Spice (22 page)

Chicken Lamejun with Roasted Peaches, Pistachio, and Sumac

In Turkey, chicken lamejun would be shocking because it is always made with lamb or beef or vegetable paste. It is not made at home, but in the local flatbread bakery, where it’s cooked over a wood fire. My version is not traditional, but it is simply delicious—especially as a light meal in the summertime.

I like to use lavash, which is a very thin bread, like a tortilla, for this recipe. Homemade pizza dough also works well (see the variation at the end of this recipe). You can find green or Jordanian za’atar at www.kalustyans.com; see page 230 for more about za’atar.

This lamejun can be eaten sliced in pieces like pizza or rolled up into a wrap with a dollop of yogurt. Peach season arrives at the end of the summer and continues into early September; see the Sweet Pepper Variation (below) when peaches are not in season.

This dish is wonderful with a glass of young Viognier from Condrieu in the Rhone Valley.

M
AKES 12 LAME
UN TO SERVE
12
AS AN APPETİZER OR LİGHT MEAL

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small Spanish onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 scallions, root end trimmed and finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, minced

1½ teaspoons sumac

¾ teaspoon za’atar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg white

⅓ cup heavy cream

1 cup lightly toasted, finely ground pistachios (see page 91)

4 rectangular pieces of lavash, about 18 inches long (or long rounds)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 peaches, halved and pits removed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup thick Greek yogurt for garnish

LAMEJUN

Lamejun
is a flatbread, like pizza, served in Turkey and Armenia, and made with spices, onion, and ground lamb that is finely chopped to a paste. I had my first lamejun with my friend Ayfer Unsal in her hometown of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey. We watched the village bakers chop the meat by hand to make a paste with onions, parsley, and chilies. They smoothed a thin layer on the flatbread dough and then cooked it in a wood-fired oven, while Ayfer and I stood there, salivating with anticipation.

With lamejun, the thinner the dough and topping, the better—just like a good Neapolitan-style (thin crust) pizza. The meat is raw when it goes into the dough before baking, and the flatbread absorbs all the meat juices as it bakes.

I like to get lamejun from my favorite store in Watertown, Massachusetts: Sevan Bakery, owned by the Chavushian family. The Chavushians are from Istanbul, and they make wonderfully thin—like tortillas—beef lamejun that I buy frozen and keep in my freezer for late-night or quick snacks. They are so light but satisfying, especially with some good Greek yogurt and plenty of sumac sprinkled on top.

1.
Place the chicken breasts, skinless side down, on a chopping board. Cut the breasts down the middle on one side of the thin cartilage that separates the breasts. Trim off the cartilage attached to the other breast and discard. Trim off any remaining pieces of cartilage or fat and cut into 2-inch chunks.

2.
Use a food processor fitted with a metal blade to grind the chicken to a paste until it comes together in a ball and becomes smooth and thick, about 1 minute. The mixture must get smooth enough or it will crack and break up as it cooks into the lavash or pizza dough.

3.
Using the pulse button on the food processor, incorporate the onion, scallions, red pepper, sumac, za’atar, salt, and egg white, until the vegetables and spices are thoroughly mixed into the paste, about six times on the pulse button.

4.
Place into a small mixing bowl, stir in the cream and pistachios, and set aside.

5.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

6.
Cut each lavash into 3 equal pieces, so you have six 5 × 6-inch rectangles. If your lavash is round or extra large, cut out six 5 × 6 or 5 × 7-inch rectangles. Set aside covered with plastic or tucked back inside the bag.

7.
Drizzle the olive oil onto a heavy baking sheet and place the peaches on the sheet with the cut side down. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the peaches in the oven for 12 minutes or until they are just soft and tender when poked with a knife. When cool, remove the skin using a paring knife. If the peaches are ripe and tender from being cooked, the skin should pull right off. Cut each peach half in 6 slices and set aside.

8.
Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each lavash and spread it as thinly as possible and as close to each corner as possible so the mixture coats the bread in an, even layer. If the mixture sticks to the spatula, dip the spatula into a little water or olive oil and continue spreading.

9.
Place the lamejuns on a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone and bake them for about 12 minutes or until they are crisp and the chicken mixture is cooked through. (To create a unique lamejun shape, see presentation variation below.)

10.
Top each lamejun with 2 slices of peach and a dollop of yogurt and serve hot.

Fresh Pizza Dough Variation

To are use fresh pizza dough in place of lavash, divide one recipe of manaaeesh dough (page 240) into 4 equal balls and roll them out, dusting with flour as you go, into thin rounds not thicker than ¼ inch. Preheat a gas grill to medium-high and par cook them for 3 minutes on each side. Then proceed with step 8 using 2/3 cup chicken mixture on each round. You can bake them in a preheated 425°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes on a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone.

Sweet Pepper Variation

When peaches are out of season, sweet peppers make a delicious variation to this recipe. Roast 2 bell peppers (see page 97). Top each baked lamejun with two strips of pepper.

Presentation Variation

If you’ve used lavash, place each lamejun in a 4-to 5-inch round casserole dish (such as a cazuela or a gratin dish), letting the sides hang over the top. Press the lamejun so that the middle is flat on the bottom. Drizzle each lamejun with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake for about 12 minutes until crisp and the chicken mixture is cooked through. Remove from the casserole dish, and you have a unique bowl-shaped lamejun. Continue with step 10.

ROASTING SWEET PEPPERS

Preheat the oven to 400°F and place red bell peppers on a lightly oiled heavy baking sheet. Roast the peppers for about 8 minutes or until they collapse. Remove them from the baking sheet and place them in a small bowl covered with plastic. Allow to steam for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin. Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and the stem. Cut each pepper into pieces and season the strips with salt and pepper to taste.

To Roast Peppers Over an Open Flame