Lahmacun (Turkish Flatbread with Meat Topping) vs Souzoukakia Smyrneika: İzmir-Style Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Both dishes lean on tomato paste, cumin, garlic and onion, but they put them to very different work. In lahmacun, the raw topping of finely chopped vegetables, ground meat, red pepper paste and pepper flakes is spread thin over rolled-out dough and baked hot until the edges turn crisp and lightly charred, then brightened with lemon and parsley. Souzoukakia instead binds beef with egg and breadcrumbs into torpedo-shaped meatballs, browns them, and simmers them in a rich tomato sauce scented with bay leaf and a hint of sugar. One is crisp and tangy; the other is tender and saucy.