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Lahm bi Ajeen

March 29, 2017 by Kathryn Pauline 3 Comments

If you’re been craving a homemade lahm bi ajeen that’s chewy, tangy, and packed with flavor, this recipe delivers. These crisp, thin, perfectly charred pies are brought to you by my cousin, Kris. His approach to food is part precision and part intuition. He’s spent years fine-tuning this recipe, balancing bold flavor with a dough that bakes up just right. And I’m so excited to be able to pass it along here.

Jump to the recipe if you’re ready to hit the pizza stone, or read on for a few tips and tricks.

What makes lahm bi ajeen special?

Lahm bi ajeen is often described as “Middle Eastern pizza,” but that comparison only gets you so far. Yes, both involve thin dough baked with toppings. But lahm bi ajeen flips the script.

Instead of layering on sauce and cheese, you mix the tomato base directly into the meat, skip the cheese entirely, and add bold ingredients like parsley, peppers, and the real game-changer: pomegranate molasses.

Why pomegranate is essential 🫡 (but also… how you can get away with substituting it 😳)

Pomegranate molasses is the heart of this dish. On its own, it’s shockingly tart, but when mixed into the meat, it adds a rich, sweet-sour brightness that cuts through the fat and deepens the flavor. It’s not a background note. It’s the thing that makes lahm bi ajeen taste like lahm bi ajeen.

And I’d say no substitutions, but I know some of you might want to make this without having pomegranate molasses on hand. While you can’t replicate the flavor without the real deal, you can do something similar by adding a drizzle of syrup like agave or maple and a dash of lemon juice. Is it pomegranate molasses? No. Does the resulting lahm bi ajeen taste 100% correct and exactly the same as if you used pomegranate molasses? Also no. But it adds a certain something similar, and it works do create something similar and good in a different way.

Where to find pomegranate molasses

If you’re going for it and making the recipe as written, you’re going to need to track down a bottle of pomegranate molasses. You’ll find it in the international aisle of some US supermarkets, although that can be hit and miss. Most Middle Eastern markets carry it, and it’s very easy to order online. While you can make your own, I recommend just buying it because homemade is usually much less tangy. And most recipes featuring pomegranate molasses are developed using the store-bought stuff.

The bottle should last for quite a while, but if you’re looking for ways to use it up (besides this recipe on repeat), here are some ideas:

  • A sweet-and-sour boost in salad dressings or marinades
  • Swirled into yogurt
  • Drizzled over veggies after roasting
  • As a marinade and glaze for grilled lamb
  • In cocktails or mocktails as a deeper more molassesey substitute for simple syrup
  • Drizzled over chocolate ice cream

Lahm bi ajeen shortcuts

  • Kris’s dough recipe is excellent, but you can totally use store-bought pizza dough if you’re looking for ways to save time.
  • Instead of chopping and mixing everything, you can use a food processor to chop the banana pepper, parsley, and onion, and then use it to bring the rest of the meat ingredients together.
  • Use a stand-mixer to knead the bread dough if you’re going the homemade route.
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Lahm bi Ajeen

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For an easier recipe, try this alternative

  • Total Time: between 4 and 26 hours
  • Yield: 8 small pies

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups room temperature water, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
  • 12 ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 5 ounces (1 cup) 00 flour (or substitute additional all purpose flour)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the meat mixture:

  • 1 pound 5 ounces lean, ground beef
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate paste/molasses (see ingredient note preceding the recipe)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 banana pepper, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
  • 1/2 small onion, minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste, if you prefer)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

To bake the pies:

  • Additional flour, for sprinkling
  • Semolina or cornmeal, for sprinkling
  • Ground meat mixture
  • Risen dough
  • Finishing salt

Instructions

  1. Make the dough: Proof the active dry yeast with the sugar and 1 cup of the water until the water looks a little foamy on top (about 5-10 minutes).
  2. Add the all purpose flour, 00 flour, and salt to a bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer, if you plan to knead by machine).
  3. Add the water/yeast/sugar mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together into a dry, shaggy mess.
  4. Gradually add a little of the remaining 1/2 cup of water at a time, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the whole thing comes into a dough ball. Do not use all of the water, unless you need it. If you use too much water, compensate with a little more flour; likewise, if the dough looks too dry, add a little more water and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb. The dough ball should not be too sticky or dry (somewhere in between is best). It should look a tiny bit firmer than store-bought pizza dough.
  5. Knead until the dough ball passes the window pane test. It should come together into an elastic ball that has a smooth surface. Kneading should take about 5-15 minutes by machine with a dough hook, or 10-20 minutes by hand. Pay more attention to the dough’s consistency than the time you’ve spent kneading.
  6. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, and then in the refrigerator overnight. If you don’t have time to wait overnight, you can let it rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (resting it in the refrigerator will help it develop a better flavor and texture).
  7. Make the meat mixture: Combine the ground beef, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, banana pepper, parsley, onion, salt, and pepper, being careful not to over-mix.
  8. Shape and bake the pies: Lightly flour a clean, food-safe work surface, use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and shape each chunk into a round ball.
  9. Place a pizza stone (or sheet pan) on the oven floor, move the oven racks up and out of the way, so you can easily access the pizza stone, and pre-heat the oven to 500° F.
  10. Roll each dough ball into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick. This is very thin, but not paper-thin (see above photos). To keep the round shape, rotate the disc about 90 degrees after each time you roll it out, and be sure to re-flour the surface every so often. Separate the discs with wax paper and let them rise for about 25 minutes.
  11. Divide the ground meat mixture into about 8 equal pieces.
  12. Sprinkle a pizza peel (or rimless sheet pan) with a tablespoon or two of semolina or cornmeal.
  13. Place a rolled-out disc of dough on the semolina/cornmeal.
  14. Put one of the pieces of meat on top of the dough disc. Work the meat into a thin, even layer over the dough, so that it doesn’t separate from the crust and shrink to the center as it cooks. Sprinkle with a little additional salt, if you’d like.
  15. Once the oven has preheated, use a quick motion to move the pie from the pizza peel onto the pizza stone. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat starts to brown and the bread is cooked through and starting to char. The dough should be crispy and chewy, like really good brick oven pizza.
  16. Repeat with the remaining 7 pies.

