Lahmacun Halloween Recipe

This Halloween we wanted to take the trick or treat tradition a little further and cook up a recipe that is sure to surprise your guests. So we took to the kitchen like a Chef Frankenstein and twisted the traditional pizza into a Lahmacun creation that will be sure to make hearts beat a little harder – or maybe not. Try out this new recipe at your Halloween party or with your kids and find out who is really in the holiday spirit!

Lahmacun is a Middle Eastern flatbread that consists of a mix of tomatoes, chilies, and meat. Our recipe may not be as traditional. Although the seasonings and flavor are the same, the meat we chose is a little more likely to cause a scare. We took out the traditional ground lamb and replaced it with pork heart.  While many people are scared to eat heart it is actually a very delicious muscle like any other part of the animal. I personally love heart, it’s lean with a rich flavor and best of all it is cheap. Have I sold you on the recipe yet… awesome… what’s that?... the other people you are eating with don’t want to eat heart. Don’t tell them, once its ground in no one will know. If you don’t want to lie to your friends and family then it looks like there will be more for you.

Lahmacun

• 2 pork hearts (about 1 ½ lbs)
• 4 small tomatoes
• ½ yellow onion
• 1 Serrano chili
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ bunch of parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3 lbs of store pizza dough portioned into 1/3 lbs balls

Prepare the hearts by removing the top vein that looks like a large white tube. Trim any excess fat from the outside of the hearts. Slice them vertically opening up the interior. Look for any larger connective tissue and trim away.

Cut the hearts into 1-inch chunks and place them in the freezer for 30-45 minutes to firm. While the hearts are in the freezer remove the seeds of the bell pepper and the Serrano. Cut the peppers into 1-inch pieces and put in a food processor. Quarter the tomatoes and add to the food processor along with the garlic and parsley. Pulse the vegetable mixture until you get a consistency similar to salsa.  Place the tomato mixture in a soup strainer and press with a spatula to remove excess liquid. Place the pieces of heart in a clean food processor and pulse it until you get a consistency of a slightly chunkier ground beef, about 10 pulses.  In a bowl combine the heart and tomato mixture with the spices, lemon juice, and salt.

Stretch the pizza dough out to 10-inch circles and spread the heart mixture across the top of the dough. Transfer dough to the oven and cook until the dough is light brown. Lahmacun is usually served with extra parsley over the top, a squeeze of lemon and then rolled into a tube.