Turkish lamb-stuffed flatbreads with cacik

These are like a Turkish inspired ‘pasty’ I’ve been meaning to attempt for ages from a long ago copy of Vogue’s ‘Entertaining and Travel’ magazine I picked up on my travels down under. They are like a lamb pasty but with a fresh, vibrant cooling yoghurt, called cacik which is a bit like tzatziki.

Makes 8 small or 6 larger pittas

  • 185g bread flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp dried yeast
  • pinch of toasted and crushed cumin seeds,
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 500g minced lamb
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 50g tomato puree
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 40g pie nuts, roasted
  • Bunch of coriander
  • 1 lemon, zest and wedges to serve

Cacik

  • 250g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped dill
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint
  • ½ garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  1. Begin with the cacik by combining all the ingredients with some salt and pepper and chill until needed.
  2. For the flatbread dough, sift the flour, baking powder, yeast, a large pinch of salt and the cumin seed into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add a splash of oil and 125ml of warm water and mix with a fork to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until elastic. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. To make the lamb filling, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the lamb and cook until browned. Add the spices, tomato puree, pomegranate molasses and 2 tbsp of water and cook for a few more minutes until fragrant.
  4. Add the pine nuts and a large handful of chopped coriander and the zest of 1 lemon.
  5. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  6. Divide the dough into 6 or 8 pieces and role thinly onto a floured surface into a rough circle shape.
  7. Place 1/8 or 1/6 of the mixture onto one side of the dough and brush a little water around the outside. Fold over and press the edges together gently to seal, squashing the pitta down to flatten it if you can without breaking it. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make about 6-8 ‘pasties’.
  8. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and heat a splash of olive oil. Fry the stuffed flatbreads, about 2 at a time, until golden. Place in the oven to keep warm and to heat through while you finish the rest.
  9. Scatter oven some extra coriander and serve with the cooling cacik and lemon wedges.

Made really small, these would make a great little canape or starter!

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