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Milk Street Recipe
Spiced Beef Topping for Hummus (Kawarma)
Warm ground meat toppings lend rich, savory notes to hummus, and makes it a more robust meal. Our inspiration was kawarma, which uses ground lamb. We found beef was just as delicious. Use a wand-style grater to finely grate the garlic. The raw meat mixture can be combined up to an hour ahead and refrigerated until ready to cook. It also can be cooked ahead and refrigerated (minus the lemon and parsley), then reheated in a skillet or microwave just before serving. Finish with the lemon juice and parsley.
1/2 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
3/4 cup water
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or mint
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
Tahini, to serve
Ingredients
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½
pound 90 percent lean ground beef
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¾
cup water
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2
garlic cloves, grated
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2
teaspoons sweet paprika
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¾
teaspoon kosher salt
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½
teaspoon cinnamon
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½
teaspoon ground cumin
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½
teaspoon dried oregano
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½
teaspoon cayenne pepper
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½
large yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
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1
tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
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2
tablespoons tomato paste
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2
tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or mint
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1½
teaspoons lemon juice
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Tahini, to serve
Directions
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01In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix together the beef, paprika, salt, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, cayenne, garlic and 2 tablespoons water.See It
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02In a 10-inch skillet over medium-high, add the ground beef mixture, the onion and olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, until the onion is softened and the beef is no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.See It
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03Add the remaining 10 tablespoons water and cook, scraping the pan, until the water has evaporated and the mixture begins to sizzle, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste and season with salt. Spoon over hummus, then drizzle with tahini.See It
Spicy hot and delicious! I had to adjust the cayenne pepper because it was just too hot, and I really wanted to taste the other spices. Served with warm hummus and you have a great quick meal.
I prefer ground lamb as the protein - maybe because when I've been served hummus with ground meat at local Middle Eastern eateries it is lamb they use. I also substitute Aleppo for cayenne just because we love Aleppo pepper at our house and keep a shaker on the counter tray next to the sumac, kosher salt and pepper mill. (If you're using cayenne, echoing Lenore P's recommendation to tread cautiously for the amount specified IF you're sensitive to heat. Otherwise - full throttle. ) If using lamb I omit the tomato paste. Otherwise, per recipe and after topping the hummus with the lamb mixture I like to sprinkle with a few toasted pine nuts. In the mode of everything is connected to everything else for quality matters, I've found the best ones are Turkish and sold online by a Lebanese American woman through her store.