Taste of the Week: Vegan Turkish Lahmacun

Clare FM

On Thursday’s Morning Focus Alan Morrissey was joined by Paul Knapp, The Firefighting Chef, from Killaloe. This week Paul shared a delicious recipe for Vegan Turkish Lahmacun. Sometimes called 'Turkish pizza', this crispy flatbread topped with spiced vegan mincemeat is a popular street food across the Middle East and full of Eastern promises Quick and Simple 2 ingredient Flatbread (or you can use a tortilla/wrap for the more traditional thin and crispy lahmacun Ingredients 180g self-raising flour 120g plant-based yoghurt (I use alpro Greek) Method Mix your flour and yoghurt together until combined, then pop out on to a lightly floured work surface and kneed smooth , a few minutes should do. Now we can roll into a large sausage shape and divide into 8 balls . next we will roll each one out adding flour to prevent sticking , we want them approximately 5mm thick. Vegan Walnut and Lentil Mince Ingredients 160 g canned lentils 80 g walnuts 2 tomatoes, cut into pieces 1 tbsp tomato paste/sun dried tomato paste or 1 tsp of harissa paste ½ tsp of ground paprika ½ tsp of ground cumin Pepper and salt Method Drain the lentils and rinse well. Put the lentils together with the walnuts, tomatoes and tomato paste in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth mixture. Season with ground paprika, cumin, pepper and salt. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the “minced meat” for about 5 minutes until it is warm. Your vegan minced meat is ready to use in a recipe! Topping Ideas Sliced red onions Lemons Picked flat leaf parsley Tahini Yoghurt Tomato salad The Lahmacun Ingredients 1 roasted red pepper 1 large tomato 1 onion 2 garlic cloves handful parsley salt 1 tbsp sundried tomato or paste or another option is 1tsp of harissa paste Method Add all of your ingredients into a food processor and chop them up by pulsing the mixer until you have a small but chunky mix, check your flavours and seasoning and add more if desired. Now we can add our chunky lahmacun mixture in with our Vegan walnut mince and stir together, we should have a nicely spiced earthy mince , now we are ready to assemble Pre heat your oven to 190c fan gas mark 5. On a lightly oiled baking sheet or lined with parchment paper lay out your rolled out flatbread. And spoon over your lentil and walnut mix spreading it all over your bread. Pop into the preheated oven for 10 to 15 mins until the edges brown nicely. Once ready add toppings of sliced red onions, freshly squeezed lemon juice parsley and yogurt /tahini if you wish. Now all that’s left is to fold, roll eat and enjoy. Photo (c): Clare FM