Palestinian Food: Taboon Pizza with Muhammara and Kufta, Pistachio Crusted Lamb, Mujaddara, and Fattoush Salad

Sacraspice Community Services
Apr 23
6 min read

We’re cooking up something special for Arab Heritage Month! This month’s Cultural Bites with Sacraspice series is all about Palestinian eats—comforting, flavour-packed, and made with love.

For this episode of Cultural Bites with Sacraspice, we remixed the Palestinian meals we shared at Darna. Learn how to make delicious Palestinian-inspired pizza, lamb chops, mujaddara, fattoush and more with us for Arab Heritage Month!🇵🇸 This delicious pizza boasts the colours of Palestine’s flag: red with roasted red pepper muhammara, green with basil, black with olives, and white with tahini. It was a vibrant, colourful exploration of flavours and spices that felt like home!

PIZZA

Ingredients for Pizza (To make six 8-inch pizzas)

2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 ¼ tablespoons instant yeast
5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 tablespoon of salt
Sprinkle of cornmeal, for dusting the pan

Directions for Pizza Dough

Whisk the -warm water, sugar, and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer with a dough hook. Cover with saran wrap or a wet towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a whisk or fork.
Add the flour, olive oil, and salt. Beat on low-medium speed (level 2) for 2 minutes. If dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a bit of flour. Beat for an additional 3 full minutes.
Transfer the dough into a large greased bowl with olive oil. Grease the top of the dough very lightly with olive oil. Cover with saran wrap and let it rest for 60-90 minutes in a warm place, until the size of the dough doubles. Punch the dough down to release any air bubbles.
Divide the dough into 6 parts, cover with a damp towel and let it rest again, this time for just 10 minutes, the dough will spread again.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Allow it to heat for at least 15–20 minutes as you shape the pizza.
Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil.
On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten into an 8 inch disc about 1/2-inch thick. Once shaped into a 8-inch circle, create a lip around the edges by pitching the edges up to create the rim. Sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom of the pizza.
Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle zaatar seasoning on the crust.
Top & bake the pizza: Use a fork to poke holes in the dough to release air when cooking. This is also a traditional way to cook taboon flatbread.
Brush with olive oil then top with toppings.
If cooking in oven, it will take about 18 minutes.

Pizza toppings

First top with muhammara roasted red pepper base
Then add the seasoned kufta meat
Top meat with 1 teaspoon of zataar
Place Halloumi cheese on top, about 3-4 slices of cheese per pizza
Add black olives
Add caramelized onions (2 onions worth)
Add sprinkle of sumac
After it comes out the oven, top with tahini drizzle, pomegranate molasses drizzle, olive oil drizzle
Top with toasted walnuts, crunchy chick peas
Top with aleppo chilli flakes
Top with mint & basil

Pizza toppings

Slice 3 onions
Caramelize onions with brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of pomegranate molasses
Chop the basil and mint chiffonade style for topping
Cut circles out of halloumi cheese

RAS EL HANOUT

Ingredients for Ras El Hanout

Black Pepper | 2 tsps
Cayenne Pepper | ½ tsp
Paprika | 4 tbsp
Ground Coriander | 3 tsp
Ground Cumin | 1 tsp
Allspice | 2 tsp
Nutmeg | 1 tsp
Clove | 1 tsp
Ginger | 1 tsp
Cinnamon | 1 tsp
Ground Cardamom | 1 tsp

KUFTA

Ingredients for Kufta

2 pounds of ground beef or 1 pound ground beef, 1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons of ras el hanout
2 teaspoons of aleppo chili flakes
1 teaspoon of sumac
1 teaspoon of zaatar
Chopped parsley and mint, as desired

Directions for Kufta

Mix the meat with, ras el hanout, aleppo chili flakes, sumac, zaatar
Add chopped parsley and mint
Make into diamond-shaped 2-3 inch balls
Bake on 350 F for 30 minutes

TAHINI

Ingredients for Tahini sauce

1 cup of tahini
Juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon of salt
½ cup warm water

