This Middle Eastern Lamb Mince Flatbread is proof that it doesn't take a lot of time or effort to produce a delicious meal that is packed with flavour and texture. This is a scrumptious, healthy one-pan meal that you can easily pull together in 30 minutes. Warm lamb mince seasoned with middle eastern spices is mixed with fragrant fresh herbs, juicy pomegranate jewels and crunchy pine nuts. This is served with warm flatbreads and a fresh crunchy green salad that contrasts the richness of the lamb.
Not only is lamb mince packed with mouth-watering flavour, it's also incredibly convenient to prepare and cook. If you're loving the sound of lamb mince flatbread, you've got to check out my Turkish Lamb Shish Kebab, Stuffed Courgettes and Lamb Keema Rice dishes too.
Key ingredients:
- Lamb mince - lamb mince can be fatty, so I advise choosing a leaner lamb mince if possible.
- Seasoning - ground allspice, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander give the lamb mince a tasty middle eastern flavour. If you don't own all of these spices don't worry. You could leave out one or two of them and still have a really tasty dish. However, I urge you not to skip the allspice because it provides a wonderful aromatic taste.
- Beef stock - adds umami saltiness to the lamb mince.
- Molasses - adds rich sweetness. You can substitute this with honey.
- Fresh herbs - fresh coriander, mint and parsley are stirred into the cooked lamb mince before serving. If you don't have all of these herbs it's fine to skip one and make up the volume with the others.
- Pomegranate - buying a packet of pomegranate seeds is the most convenient option although I find a whole pomegranate yields fresher and juicier seeds. If you decide on a whole pomegranate you can freeze any seeds you have left. Simply spread them out on a tray so they are not touching and freeze for at least two hours before transferring them into an airtight bag or container.
- Flatbread - you can choose any type you like or even make your own. They are best heated under the grill before serving.
How to make lamb mince flatbread
1. Toast the pine nuts
Place a frying pan on a medium to high heat and toast the pine nuts for a few minutes. Remove them from the pan and set them aside when they start to brown.
2. Prep the salad
Place the salad ingredients into a bowl and mix the dressing ingredients together in a salad dressing container or small jug/mug.
3. Cook the onions, chilli and garlic, brown the lamb mince and season
Place the frying pan on a medium heat, add oil and fry the onions with the green chillies until the onion is translucent. Reduce the heat, add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Increase the heat and add the lamb mince and cook until brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add ground allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, a crushed beef stock cube and molasses and continue to cook for a further few minutes.
4. Stir herbs, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the fresh coriander, mint, parsley, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts.
5. Serve
Toss the salad with the dressing and serve the lamb mince with warm flatbreads.
Tools and equipment
- Frying pan - use a large (approx.28cm) flat-bottomed pan that will hold all the lamb mince and distribute heat evenly. Cast iron does this well.
- Salad bowl (or other large bowl) - for preparing the salad
- Salad mixers - for mixing the salad and dressing. If you don't have them a couple of forks will do the job.
- Dressing shaker - optional but recommended if you eat salad regularly. Especially useful, if you like to prep a large amount of dressing ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Alternatively, you can mix the dressing ingredients with a fork in a small bowl or mug.
- Garlic crusher - very useful for quickly producing small pieces of garlic. Use a knife to cut the garlic into tiny pieces if you don't have one.
How to eat lamb mince flatbread
Either put the salad and lamb mince inside or on top of the flatbread or serve the flatbread on the side. It's up to you. I also recommend serving this dish with Tzatziki - its cool freshness is a great match for the Middle Eastern spices in the lamb mince.
You could also swap the flatbread for rice or another grain such as quinoa or couscous.
3 tips for yummy lamb mince flatbread
- Keep the salad and dressing separate until you serve the salad - this prevents a soggy salad and ensures it will be perfectly fresh.
- Keep an eye on the pine nuts - pine nuts only take a few minutes to toast and can go from slightly brown to burnt very quickly.
- Add the pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs to the lamb mince just before serving - add the fresh herbs and pomegranate seeds just after you have taken the mince off the heat. You want the herbs to wilt a little but not be cooked into the lamb mince.
Lamb mince flatbread FAQs
You can freeze any flatbreads you do not use in a sealed bag or container for up to 3 months. The cooked lamb mince can also be frozen. I highly recommend freezing it before you add the fresh herbs, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. The dish will be fresher if you add the herbs, pomegranate and pine nuts after you have defrosted and reheated the lamb mince.
Flatbread calories and nutritional content are similar to regular bread. Look out for wholemeal flatbreads for a healthier alternative.
Store any leftover cooked lamb mince in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you are making this dish with the intention of having leftovers, I recommend you set aside the amount of lamb mince you want to save for later and refrigerate before adding the pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and herbs. This will give you the best and freshest results, but you can refrigerate the final dish and reheat it too. It will still taste really good, but it won't be quite as fresh.
More quick and easy dinner recipes:
- Grilled Lemon & Turmeric Chicken Thighs
- Baked Furikake Salmon
- Speedy & Spicy Sesame Chicken
- Easy Lamb Kofta Wraps with yogurt sauce
- Lamb shish kebabs
Middle Eastern Lamb Mince
Ingredients
Salad
- 200 g (7 cups) spinach washed and roughly chopped
- 1 cucumber deseeded and chopped into small cubes
- 10 radishes thinly sliced
Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp molasses or honey
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 lemon juice
Lamb mince:
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tbsp cooking oil groundnut, sunflower or olive oil
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- 1-2 green chilies finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 400 g (14 oz) lamb mince
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp beef stock powder
- ½ tbsp molasses or honey
- 1 pinch sea or kosher salt
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
To Serve
- 4 Flatbreads
- Tzatziki optional
Instructions
- Mix the chopped spinach, cucumber and radishes in a salad bowl and combine the dressing ingredients in a salad dressing shaker or mug and set aside.
- Place a frying pan on a medium to high heat and toast the pine nuts and set them aside.
- Add oil to the pan and fry the onions with the green chili on a medium heat until soft.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Increase the heat, add the lamb mince and cook until brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the ground allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, crushed beef stock cube and molasses or honey and continue to cook for a further few minutes to allow the seasoning to infuse.
- When the lamb mince is cooked taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a little salt to taste if required.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the mint, coriander and parsley, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts.
- Warm the flatbreads under the grill according to packet instructions, toss the salad with the dressing and serve with the lamb mince and tzatziki (optional).
Helen many thanks for sharing this menu. I don’t do much cooking but I found the menu easy to follow and it tasted so good I had in on two consecutive days.
Will try the prawn curry next.
Thank you for the comment, Amin. I'm really glad that you enjoyed the Middle Eastern lamb mince. Hope you like the prawn curry too!