If you go to any Armenian’s house and open their freezer, you’ll likely find a stash of lahmajoun, which translates to “meat bread”.

Lahmajoun (pronounced “lah-ma-june”) are known as Armenian pizzas. They are typically made by rolling out yeast-raised dough very thin and then topping it with lamb or beef. It is something I grew up with and something that always reminds me of my loving grandma. Any time I smell Lahmajoun now, a very fragrant mix of spices, I am transported to my grandma’s house, and all the sweet memories of her.

My brothers and I would go to her house after Saturday AYSO soccer games. She didn’t have a microwave, so she would take out frozen lahmajoun’s from the freezer and pop them into the toaster oven for what seemed like forever for a hungry kid.

We would sit in her sunflower wallpaper-ed kitchen ripping off pieces of lahmajoun and stuffing our faces while she served us her homemade lemonade iced tea.

So, I have been wanting to make lahmajoun for a while now, not just to relive memories with my grandma, but learn more about my Armenian heritage.

I cook so many recipes around the world, but sadly know only a few Armenian recipes. If I’m going to be an authentic artist and chef, then I have to know where I came from. So if you’re getting the feeling that this is more than just Armenian pizza to me, you’re right.

The big twist is that I would make a vegan version. The spices in Armenian lahmajoun are so fragrant that I wanted to experiment to see how close I could get it to the meat version. From smell, it was right on. The taste was delicious, but not exactly like the meat ones. I would call it more of a mushroom flatbread.

I was inspired to make this version after reading the book The Vegan Armenian Kitchen Cookbook by Lena Tashjian who spent 5 years in Armenia as a vegan. She created some amazing vegan recipes for a culture that runs on meat (think shish kebabs, kufta, etc.) Check her book out for more vegan recipes!

Tips on making lahmajoun your first time:

This is very similar to making pizza. I didn’t include a yeast-risen pizza dough recipe here, but you can use your favorite pizza dough recipe, or store-bought ready dough.
If you are really short on time, you can use flour tortillas, but the result will be much more crispy.
Or you can go bread-less and just eat this filling in a salad. It’s so tasty full of herbs and spices.
If you are experienced, try making a jingalov hat, or calzone-looking thing. The filling was very tasty this way because it steamed inside.

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Vegan Lamojoon (Armenian pizza)

Ingredients needed (makes 6 pizzas):

Dough for 2 pizzas
Or 6 flour tortillas

Filling:

1 T olive oil
2 packages button mushrooms, diced by hand or in food processor
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped small
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped small or 1 T red pepper paste
½ cup parsley, chopped
1 t salt
1 T tomato paste
1 tomato, chopped
¼ t allspice
¼ t black pepper
¼ t red pepper flakes
½ t paprika
½ cups walnuts, chopped fine

Directions:

Make the filling. In the largest sauté pan you have, heat olive oil and when oil is hot add mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes or until most water is evaporated. Stir occasionally.
Then, add remaining ingredients into the pan and stir for a couple more minutes. Taste for salt.
When liquid is all evaporated turn off heat and let filling cool.
Preheat oven to 450 F. Place a cast iron stone in oven if you have it. (Otherwise you can put pizza dough on baking sheet.)
Roll out dough to as thin as you can. Then place on baking sheet or stone, top with about ⅓ cup mushroom filling and spread over the dough quickly. The easiest way is to put the pizza on parchment so you can transfer it to the oven easily.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until dough is cooked through.
When edges are golden and crisp, remove pizzas and place on a baking sheet or plate. Cover with a towel to make them soft (they sweat) or serve them crispy. Serve with cut up cucumbers, tomato or salad.