Middle Eastern Pizza Recipes

MIDDLE EASTERN PITA PIZZAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Place pita breads in ungreased jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2x1 inch.
• Spread hummus on each pita bread. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top each pizza with onion, spinach, tomato and olives.

MIDDLE EASTERN PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic powder, sumac and tomatoes and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and stretch the pizza dough to fill the pan (it doesn't have to be perfect since this is a rustic pizza). Brush the dough with olive oil and bake until just golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cumin, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the eggplant is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Top the crust with 1 cup sauce, the mozzarella, eggplant mixture, caramelized onion, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes, brushing the crust with olive oil halfway through.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and brush the crust with olive oil again. Top the pizza with the mint.

MIDDLE-EASTERN LAMB PIZZA

Steps:

• In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine yeast, milk and egg and mix until combined. Add flour and mix on low until flour is nearly incorporated. Remove paddle and scrape clean. Replace paddle with dough hook; mix on medium-high 5-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Add salt and olive oil after about 2 minutes of mixing.
• Coat a large bowl with a little more olive oil. Transfer dough to bowl, turning over to coat the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until risen and puffy and about double its original volume, 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, reduce heat to medium, and cook until onions are meltingly soft. Add lamb, breaking up large chunks with the edge of a spoon, and cook until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, pepper and sumac. Add tomatoes, sugar, and mint. Cover and simmer until thickened. Adjust seasoning to taste; it should be really well-spiced, so add more pepper and/or cumin if needed.
• Preheat oven (preferably with a pizza stone) to 450°F . Coat a 12" pan with more olive oil; stretch the dough to cover the pan. Let stand 15 minutes until slightly puffed again. Spread the warm filling on top; it should not be too thick a layer. Let stand a further 15 minutes. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes, until golden and puffed. If filling appears to be drying out, cover with a piece of oiled parchment paper after 5-7 minutes.

MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB 'PIZZA'

Steps:

• Chop whole onion. Heat medium nonstick pan until it is very hot, reduce heat to medium-high and add oil. Saute onion until it begins to brown.
• Meanwhile, with food processor running, place the garlic through the feed tube and mince. Remove the fat from the lamb, add it to the food processor and grind. Remove to small bowl, and mix well with the sumac, hot red-pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper. When onion is soft, stir in the lamb to break it up and cook until it is brown. Set aside.
• Wash unpeeled cucumbers, and cut into cubes. Wash and chop the mint and cilantro. Add the cucumbers, mint and half the cilantro to the yogurt, and stir well.
• Heat two of the tortillas either directly over a small gas flame or by wrapping in aluminum foil and heating in toaster oven set at 400 degrees for about three minutes.
• Slice the tomatoes, and cut each slice into small wedges.
• To serve, spread 1/4 of the yogurt mixture on each of two tortillas. Top with 1/4 of the meat; then, top with 1/4 of the tomatoes and sprinkle with 1/4 of the remaining cilantro.
• Repeat with the remaining tortillas, yogurt, meat, tomatoes and cilantro.

MIDDLE EASTERN PIZZAS

Steps:

• Sift the flour into a bowl; beat together the egg, oil and milk and stir into the flour. Mix all the ingredients to form a soft dough; turn the mixture out onto a floured board and knead lightly shaping into a ball, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick pan, sauté the onions and garlic until they have just softened, then add the ground beef (or lamb or chicken) and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it is lightly browned; stir in the pinenuts, tomato paste, cumin, sumac, cinnamon and baby spinach leaves, and cook gently for another minute or two, or until the baby spinach leaves have just wilted, then set aside.
• Cut the pastry dough into 4 equal portions and roll out each portion into 30cm x 17cm ovals; spoon the filling over the pastry leaving a 21/2 cm edge.
• Fold the pastry edges over the edges of the filling leaving most of the filling exposed; and seal by twisting the pastry ends; brush the pastry with beaten egg and carefully place the pizzas onto a lightly greased baking tray.
• Bake the pizzas in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.
• Serve the pizzas with dollop of tzatziki.
• NOTES: Because something in tomato paste disagrees with me, when I've made these, I've used a well-drained can of tomatoes and added an Australian bush tomato spice which has a very tomatoey taste; and I've also added a teaspoon of lemon juice.