Sfiha with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Dough base

1. 8
   Take the dough out of the fridge about an hour ahead, covered, so it comes to room temperature and is easy to stretch.

   💡Cold dough shrinks back when you stretch it. Room-temperature dough stretches easily into a thin round without tearing.

For the Lahmajun Meat Topping

1. 9
   In a bowl, mix the ground meat with the tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, parsley and olive oil.

   Bowl

   💡Grated tomatoes and onion release liquid: squeeze them lightly in a strainer before mixing, so the filling doesn't make the dough soggy.
2. 10
   Add the baharat, salt and black pepper and knead by hand into a uniform mixture.
3. 11
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   Oven
4. 12
   Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each ball into a circle.

   Rolling pin

   💡Dough that springs back needs rest: cover the balls for 10 minutes and the gluten relaxes.
5. 13
   Place a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of each round.
6. 14
   Fold three sides of each round toward the center to make a triangle that is open on top, and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

   Baking panParchment paper
7. 15
   Bake 20 minutes, until the dough is golden.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.