Goin' crazy on a Spiced Lamb Pizza with a Somali twist--a North Africa culinary adventure right in your own home!

I came back from a workout mere moments ago, and just made breakfast from a leftover slice of this hot new pizza we’re about to discuss. And ya know what?
 
It might have been even better the second time around.
 
But I offer no empirical evidence to substantiate any such a claims. Ya just gotta make it and eat it yourself and let the angels (or the devils) dance upon your tongue.
 
And oh my, there are so many reasons to turn away right now!
 
Seriously. Save yourself.
 
Do you hate lamb, cilantro, Somalia and Minneapolis? If so, this baby is your super trifecta of misbegotten pizzas.

​It’s going to dwarf even that gigantic overlord of pizza hate involving the poor, maligned pineapple.
 
But if you’re courageous enough to stick around, you might be rewarded with big flavor in an unexpected way.
 
I was going to prelude this pizza prattle with something like, Arriba! It’s another cultural appropriation edition of your Saturday Afternoon Pizza Post!
 
This is the one where we ask that ever-nagging question, “What the hell is so great about Somali-style pizza, anyway?”

​I’ve changed my mind.
 
I don’t want to be a smartass.
 
Well, not as much as I usually do.
 
This pizza is so good, and the backstory is surprising yet so familiar.
 
It might even become your favorite new interpretive pizza recipe. (The difference between interpretation and appropriation? We honor the source of the inspiration and acknowledge its rightful place in lore. I guess.)

If you don't have the patience for this, you can scroll on down to the recipe, then decide you're not interested in that, either. Liberty is alive at Free The Pizza!
 
 
There’s a lot to enjoy here on this pizza.
 
And yes, on the face of it, this is an oddball affair: a traditional American Italian-style pizza interpretation of a traditional Somali-Italian pizza sporting a traditional Somali xawaash-spiced ground lamb.
 
And no, I am far from the first person to do this. It’s a thing.
 
I’m pretty sure traditional xawaash-spiced ground lamb was not traditionally served on a pizza crust. But such spices are a quintessential ingredient in Somali cuisine.
 
 
In fact, if you’re a fan of Indian food, xawaash is considered by some to be the garam masala of Somali cuisine.

As with garam masala in India, xawaash is in every Somali kitchen and touches almost every dish in some way or another. 
 
Are you wondering how to pronounce it?
 
So was I.
 
Sources say the "X" in “xawaash” has a raspy sound not unlike the “ch” in Scottish loch. But apparently, Americans like to anglicize it to a simple “H” sound.
 
The accented syllable also seems to vary, depending on who’s saying the word: “HAH-wash” or “huh-WASH.”
 
I prefer the latter “huh-WASH” because it sounds authentically not American. (What fun are mysterious new foods if you can’t enjoy their phonemes as much as their taste?)
 
 

You’re also probably wondering why we’re dancing at the edge of a Somali pizza crust.
 
Blame it on current events.
 
The Somali community in Minneapolis has been in the news a lot lately. According to the Commander In Chief, "They contribute nothing.”
 
I, of course, have my doubts about that. Every community contributes something, especially when it comes to pizza.
 
But what, exactly?
 
Consider this: as you probably know and were about to remind me, Somalia has a mixed bag of colonial influences, including Great Britain, France and (yes!) Italy.
 
(And yes, this will be on the test.)
 
Italy began colonizing Somalia in 1889, formed the colony of Italian Somaliland in 1905, integrated the colony into Italian East Africa in 1936, then it fell to British forces in 1941. Italian Somaliland returned as a UN trust territory under Italian administration from 1950 to 1960.
 
 
A byproduct of all this Italian empire building is that one of Somalia’s national staple dishes is something called baasto with suugo.
 
Baasto is a Somali variation of the Italian word “pasta.”
 
Suugo is a single-vowel variation of the Italian word “sugo,” which means sauce, which in turn is a variation of the Latin word “sucus,” meaning “sap.”
 
I suppose I could be the sap in this equation, but I don’t know enough yet to make that evaluation with accuracy.
 
But the more I went spinning down this rabbit hole so you don’t have to, the more intriguing it became.  
 
I figured let’s start with how long pizza has been in Somalia—and the answer seems to be about as long as it’s been in the US.
 
