If you loved my viral smash dumpling tacos and the original smash burger tacos, this is the next one you’ll want to try.

Lahmacun, a Middle-Eastern classic is, essentially, a spiced meat mixture (usually with beef or lamb, spices like paprika and chilli, along with tomatoes, red bell peppers and parsley), pressed into a thin layer on top of a flatbread-esque dough and baked until crispy. It’s DELICIOUS and also felt perfect to adapt into a smash taco because it’s so similar to how it’s traditionally enjoyed anyway.

This is by no means a traditional lahmacun recipe! This is my twist using similar flavors and a different technique. But it’s quick, it’s easy, and PACKED with deliciousness.

I’m serving the tacos with a fiery, smoky red pepper dipping sauce and a fresh herby, lemony salad to cut through the meat and oh my goodness. These are very easy to eat and even easier to make. I’ll be dipping everything in that sauce, it’s truly so lovely (and uses a slightly divisive ingredient as the base but you’ll just have to trust me on this).

Ingredients

• Ground lamb (or beef). Choose between the two here (or use half and half). Try to use lean meat if you can – anything too fatty can make the pan quite greasy.
• Roasted red peppers. For ease, I use jarred roasted red peppers and they work perfectly. You can, of course, roast your own if you like, it’ll just take a lot longer to prep.
• Harissa paste. This is my little shortcut ingredient to maximum flavor. It’s a North African chili paste that uses ingredients often present in lahmacun (chili, paprika, cumin) and brings a tonne of flavor to anything, I always have some on hand. If you can’t find it, use more tomato paste and add 1 teaspoon of chili or red pepper flakes.
• Tomato paste.
• Herbs. You’ll need flat-leaf parsley for the lahmacun mixture itself, and I like to top the tacos with a flat-leaf parsley and mint salad.
• Spices. I (stupidly) forgot to put these in the photo above, but spices are involved here. You’ll need ground cumin, cinnamon and allspice.

And for the sauce, you’ll need roasted red peppers, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cottage cheese. If you don’t like cottage cheese, use thick Greek yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese instead. But I urge you to try the cottage cheese – I was NEVER a fan until I realized you can blitz it into a gorgeously creamy consistency that’s a whole lot lighter than any other creamy base for sauces or dips. It works beautifully here, I promise.

How to make them

Mix all your ingredients for the lahmacun topping. Make sure you’re mixing everything through the meat really well so the flavor is well dispersed. Add all your sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor and blitz until super smooth and creamy.

Scoop up a heaped spoonful of the filling, and spread it onto a thin layer on each of your tortillas. You can spread it right to the edges as the meat will likely shrink when you cook it (as you can see here!)

Cook your taco, meat side down, for 4 minutes in a hot pan (you can do a couple at a time, depending on the size of your pan). Flip the tacos and cook for another minute on the other side, just to crisp up the tortilla.

PRO TIP: Make sure your pan is nice and hot and you’re really pressing down on the tortilla, to ‘smash’ the meat into the pan. This will 1) help the meat cook faster and create the charred crust we’re after and 2) ensure your meat sticks to your tortilla.

Drizzle your tacos with the smoky red pepper sauce, then pile on the herby za’atar salad. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, then enjoy with more sauce on the side for dipping.

Got a question?