Lahmacun (Turkish Ground Meat Flatbreads)

The owner of Öz Kilis Kebap Salonu, a restaurant in Istanbul famous for its lahmacun, has been making these crispy meat flatbreads in exactly the same way since he was a young boy and they are truly delicious. It is essential you cook these in a screaming hot oven and that you make sure to roll the dough out thinly enough. In a large mixing bowl combine the salt and flour and make a well in the centre. Mix the water with the sugar, yeast and oil and whisk until combined. Pour this mixture into the centre of a mixing bowl and using a wooden spoon or your hands mix together to form a rough dough.

Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Place back in the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave the dough in a warm place to rise for 50 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

Place the peppers and onion in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel, wrap this into a tight ball and squeeze over a sink to get rid of the majority of the liquid. Skipping this step will mean the topping will be too wet for the dough. Place the vegetables in a bowl with the lamb mince, parsley, coriander, cumin and chilli flakes. Season generously with salt and mix thoroughly to combine.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 225 degrees/gas 7. Punch down the risen dough and divide into four small balls or two large ones, depending how big you want your bases to be. Sprinkle the work surface with flour and roll out each ball as thin as possible.

Using a fork, spread the minced meat mixture in a thin layer over the top and spread right to the edges. Cook one flatbread at a time on the pizza stone for 10 minutes, or until the dough is crisp.

Serve the flatbreads straight out of the oven. Add a small handful of lettuce, some tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little parsley and roll up.