 
It’s just that Somalia was not as much on the Italian diaspora hit parade as prominently as the USA.
 
By 1935, there were about 55,000 Italians in Somalia.
 
In the US during the same period, there were more than 4 million Italian immigrants.
 
Nonetheless, pizza got a toehold in Somalia. And like so many other migratory foodstuffs, it evolved with the local food traditions and customs.
 
Hello, halal!

No pork on pizza for you! But look at this sweet little lamb…
 
 
As it happens, I’m a sucker for both lamb and pizza.
 
The latter more than the former, of course. But why choose?
 
Do you dislike lamb?
 
That’s understandable.

So much lamb available to you tastes like mutton—which is different. Mutton is the meat of an old sheep and tastes somewhat like a sweater not yet washed in Woolite.
 
A lot of imported lamb in the US is grassfed, and has a mutton-ish taste.
 
Domestic lamb is typically cornfed, and has a more mild flavor.
 
The reason people love lamb is attributable to its fat. We’re talking BCFAs, or branched-chain fatty acids. These are aromatic compounds that deliver a savory, earthy note.
 
And I love that note—especially when you sing it with those BCFA lamb fats crisped up with salt and herbs on a leg of lamb. It's like heaven's own chicharrónes.
 
 
The joy-inducing potential of this lamb-on-pizza combo seemed like a no-brainer.
 
And when I started digging for Somali pizza, it was surpisingly easy to find.
 
There are even a few guys on YouTube who are Dave-Portnoy wannabes, saying, “I had to try Somali pizza! I mean, what the…!?”
 
And then they each buy a pizza in a box, sit in their cars, and video themselves eating the pizza and saying, “Wow! Somali pizza!”
 
I think those pizzas have beef on them.
 
They also look a lot like Pizza Hut pan pizzas, with a lot of cheese and a thick, crispy crust, and little dark dots of unspecified meat product. 
 
 
What could be more convincing of quality than all that?
 
Nonetheless, we moved forward with our quest for a Somali-influenced pizzed.

Cultural appropriation galore—maybe.
 
It’s hard to know.
 
In the high-end travel guides, it would be called fusion cuisine.
 
Either way, I felt confident that I could get a handle on the flavored-up fatty goodness of the xawaash-spiced ground-lamb pizza with a degree of authenticity, since it all seems to be pretty loose.
 
In fact, it seems like there are no hard and fast Somali pizza rules, just so long as somewhere there’s ground lamb spiced with xawaash seasoning involved.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not pretending to be halal here in this preparation. I have zero authority or even experience in that department. Nor am I going to joke about it. Though I once paid a premium for halal raw chicken thighs at a Walmart in New Hampshire, and it was an excellent product.

But I digress.

Recipe follows.

ABOVE: The Somali-style pizza, topped with lamb and tomatoes and ready for launch. 


RECIPE: How to make this authentically American questionably Somali pizza that tastes great (unless you’re a homesick Somali, then no guarantees).
 
This recipe yields a pizza with a fair degree fat on it, and it is yummy.
 
All that rendered lamb fat on a crispy pizza crust with a little olive oil and all the spices is a flavor bomb.
 
And since fat is filling, you may find yourself satisfied after just a single slice. (Ha!)
 
If you don’t want all that fat on your pizza, you can pre-cook the lamb until most of the fat is rendered out. But the meat will be somewhat dry after baking on the pizza. It’s up to you. (I’ve done it both ways. Guess which way I prefer.)
 
Following is a recipe for a quick xawaash blend using dried and ground spices. Grinding whole spices is obviously the more cheffy way to do this. I didn’t have enough whole spices readily available, so I went with the quickie method courtesy of Google AI intel and informed by my own experience and preferences.
 
Following the spice blend is a recipe for making the pizza using that spice blend.

 
This recipe makes a single 12-inch pizza.
 
If you come from the same less-is-more pizza philosophy as I do, it seems like this pizza has a lot of topping. Feel free to adjust the quantity if you wish. I found the topping load I specify to be an ideal amount, especially since there’s no sauce and no melting cheese.
 