Notes

Kris’ dough recipe is phenomenal, but if you don’t have time and still want to make this recipe, feel free to use store-bought pizza dough. It won’t be quite the same, but it’ll still be delicious.

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Filed Under: bread, dairy free, dinner, every recipe, family recipes, lunch, main courses, meze Tagged With: beef, herbs, middle eastern, pomegranate molasses

dandelion greens | yarcah

March 26, 2017 by Kathryn Pauline Leave a Comment

A few years after my mom and her family immigrated to Chicago from Baghdad, when my mom was a little girl, they moved to a bigger apartment in Andersonville on Balmoral Avenue. But even though there was more space than they had before, there were still twelve people packed into the two flat. Every week, Baba would take my mom to the produce market on Randolph, where he’d pass for a restaurant owner to get good deals on produce. They’d bring home giant cases of lettuce, tomatoes, greens, and other produce, and the whole family would divide things up for the week. One week, when they brought home too many tomatoes, my mom and uncle Al packed up the extra ones in paper bags and went door to door selling them to the neighbors. And on weeks when they would bring home too many cases of dandelion greens, swiss chard, spinach, or romaine, they would make a big batch of yarcah.

Yarcah is just the Assyrian word for greens, and while cooking times vary from one vegetable to another, the idea is always the same: take something green and leafy, blanch it in boiling water until it wilts, and add it to some sauteéd onions and lemon juice. It’s very simple and quick to make, and results in perfectly cooked greens, which aren’t bitter in the least. You can even freeze the finished yarcah in quart-sized ziplock bags to have veggie sides ready to go for weeknight meals. If you’re planning on freezing the greens, you should cook them for about 3 minutes less than you would otherwise, since they will soften further through freezing and reheating.

Dandelion greens are my favorite greens to cook this way, since they tend to get very bitter without blanching. This recipe ensures that they turn out perfectly. The greens have so much flavor and such a lovely texture, especially if you leave in the tender parts of the stems. But feel free to use whatever greens you’d like, using the following guidelines:

Tender greens: spinach, romaine, and other tender greens do not need to be blanched in hot water. Instead, throw them in once the onions are done cooking, toss them around until they wilt (about 2 to 3 minutes), and add the lemon juice. Tender greens cook down a lot more than hearty greens, so you should scale back the amount of lemon juice accordingly (add half, taste, and adjust)
Medium greens: swiss chard, broccoli rabe, and dandelion greens are somewhere more in the middle. Use the recipe below the photos as a guide.
Tough greens: collards and kale need longer to cook. Cook them until they are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes for kale, and at least 40 minutes for collards.

The most important thing is to taste a piece every so often as you cook, just like when you make pasta and forget to set a timer.

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dandelion greens | yarcah

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  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup medium diced onion (from about half a medium onion)
  • Between 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), to taste *
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 pound roughly chopped dandelion greens, with the tough ends of the stems trimmed (from about 2 bunches)

Instructions

  1. Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large stockpot.
  2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a frying pan and add the onion.
  3. Cook the diced onion until it softens, turns translucent, and turns very slightly golden around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. Once it’s done, and add the lemon juice, heat until it starts to simmer, and immediately remove from heat.
  4. Boil the chopped dandelion greens for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on your preference for doneness. **
  5. Drain the greens over a sink, and wring them out by pressing them against the colander with a wooden spoon.
  6. Combine the cooked greens with the lemon juice and onion mixture.
  7. Season with salt, to taste (start with about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and go from there).

Notes

* I use the full 1/2 cup of lemon juice because I like more acidic greens, but if you want a mellower flavor, you can add closer to 1/3 cup. You can always add a little more, but it’s hard to take lemon juice away.

** The dandelion greens pictured here were cooked for 8 minutes, which yields a deeply green, slightly toothsome finished product. If you like brighter, even more al dente greens, cook them closer to 5 minutes (or even less). If you have very tender, small dandelion greens, you may need to cook them even less. If you’re using a different vegetable, see the chart above the lemon tree photos as a guide.

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Filed Under: dairy free, dinner, every recipe, family recipes, gluten free, lunch, side dishes, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: greens, lemon

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