START TO FINISH: 25 minutes
MAKES: Two 10-inch pizzas
Lahmajoun is a meat-topped Armenian flatbread. After adding the ground meat to the food processor, pulse only three or four times, just until combined. Overworking the mixture will cause the meat to toughen. A generous scoop of Greek yogurt mixed with a few teaspoons of lemon juice and dolloped onto the baked pie is a delicious final flourish.
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
¼ cup chopped drained roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ pound 80 percent lean ground beef or ground lamb
Semolina flour, for dusting the pizza peel
2 pizza dough rounds (see here)
½ cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley, torn
At least 1 hour before baking, heat oven to 550°F (or 500°F if that’s your oven’s maximum temperature), with a baking steel or stone on the upper-middle rack.
In a food processor, pulse the onion until finely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add the peppers, tomato paste, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt, then process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the beef or lamb and pulse just until incorporated, 3 or 4 pulses.
Dust a baking peel, inverted baking sheet or rimless cookie sheet with semolina. Transfer the first dough round to the peel and, if needed, reshape into a 10-inch circle. Top with half of the meat mixture, leaving a ½-inch border at the edge. Bake until well browned, 7 to 10 minutes (9 to 12 minutes in a 500°F oven).
Using the peel, transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then top with half the parsley. Repeat with the second dough round and remaining meat mixture and parsley.