A note on the Serrano chili: This is optional. It’s supposedly an authentic Somali topping. I like the kick from Serranos, and most people I know can handle them. Sources (as much as they can be trusted) say the traditional Somali way of spicing up food is after it’s cooked, using a sauce made from jalapeňos or Serranos and known as bisbaas. But Serrano or jalapeño pepper on pizza is considered popular.
 
Cilantro is also a traditional ingredient. I’ve specified dried cilantro for sprinkling on the cooked pizza. This is informed by the common, post-bake use of dried oregano on New York pizza, which I enjoy as a guilty pleasure. On this pizza, the cilantro provides a nice herbal note without the same, often unpopular floral (read: soapy) notes of fresh cilantro.
 
I tried using both fresh cilantro and fresh parsley for garnish. The cilantro didn’t pop as much as the parsley. Both are traditional herbs in Somali cooking. I found the parsley to have a more enjoyable profile on this pizza. Your mileage may vary.
 
And no, feta is not an authentic Somali cheese. But Somalia does have similar cheeses. Sources say feta is an acceptable substitute.
 
A note on feta: one of my new quests is looking for imported feta made with sheep and goat milk. That’s closer to traditional feta cheese than the cow’s milk feta often available from American sources, and I’m a sucker for the natural tang of sheep milk cheese.
 
The pizza dough here is my standard recipe (as available in my book), and is a low-hydration dough, about 63%. It’s much like a Neapolitan-style dough, except made with King Arthur bread flour for more structure. You can use whatever dough you prefer and adjust the pizza toppings as you see fit. As mentioned, this is for a 12-inch pizza.
 
 
Xawaash Spice Blend
 
8 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground turmeric
 
Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
 
 
Xawaash Lamb Pizza Recipe
 
INGREDIENTS
1 dough ball, 235g
7 oz ground lamb
4 oz tomatoes, canned petite diced
3.5 oz feta, crumbled
1 small onion, minced
1 large serrano, sliced (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp xawaash spice blend (see above)
1 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp (or to taste) black pepper, fresh ground
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 dash white pepper
Dried cilantro to finish
Lemon wedge
Fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
​Olive oil for brushing the dough

INSTRUCTIONS
With a baking steel in the middle to top third of the oven, preheat to 550°F (or as high as it goes, whether that’s 525 or 500).
 
As usual, we’re going to use the broiler method at the end of the bake to mimic the effects of a pizza oven. If your oven doesn’t have a top broiler, you can extend the baking time instead.  
 
Once the oven reaches temp, let it preheat for an hour.
 
Meanwhile, combine the ground lamb in a bowl with the xawaash spice mix, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, white pepper and the ground cinnamon, and mix it all thoroughly.
 
Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan.
 
Add the onions and sauté for a minute or two. Then add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
 
Turn down the heat. Add the spiced-up ground lamb mixture. Use a spoon or a spatula to break up the lamb.
 
Cook the lamb on low heat just long enough that it starts to brown and crumbles instead of sticking together. Much of the lamb will still be raw. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
 
When the oven is ready for baking, stretch your dough to 12 inches.
 
Brush olive oil lightly around the stretched dough.
 
Spread the ground lamb mix evenly around the oiled pizza dough.
 
Sprinkle the petite diced tomatoes evenly around the lamb, followed by the Serrano slices.
 
Launch the pizza. Bake for four minutes.

ABOVE: Pizza removed from oven mid-bake, and topped with the feta cheese and sliced chilis. 


​Remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle crumbled feta evenly around the pizza.
 
Return the pizza to the oven and rotate 180 degrees.
 
After two more minutes of baking, switch on the broiler to high.
 
After one more minute, rotate the pizza 180 degrees.
 
(NOTE: Your home oven will perform differently than my home oven. Be prepared to adjust baking times up or down based on how your pizza is looking. It should look happy and healthy and ready for fun.)

Check the pizza for doneness. It should ideally have a little bit of char evident on top.
​

ABOVE: Pizza removed post-bake, before applying dried herbs, fresh herbs and lemon juice. 

​
Transfer the pizza to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with dried cilantro.
 
Allow the pizza to set for a minute.

ABOVE: Pizza with garnish applied. 


Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the pizza. Slice and serve. Revel and exclaim. Think about making another. 

I hope you've enjoyed your trip to Somali-style pizza in your home oven. 

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