Recipe: Little Meat Pizzas (Lahma Bi Ajeen)

LITTLE MEAT PIZZAS (LAHMA BI AJEEN)

"The dough recipe is one of a variety used to make the famous Arab "pizzas" variously called lahma bi ajeen and sfiha. It contains yogurt and olive oil and is soft and moist. Small pizzas make good finger food; large ones make and excellent snack. They can be made in advance and reheated."

FOR THE DOUGH:
1 cup warm yogurt
2 teaspoons dried yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup warm water
3 1/3 cups white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE MEAT AND TOMATO TOPPING:
1 large onion, peeled
1 1/4 pounds ground lamb
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses*
1 pound tomatoes, unpeeled, finely chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

To warm the yogurt, put the pot in a bowl or pan of hot, not boiling, water for about 1 hour.

Dissolve the yeast with sugar in the 1/4 cup of warm water and leave for 10 minutes, until it froths.

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and oil, then add the yeast mixture and just enough of the yogurt to make the dough hold together in a ball. Begin by mixing with a fork, the work with your hands. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Pour a drop of oil in the bowl and roll the dough around in it to grease it all over and prevent a dry skin from forming. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, until it has doubled in bulk.

TO MAKE THE TOPPING:
Finely chop the onion in the food processor and drain it of its juices. Put the meat, onion, garlic, allspice, salt, pepper and pomegranate molasses in a bowl. Mix well and work into a soft paste with hands. Then work in the tomato and pine nuts, if using. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE PIZZAS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with foil and grease foil with oil.

Punch down the risen dough and knead for 1 minute. Take lumps the size of a large walnut if making mini pizzas, or the size of an egg if making large ones, and roll out on a clean surface with a rolling pin. Do not flour these as the dough is very greasy and will not stick. Roll out into thin rounds about 1/8-inch thick and place on oiled sheets of foil on baking trays.

Take lumps of the topping mixture and spread thickly over each round of dough - go right up to the edges as the topping tends to shrink while the dough expands as it cooks.

Bake one tray at a time for 15 minutes, placing each on the top shelf.

Serve hot as an appetizer.

*Pomegranate molasses can be found at Middle Eastern and some specialty stores.

Makes about 20 small pizzas
From: Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden
Adapted from source: Ellen Sweets; The Denver Post, December 5, 2006