Sfiha

Sfiha (Lahm bi Ajin)

Levantine open-faced lamb pies from Lebanon: soft yeast dough rounds topped with spiced minced lamb, tomato and pine nuts, baked until the edges are blistered and the meat is just cooked. Finished with lemon and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses for the classic sweet-sour lift.

Prep

30 min

Cook

12 min

Total

42 min

Serves

6 (makes 12 sfiha)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz / about 2⅓ cups) bread flour, or all-purpose
• •1 tsp instant yeast
• •1 tsp fine salt
• •1 g (1 tsp) sugar
• •180 ml (¾ cup) warm water, about 38 °C / 100 °F
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• •400 g (14 oz) minced lamb, 20–25% fat for juicier pies; not lean
• •1 medium tomato, about 120 g, finely diced, seeds removed
• •1 small onion, about 80 g, very finely chopped
• •30 g (¼ cup) pine nuts, lightly toasted
• •2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra to serve
• •1 tbsp tomato paste
• •2 tsp ground allspice
• •1 tsp ground cinnamon
• •1 tsp ground black pepper
• •ground cumin, ½
• •1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• •1 clove garlic, crushed
• •1 tbsp lemon juice, plus a lemon wedge to serve
• •2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: stir yeast and sugar into the warm water and leave 5 minutes until foamy. Mix in flour, salt and olive oil to form a soft dough. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and rise 45–60 minutes, or until nearly doubled.
2. 2 Make the topping: in a bowl combine minced lamb, diced tomato, onion, garlic, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, salt, lemon juice and parsley. Mix only just until combined; overworking makes the meat pasty. Fold in the toasted pine nuts last.
3. 3 Preheat oven to 240 °C / 465 °F (230 °C fan). Line two trays with parchment or lightly oil them.
4. 4 Divide the dough into 12 pieces (about 40 g each). Roll each piece into a thin round about 12–14 cm / 5–5½ in across. The edges should be slightly thinner than the centre so the meat juices pool.
5. 5 Spread a generous tablespoon of the lamb mixture over each round, leaving a 1 cm / ½ in border. Press the meat down so it sits in an even layer.
6. 6 Bake 10–12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway, until the dough edges are blistered and golden and the lamb topping is just cooked through (no pink visible; juices run clear; internal temperature of the topping reaches at least 71 °C / 160 °F on an instant-read probe).
7. 7 Brush the hot crusts lightly with olive oil. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and an extra drizzle of pomegranate molasses.