Mix all ingredients together

MUHAMMARA

Ingredients for Muhammara

2 red peppers
1/2 cup walnuts
½ teaspoon aleppo chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup bread crumbs
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon of sumac
1 teaspoon salt
½ of black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
½ teaspoon of sugar
8 cloves garlic
1/8 cup olive oil

Directions for Muhammara

Roast red pepper and garlic on 350 F for 20 minutes then peel skin off and mash
Toast the walnuts on a pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Put walnuts, cumin, coriander, sumac, chili flakes, salt, black pepper, garlic, roasted bell pepper, sugar, lemon, breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses in the processor in a food processor and pulse until smooth
Add olive oil and stir it into the mixture
To serve, garnish with more toasted walnuts and parsley

MUJADDARA

Ingredients

1 cup of green lentils
1 cup of bulgur
1.5 cups of chicken stock
1.5 cups of water
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
2 tablespoons of ground coriander
2 tablespoons of ras el hanout
2 tablespoons of zataar
4 yellow onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 lemon

Directions

Rinse then boil the lentils with chicken stock and water in a pot. Once it starts boiling cover the pot, turn the heat on low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Wash and rinse bulgur and add to the lentils
Add a bay leaf, salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, ras el hanout
Mix everything well together, place the cover back and continue to simmer on low heat, for another 20 minutes.
In a skillet on medium heat, warm olive oil, then add sliced onions, add sugar and pomegranate molasses saute continue until onions turn golden brown.
Cook the onions over medium heat until golden about 15 minutes.
Pour whatever oil left in the skillet cooked with onions into the lentils and bulgur pot
Top with fleshly squeezed lemon

FATTOUSH SALAD

Salad Ingredients

½ Cucumber, thinly sliced
3 Tomatoes, diced
1 orange pepper, diced
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced
⅔ cup of fresh parsley
½ cup of fresh mint
½ Romaine lettuce
3 stalks of Green onion, sliced
Fried pita, for topping
Figs, for topping

Salad Dressing Ingredients

2 lemons, juiced
⅓ cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon of Sumac
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon of dried mint leaves

Directions

Cut all ingredients up
Mix together
Create dressing and mix
Top with grilled pita chips

LAMB CHOPS

Ingredients

4 Lamb chops
Lamb Marinade
- 2 tablespoons of Garlic
- 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
- 2 tablespoons ras el hanout
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon of zataar
- 1 teaspoon of dried mint
¼ cup of pistachios, chopped
2 tablespoon of butter
1 shallot or onion, finely diced
2 tablespoon of sesame kewpie
1 tablespoon of orange blossom
1 lemon sliced and grill

Directions for Lamb Chops

Marinate the lamb in marinade
Cook for 3 minutes on each side in the pizza oven
Mix butter, diced shallot or onion, 1 tablespoon of orange blossom and ½ cup of chicken stock in a pan, and ½ lemon juiced, add 2 tablespoons of sesame kewpie to make a sauce
Top lamb with this sauce
Top with pistachios
Add grilled lemon on the side

RAINBOW CARROTS

Ingredients

10 rainbow carrots
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of ras el hanout
1 teaspoon of tahini
1 tablespoon of sesame kewpie
½ lemon juice
1 teaspoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon Aleppo chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of Pomegranate molasses

Directions

Mix carrots with all ingredients
Cook in oven or air fryer at 360 F for 30 minutes or until golden brown

CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients

Cauliflower
1 teaspoon of ras el hanout
1 teaspoon of tahini
1 tablespoon of kewpie mayo
½ lemon juice
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon Aleppo chili pepper flakes

Directions

Mix cauliflower with all ingredients
Cook in oven or air fryer at 400 F for 5 minutes or until golden brown

EGGPLANT

Ingredients

Eggplant
Marinade
- 2 tablespoons of orange blossom
- 2 tablespoons of Ras el hanout
- 1 teaspoon of tahini
- 1 tablespoon of kewpie mayo
- ½ lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of chopped mint
½ cup pomegranate seeds
Toasted and chopped pine nuts