Hummus with Spiced Ground Meat

It is safe to say that I love hummus. I can eat hummus with every meal and not get bored of it. When it comes to serving hummus, there are endless variations and interpretations. The one thing that I will say is that hummus is always made with chick peas. If you make your hummus with any other legume or bean, you are really making bean dip that tastes like hummus. A classic preparation of hummus is to serve it warm topped with spiced ground meat. Make sure to have plenty of pita for dipping. 

Ingredients: 

Hummus: 

1 large can of chick peas

1/3 cup tahini

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

juice of one lemon 

1/4 chopped parsley

teaspoon cayenne pepper

tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground coriander 

salt 

pepper

water 

1/4 cup olive oil 

Spiced Ground Meat

1 pound of ground meat( beef or lamb) 

2 tablespoons baharat spice

one medium onion chopped

tablespoon minced garlic

tablespoon capers

salt 

1/3 water 

tablespoon sesame seeds

olive oil 

Method: 

Hummus: 

Fill a medium sauce pan halfway with water. Bring water up to a boil. Once at a boil add the chick peas. Boil the chick peas for about 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional five minutes. Strain the chick peas while reserving about a cup of the cooking liquid. Transfer the chick peas to a food processor. Along with the chick peas, add paprika, ground coriander, salt, pepper, olive oil, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, parsley, tahini, ground cumin, and about 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Pulse the ingredients until the hummus comes together. If it is not as smooth as you would like, add a few tablespoons of water to the mixture and pulse. Once the hummus reaches a smooth texture it is ready to serve. 

Spice Ground Meat: 

In a medium frying pan, fry the chopped onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the onions for about four minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Next, add the ground meat to the pan and brown the meat. Make sure to break the ground meat up with a wooden spoon. Once browned, add the baharat spice, capers, and sesame seeds to the pan. Stir the spices around the pan until fully blended. Add the 1/3 cup water and cook for 8 minutes or until there is almost no more liquid in the pan. The meat mixture is now ready to be eaten. Serve the meat mixture on top of the warm hummus. To eat the hummus have plenty of warm pita bread. To make a meal out of the hummus with ground meat you may also serve it with Israeli salad and steak fries.