Lehme B’agine is one Syrian staple than even the Ashkenazim go for.
A few years ago, when we published a version of this lehme b’agine recipe in Starters and Sides Made Easy featuring a homemade dough. Well, life changes and gets busier, and homemade dough that needs to be rolled out and cut into circles is naturally ones of the things that gets sacrificed. But it’s ok. My sister-in-law Rachel taught me that if I want my store-bought dough to taste like homemade, just let it defrost and rise on the baking sheet, then top it once it’s fluffy. (Note: Other types of frozen dough rounds other than pizza will dry out if left uncovered).
Although “temerhindi” or “oot” is the authentic ingredient, and I’ll use this traditional ingredient in other Sephardic recipes, when it comes to lehme b’agine, I prefer using prune butter. Since prune butter is thicker than temerhindi, I find that it holds the meat together better and the sauce doesn’t end up running all over the baking sheet.
No, this is not the version that was made in Syria, because this has the addition of ketchup (really, really authentic lehme b’agine uses just lots more temerhindi). But it is a version you’ll really love.
There are a few ways to make lehme b’agine ahead. I like to keep a batch of meat mixed with sauce in my freezer. Then, I just thaw the meat (I don’t even need to thaw it all, just what I need), top the dough and bake fresh. You can also freeze ready-baked lehme b’agine. I like to warm up in a Ziploc bag on top of a Crock-Pot. This keeps them moist and soft (baking in an oven will dry them out). I don’t like freezing the lehme b’agine raw and assembled. I don’t find they bake well when baked from the freezer.
- 1 24 count package frozen mini pizza dough rounds
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup prune butter
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 onion, very finely diced
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and place 12 rounds on each baking sheet. Let thaw and rise.
- Prepare the meat topping. In a medium bowl, combine prune butter, ketchup, tomato paste, lemon juice, onion, cinnamon, allspice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add ground meat, a little bit at a time, mixing very well until completely combined.
- Top doughs with a generous amount of the meat mixture (overestimate, as the doughs will grow in the oven while the meat shrinks). Bake for 18-23 minutes, depending if you like them softer or a little crispier (if rewarming, bake for the lower amount of time). Serve with chummos or techinah.
Hi, do you know of which dough I can purchase in Israel? Or maybe a easy recipe?
Here’s a dough recipe. Although it is work to roll out and cut.
Dough:
1 ¼ cups warm water, divided
1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Add flour, salt, and oil, and knead until a soft dough forms. Let rise for 1 hour.
Roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut rounds using a cookie cutter or glass. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this for shabbos. Your recipes are always amazing and always comes out perfect! Thank you for your time to write out the recipe
There is someone who sells the dough out of Har Nof in Jlem. Her name is Ruty 0584459288.
Hi I make these all the time since you published the recipe in whisk
They are delicious and my kids love them. However whenever I take them out of the oven the bottoms are all wet and soggy and make my hands all sticky. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong and how to keep them dry? Thanks you!
Hmmm…I really don’t know what you could be doing wrong. Do you use this exact recipe and mix well so the meat is completely combined with the sauce ingredients? Sometimes that happens with temerhindi, which is looser, but as you see from the photos, the consistency of this mixture is pretty solid and not runny. I don’t remember publishing this recipe in Whisk (although it’s possible), so check if you have a different one perhaps.
I can not find prune butter anywhere in the 5T any idea or alternative?
@can puff pastry dough be used or mazor dough rounds?
Yes, the recipe calls for pizza dough rounds. Let them thaw a bit and rise before topping and baking for best results.
Puff pastry will work of course but it’s not traditional obviously, and I find it too heavy.
Love this recipe, thank you! I find that often the juices from meat and sauce run and pool in pan- and then bake on bottom, yielding a crunchier crust. Does this happen with yours also? Any advice?
Thank you!
I don’t find this happens with prune butter (which is thicker), but does with temerhindi (the authentic ingredient) which is runnier. Try adding more meat to the mixture (many packages of ground beef come with 1 1/4 or 1 1/3 lbs meat)
My grandmother Sarah a”h was born in Aleppo and told us wonderful stories of growing up in Syria. These meat pies were originally prepared on a large, maybe 9” round size dough. Nobody had their own oven, so they were baked in the local communal furnace. They were eaten like a wrap sandwich and considered a meal, rather than an appetizer as we do today. It was in Brooklyn NY that the ladies of The Sephardic Community began to make them smaller, as in your recipe. The differences between Teta’s recipe and yours are minor. She used no ketchup, cinnamon, any kind of garlic or black pepper. The oot or temerhindi sauce substitute consisted of PRUNE BUTTER, LEMON and SUGAR. Some cousins added apricot jam and/or applesauce to the concoction. As you suggested, bake then freeze. Often they would dry out and lose that twang of sweet and sourness that’s a hallmark of Syrian cuisine. Someone suggested we brush on the prune butter mixture as they exit the oven reheated and ready to serve. That was a brilliant suggestion that we’ve been using ever since. Thank you for all you do, sharing exquisite recipes with the world.
Doesn’t this dish generally have pine nuts on top?
Hi!
Did anyone find prune butter in Israel?
Is it the same as plum confiture?
Which company prune butter do you recommend ? Thanks
No specific. Usually there’s not multiple options in stores.