This dish uses sumac, an essential Middle Eastern spice.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons ground sumac
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups leftover turkey, cut into strips
4 medium pita breads, Armenian Lavash bread or naan bread
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roast pine nuts in oven for 5 to 7 minutes making sure they do not burn. Set aside. (Almonds also work well.)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring often, until cooked down and beginning to brown and caramelize, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add sumac and sauté with onions for another 5 minutes. You can add a little water or chicken stock if you find your mixture dry. Taste it and adjust tartness with the juice of 1 lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste
Add leftover turkey to sumac and onion confit. Cook until warm and turkey is coated with mixture.
Lay 4 sheets of flatbread bread on a plate or clean cutting board. (Palestinians use freshly baked taboon flatbread for this dish. Armenian Lavash bread, which is more commonly available in Canada, is very similar. Or use pita or naan bread)
Lightly brush the bread with olive oil on both sides. Spread the sumac, onion and chicken mixture evenly down the centre of the bread, sprinkle with roasted pine nuts. Sprinkle the bread with water or chicken stock to lightly moisten it.
Place the musakhan on a baking dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. If the bread starts to burn, cover it lightly with aluminum foil or top it with an extra Lavash, pita or naan bread.
Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest about 5 minutes.
Plate and serve with arugula salad in a simple lemon-parmesan dressing. Musakhan pairs beautifully with Tawse Winery's 2009 Sketches of Niagara Riesling
Yields 4 servings