got me thinking about what makes a flatbread actually worth loading up — and the answer is always a deeply seasoned meat topping that can hold its own against whatever you pile on top of it. Lahmajoon is exactly that: a thin, crisp base covered edge-to-edge with spiced ground meat that comes out of the oven smelling almost as good as a pork shoulder at six in the morning. It’s not a smoked shoulder, but the warmth and the slow-building spice scratch the same itch, and I can tell you from recent experience that it pairs beautifully with pickles if that’s where the evening takes you.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min (includes rise) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water (about 110°F)
1 tbsp olive oil
Meat Topping
1 lb ground lamb (or 80/20 ground beef)
1 medium yellow onion, finely minced
1 small green bell pepper, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
To Serve
Lemon wedges
Fresh parsley leaves
Plain yogurt or sliced tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add warm water and olive oil and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until roughly doubled.
Prepare the meat topping. While dough rises, combine ground lamb, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, cumin, smoked paprika, allspice, cayenne, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the mixture is uniform and paste-like. Fold in the chopped parsley. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven. Place a baking stone or heavy sheet pan on the top rack of your oven. Preheat to 500°F (260°C) for at least 30 minutes.
Divide and roll the dough. Punch down the risen dough and divide into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a thin oval or round, roughly 8–10 inches across and no more than 1/8-inch thick. The thinner the better — you want crisp, not bready.
Top the flatbreads. Spread a thin, even layer of the meat mixture all the way to the edges of each round — about 3–4 tablespoons per flatbread. The meat layer should be thin enough that you can almost see the dough through it. This ensures it cooks through quickly and crisps rather than steams.
Bake. Working in batches, slide 2 flatbreads at a time onto the preheated baking stone or sheet pan. Bake for 7–9 minutes, until the edges are golden and the meat is cooked through and beginning to brown in spots.
Serve immediately. Lahmajoon is best straight from the oven. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top, scatter parsley leaves, and serve with yogurt or sliced tomatoes on the side. Roll them up like a wrap if you want the full street-food experience.

Nutrition (per serving)

Lahmajoon (Armenian Pizza) — When She Put Pickles on a Slice and I Didn’t Say a Word