Ultracreamy Hummus with Baharat-Spiced Beef Topping
By Andrew JanjigianPublished on November 13, 2019
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 12 to 14
Ingredients
Hummus
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed½ teaspoon baking soda4 garlic cloves, peeled⅓ cup lemon juice1 teaspoon table salt¼ teaspoon ground cumin½ cup tahini, stirred well2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzlingTopping
2 teaspoons water½ teaspoon table salt¼ teaspoon baking soda8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil¼ cup finely chopped onion2 garlic cloves, minced1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika1 teaspoon ground cumin¼ teaspoon pepper¼ teaspoon ground coriander⅛ teaspoon ground cloves⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided2 teaspoons lemon juice1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsleyBefore You Begin
Baharat is a warm, savory spice blend used throughout the Middle East. Ground lamb can be used in place of the beef, if desired. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. You can gently warm the hummus—in the microwave or in a nonstick skillet—to make it even smoother and more flavorful. You can garnish with additional pine nuts and chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Instructions
- Combine chickpeas, baking soda, and 6 cups water in medium saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chickpea skins begin to float to surface and chickpeas are creamy and very soft, 15 to 25 minutes.
- While chickpeas cook, mince garlic using garlic press or rasp-style grater. Measure out 1 tablespoon garlic and set aside; discard remaining garlic. Whisk lemon juice, salt, and reserved garlic together in small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain garlic-lemon mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids.
- Drain chickpeas in colander and return to saucepan. Fill saucepan with cold water and gently swish chickpeas with your fingers to release skins. Pour off most of water into colander to collect skins, leaving chickpeas behind in saucepan. Repeat filling, swishing, and draining 3 or 4 times until most skins have been removed (this should yield about ¾ cup skins); discard skins. Transfer chickpeas to colander to drain.
- Process chickpeas, garlic-lemon mixture, ¼ cup water, and cumin in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add tahini and oil and process until hummus is smooth, creamy, and light, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (Hummus should have pourable consistency similar to yogurt. If too thick, loosen with water, adding 1 teaspoon at a time.) Season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste. (Hummus can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Let sit, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.) Transfer to wide, shallow serving bowl. Using back of spoon, make 1-inch-deep well in center of hummus, leaving 1-inch border.
- Combine water, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Add beef and toss to combine. Let set for 5 minutes.
- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add paprika, cumin, pepper, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup pine nuts and lemon juice and toss to combine. Spoon topping into well in hummus. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining pine nuts. Serve.
for the hummus
for the topping
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 12 to 14Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
This hummus is velvety-smooth and creamy, with a satisfyingly rich, balanced flavor. To achieve a perfectly smooth texture, we simmered canned chickpeas with water and baking soda for 20 minutes and then quickly removed their grainy skins by gently swishing them under a few changes of water. Tahini is a major source of richness and flavor in hummus. To avoid the bitter flavors that can come from tahini made with heavily roasted sesame seeds, we chose a light-colored tahini, which indicated that the seeds were only gently toasted. For balanced garlic flavor, we steeped the garlic in lemon juice and salt to extract its flavor and deactivate alliinase, the enzyme that gives this allium its harsh bite. Finally, we added ample fresh lemon juice to give the hummus a bright flavor. Topping hummus with spiced beef is common throughout the Middle East and turns this dip into a hearty meal.
15 Comments