Lahma bi Ajeen or Sfiha
These famous “Arab pizzas” are traditionally made with bread dough rolled out extremely thin. Make them with the dough on page 137 and use one and a half times the amount of filling given here. Or use store-bought frozen pastry, as described below. It is not the same, but the result is equally delicious. Serve the tarts as an appetizer, or as a snack meal accompanied by thick strained yogurt and salad.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 3-6
Ingredients
For the Filling
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the puff pastry into 6 pieces and roll each out thinly on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, cutting the corners so as to make rounds of about 7 inches in diameter. (This pastry shrinks quite a bit, and the tarts will turn out much smaller when baked.)
Step 2
Place the pastry rounds on oiled baking sheets or greaseproof or wax paper and brush the tops with half the egg white (this prevents the pastry from getting too soggy with juice). Bake them blind (without topping) in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes, until they puff up and are golden. Take them out, turn them over, brush the other side with the remaining egg white, and return to the oven for another 8 minutes, or until this side is crisp and lightly colored. Let them cool.
Step 3
Mix all the filling ingredients (make sure the onion is drained of its juices) and work very well with your hands to a soft, well-blended paste. Take lumps of the meat mixture and spread thickly over each pastry round.
Step 4
Place the filled tarts in the hot oven and bake 15 minutes.
Step 5
Serve hot.
Variations
Step 6
Omit the tomato paste and add 1/3 cup chopped parsley and 3 tablespoons pine nuts to the filling.
Step 7
For delicious Lebanese sfiha, mix the meat and onion (strained of its juice) with 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons pomegranate concentrate, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup pine nuts, and omit the other filling ingredients.
