So here’s a traditional Arabic mezze dish which is extremely popular when you dine out at any authentic Lebanese restaurant. This one is a standard order for my hubby loves indulging in Arabic food atleast once a week. And naturally yours truly has to cater to this!! The Meat Hummus served in restaurants usually is small pieces of tender cut beef over the hummus and this comes along with pita bread, assorted salads and Arabic pickled veggies.
Hummus ofcourse is quite a healthy dish and when topped with the meat, it can be more than just an appetiser, it’s even a light lunch idea. For those who are allergic to wheat, try having it with keto or glutenfree pita bread/ khuboos that’s easily available in the supermarkets. Now here's my little twist, I prefer having this as a glorified snack, smearing my hummus over rice cakes and topping it with the meat and pine nuts.
There is frankly no set recipe for this, it’s passed down by generations and ofcourse at each restaurant the taste differs, depending on their hummus or the seasoning used in the meat. This recipe is pretty simple actually, with bare minimum ingredients, so do give it a try!
Ingredients
2 cups of my homemade hummus (Click here for my recipe)
250- 300 grams lean ground beef
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus extra)
1 tsp Arabic Bezar spice seasoning (or try garam masala)
Salt to taste
½ tsp freshly crushed pepper
3 tbsp. toasted pine nuts
Heat up the olive oil on a meduim sized pan and brown the ground beef slowly. After add the Arabic spice mix, salt and crushed pepper, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, then stir fry uncovered until any liquid dries up and meat gets a rich brown colour. Do a taste check before turning off the flame for salt or pepper.
Now for the layering. Take a deep bowl, first scoop out the hummus and cover the entire bowl with the hummus while making sure you get a well like center. Drizzle some olive oil over this well area and ladle the cooked meat over this. Top it with toasted pine nuts and it’s ready to be scooped up with soft pieces of pita bread or khuboos.
Try my style of having this over rice cakes, it makes a delicious anytime snack idea.
Watch my Khaleej Times recipe feature here
Tip- While hosting dinners, you can make it look fancy by adding finely chopped mint leaves and pomegranate seeds as additional topping, it’s going to impress your guests.