Lehmajun aka Armenian Pizza, made with ground beef, parsley, green bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and seasonings is loved by everyone. If you are lucky to live near an Armenian bakery you can buy them freshly made, or buy them frozen at your specialty grocer. But trust me, there is nothing better than homemade. Instead of having a pizza party, consider a lehmajun party instead! You can eat and drink your “tahn” as the lehmajuns come out of the oven. It took me several attempts and experiments to make this, but I was finally able to master it! You will need a pizza stone to make these at home and have the oven set to it’s highest temperature of 550°. In this picture, the lehmajuns sit on a large platter over an Armenian carpet that was recently given to me by a very old friend. 

Skill level: Advanced
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Yields 12
Velvet Edition: "Mediterranean" Recipe
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Prep Time
2 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
3 hr
Prep Time
2 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
3 hr
Beef mixture
  1. 1 bunch parsley
  2. 6 large garlic cloves
  3. 1 green bell pepper – cut into large chunks
  4. 4 medium tomatoes – seeded and cut into large chunks
  5. 3 pounds ground beef
  6. ¼ cup vegetable oil
  7. 2 teaspoon salt
  8. 1 teaspoon black pepper
  9. ½ teaspoon red pepper
  10. 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
  1. 4 cups flour (bread flour is recommended)
  2. 1 teaspoon salt
  3. ¼ cup vegetable oil
  4. 1 teaspoon yeast
  5. 1 teaspoon sugar
  6. 2 cups or more water – as needed to make a soft dough
  7. Lemon wedges
  8. Aluminum foil – about 6 pieces
  1. Combine all the ingredients for the dough, cover and set aside to rise for an hour or two. (see note #1 below)
Beef mixture
  1. Process the parsley, garlic and bell pepper by pulsing a couple of times. Do not over pulse otherwise it will get very moist.
  2. Remove the parsley mixture from the processor and empty into a large bowl.
  3. Add the tomatoes to the processor.
  4. Process the tomatoes in the same way. Do not over pulse.
  5. Empty the chopped tomatoes into a colander and drain over a bowl for about 30 minutes.
  6. Add the tomatoes to the parsley bowl.
  7. Add the ground beef and the seasoning to the parsley tomato mixture and mix to combine. Set aside.
  8. Place your pizza stone on the center rack of your oven. (see note #2 below)
  9. Preheat oven to 550°.
  10. Prepare a few sheets of aluminum foil, about 9 x 12 inch pieces.
  11. Using the dough, form small balls slightly smaller than a baseball.
  12. Roll out each dough into 8 – 9 inch circles and place them on the prepared aluminum foil. The thickness of the dough should be the same as a tortilla.
  13. Fill a small cup halfway up with water.
  14. Dip your hands lightly into the water and moisten the flattened dough. This will help in spreading the meat mixture over the dough.
  15. Add the meat mixture and pat down with your hands evenly all over the dough, leaving about a ¼ inch around the border.
  16. Place the lehmajun onto the pizza dough and bake until the edges begin to brown.
  17. Remove and serve with lemon wedges. (see note #3 below)
♣ Notes
  1. 1. You can activate the yeast in a small bowl if you feel more comfortable, but I usually add it to the flour from the start. Use room temperature water.
  2. 2. If you have two pizza stones, place one on the left side of the center rack and the other one on the right side of the rack directly underneath the first one. This way you can cook two lehmajuns at the same time.
  3. 3. You can make cook all the lehmajuns, but as they come out of the oven place them immediately into a plastic bag and close it. The moisture created from the heat will prevent the lehmajuns from drying and cracking. Then you can reheat as needed.
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