Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie

This recipe is such a winner during ramadan. A simple fluffy and crispy dough topped with mince meat seasoned with spices and veggies. It can bet served as an appetizer or add some greens and it doubles up as a main course.

Ramadan is round the corner and I have a lot of fun but easy recipes coming at you, starting with this Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie, which is sponsored by Diamond Baking Paper. I must lay it out before I continue, whether you call it Lahmajeen, meat pie, Lahmadjo, Manoush. Lahmajun, pide, lahmacun, sfeeha, etc. the flavors and major components of this recipe are similar. Tell me in the comments what you call it?

This recipe is so simple and can be made ahead. It is perfect for gatherings and makes for a delicious meal. You don’t need much to make it and honestly, you can mix the dough ahead of time (the night before is best), the mince can be mixed and stored in the freezer – also you can use beef or lamb mince to make this recipe (I like to mix up a lager batch so I can have it stashed away in the freezer and make few extra cutlets as well). I have made a large pie but you could make individual ones as well.

What is Lahmajeen meat pie?

Traditionally found al over the middle east, if you have been to any middle eastern restaurant/cafe then you would know this meat pie. In Lebanon and other countries in the Levant, it is called Lahmajeen or sfeeha while in Turkey they call it lahmacun and in Armenia they call it Lahmadjo. Lahmajeen aka Lahm bi ajeen literalt translates to ‘meat in dough’. It is simply, bread and meat but filled with spices and a few veggies that are finely chopped. It is served like a pizza would be but much thinner dough and traditionally have no cheese, however today you can have it folded or served with various toppings.

What is a slab pie?

A slab pie is essentially a pie shaped to fit a rectangle baking tray, most often than not a sheet pan/halt sheet pan/quarter sheet pan size. It is served in the tray and can be sliced into pieces before serving. This is a stress free way of feeding and serving a crowd for gatherings.

What ingredients do you need to make this Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie?

Dough –

To make the dough we need all purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt, nigella seeds, yogurt, olive oil, water. It is a pretty basic dough recipe but the yogurt makes it incredibly tender and fluffy once baked so I wouldn’t skip it.

Mince meat –

Beef mince (80% meat 20% fat), red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, fresh parsley, jalapeños, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, paprika, cumin powder, cayenne pepper powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, salt. I like to serve this with olive oil, more pomegranate molasses, thinly sliced onions, feta cheese and crushed black pepper.

What equipment do you need to make this Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie?

To make the dough we need a mixing bowl and your hands. If you prefer using a stand mixer or a bread machine go ahead. It doesn’t take much effort to bring together so I like making git by hand. To mix the meat mixture I have used a food processor which works well but you can chop everything super fine with a knife and chopping board. I have baked the pie in a quarter sheet pan and this recipe yield two slab pies so you could bake it in a half sheet pan as well but my oven isn’t big enough to hold a half sheet pan tray. You need baking paper to line the tray this will ensure the bread doesn’t stick to the tray and easily releases from it once baked.

How to make this Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie?

Knead the dough and allow it to rest until doubled in volume, around 45 minutes. Make the filling mixture in the mean time but adding all the vegetables in the food processor and blending until coarse. Add the meat with remaining ingredients and blend again. Punch down the dough and divide into two pieces, line a baking tray with the baking paper and place one piece of dough, spread it out and gently add the meat on the top of the dough. Bake this at 180 deg C for 18-20 minutes until baked through.

Serving and storing this Lahmajeen Meat Slab Pie?

Once the pie is baked, serve it hot with sliced onions, more parsley, pomegranate molasses and feta. I like to cut it with a pair of scissors. You can serve it on its own s well but a little extra toppings not only looks pretty and inviting but makes the pie taste even more delicious. You can store the leftovers in the baking paper, in a zip lock bag or in an air tight container in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks. When ready to eat, cut into pieces and microwave until warm.

Looking for more Ramadan recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this Lahmajeen meat slab pie, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.

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