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“Fig & Olive Platter”
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground American lamb
- 1 large yellow onion, (chopped)
- 1 medium jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil , (plus more for brushing the flatbread)
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground 7-Spice
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo chili pepper( adjust spice level to your liking)
- 1 large tomato, (chopped)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
- Store-bought Flatbread or homemade flatbread
- 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts, (optional)
- Toasted sesame seeds, (optional)
Flatbread Ingredients
- 3 cups of All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup water, (warm)
- 1 packet of instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Flatbread
In a bowl or stand mixer, add the warm water, sugar or honey, salt and yeast. Mix and allow the mixture to bloom for 5 minutes until the edges get foamy around the edges.
Add the flour and using a wooden spoon, mix. Transfer the dough onto a clean well-floured surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes. (You might need to use1 additional tablespoon of flour while kneading the dough). The dough should be slightly sticky but soft.
Place the dough in a large bowl and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top and cover the dough with a plastic wrap and a tea towel. Place the bowl in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 8 pieces. The size depends on how big or small you want the flatbreads to be. Place the dough pieces on a floured pan, leaving some room between each piece and cover and allow to proof again for 15-30 minutes.
Middle Eastern Lamb Mixture
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and chopped jalapeno pepper for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the ground American lamb and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato paste, spices and stir. Cook the lamb on medium to high heat until it is just cooked through (or until ground lamb reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F), and the liquid released from the lamb evaporates. This takes about 6 minutes. Note: the lamb will finish cooking in the oven so try not to overcook the lamb.
Add the tomatoes and stir. Remove from the heat and then add the finely chopped parsley and stir. Taste and add additional seasoning to your liking.
Add the toasted pine nuts and stir. ( this is optional)
Middle Eastern Lamb Flatbread:
Place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Try and preheat the stone for at least 30 minutes.
Lightly flour a clean surface, begin rolling out one piece of dough into a medium size circle. If you start to notice that the dough is not stretching well, cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rest for a couple of minutes to relax the gluten.
Continue this step with the remaining pieces of dough. Note: Make sure to keep every stretched dough covered well to prevent it from drying out. This is very important. You do not want the dough to dry out.
Once you have rolled out the dough, place it on parchment paper. Note: I baked three flatbreads at a time. This depends on how large your baking stone is.
Place two or three doughs on parchment paper. Brush some olive oil along the edges of the dough and sprinkle some sesame seeds. Top the top with the lamb mixture, and using the back of the spoon press it into the dough a little.
Drizzle olive oil and place in the oven to cook for 10 minutes or until golden around the edges and bottom.
Once baked, place it on a wire rack or wooden board and garnish with some fresh chopped parsley. Slice into pieces and enjoy!
The USDA recommends that lamb reach an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F with a 3-minute rest.

