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Hummus with spiced lamb

From Thomasina Miers, co-owner of Mexican street food chain Wahaca (www.wahaca.co.uk). Photograph: Franck Allais and Ed Johns for the Guardian
You can find a version of this dish served as a mezze in good Lebanese restaurants. If you use already-cooked chickpeas, you can make your own mezze in just 20 minutes. It is incredibly tasty and packed with protein and good carbs, leaving you full and satisfied for hours. Serves 4–6

500g (2 tins) cooked chickpeas
150ml extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
200g minced lamb
Juice of 2 lemons
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp tahini paste
Smoked, sweet paprika
A handful of parsley, chopped
3 tbsp toasted pinenuts
Salt and black pepper

1. Empty the chickpeas, with their water, into a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. When it is hot, pour in 3 tablespoons of the oil and the onion. Season with salt and pepper and the cinnamon and cook for 10 minutes until sweet and golden.

3. Turn the heat right up, add the mince and break it up with a wooden spoon, stirring all the time, for 5 minutes, until browned all over. Remove from the heat.

4. Meanwhile, pour all the chickpeas and half their water into a blender with the rest of the oil, the lemon juice, garlic and tahini. Season well then check the flavour, adding more salt, lemon or olive oil, as needed. Whizz for a few minutes, adding the remainder of the cooking water to free the blades if necessary.

5. Turn the heat back on under the lamb and cook over a high heat until crispy and golden. Spoon the hummus on to a plate and top with the lamb. Sprinkle with sweet paprika, chopped parsley and the pinenuts and eat with warm flatbread and crudites.

leb
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