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spicy lamb pizza

Spicy Lamb Pizza

Lamb pita meets pizza in this fusion cooking Easter experiment
Course Main
Cuisine Fusion
Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 day 15 minutes
Servings 4
Author Johan Johansen

Ingredients

  • One batch of slow-risen pizza dough
  • 400 grams of quality ground lamb preferably New Zealand free range, 10 % fat or so
  • One large shallot finely minced
  • One tablespoon of ground cumin
  • One teaspoon of ground coriander
  • One tablespoon of smoked paprika
  • Two tablespoons of tomato paste
  • A few dashes of hot sauce I used my home-made Ghost chili sauce
  • A splash of chicken stock
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • About 200 grams of Greek goat's milk feta cheese
  • A large handful of fresh mint leaves preferably Moroccan mint
  • A small handful of fresh oregano leaves
  • A couple of tablespoons of wild garlic pesto can substitute regular pesto

Instructions

  1. Prepare pizza dough as you normally would (see my pizza dough technique) and divide into 3-4 roughly equal portions. Leave to rise on a counter for about 30-45 minutes as you make the lamb topping.

Prepare spicy lamb topping:

  1. Set your oven for 275C or as high as it will go.
  2. Put your favorite cast iron skillet over medium heat, add in a tablespoon of oil and the finely diced shallot.
  3. Fry shallot for a few minutes until soft and slightly golden.
  4. Raise heat to medium high and dump in the ground lamb along with a generous sprinkle of salt.
  5. Fry lamb for at least 5 minutes until thoroughly and evenly browned.
  6. Throw in black pepper, cumin, coriander and paprika, stir to combine well and fry for another minute.
  7. Mix in tomato paste, stir again to even distribute and fry again for another minute.
  8. Dump in chicken stock and stir well once again. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon or spatula to release any stuck bits of flavory goodness.
  9. Lower heat and simmer lamb mixture till almost all liquid has evaporated and you're left with a thick meat sauce.
  10. Add in hot sauce, stir and taste for seasoning.
  11. When you're happy with the result, kill the heat and set aside.

Build pizza:

  1. Note: For ease of handling, build your pizza on a well-floured work surface or a pizza peel, so you can easily move it to the oven.
  2. Grab one portion of pizza dough, flatten it using the palm of your hand, then stretch or roll into a thin circular pizza crust.
  3. Sprinkle a thin, even layer of lamb on the pizza base, then slide onto a pizza stone at the base of a well pre-heated oven.
  4. If pizza stone is not available, slide it onto a rack set at the middle of the oven.
  5. Bake for about ten minutes until brown, crusty and well-risen along the edges. Keep an eye on things and rotate the pizza during cooking if one side starts browning much faster than the other.
  6. When pizza looks almost perfectly done, add an even, thin layer of crumbled feta cheese evenly on top, continue to bake for another minute or so.
  7. Evacuate pizza from the oven and immediately drizzle with wild garlic pesto, fresh mint and fresh oregano. Allow pizza to rest at least a few minutes before cutting into it.
  8. Serve pizza with a side salad and feel free to drizzle with more hot sauce, pesto or herbs as you see fit. You are the boss of your own pizza!