Hummus Lahme

Hummus Lahme (pronounced la-meh) has to be one of my absolute favorite ways to enjoy hummus. Basically it means hummus with meat. Years ago I worked at an Arabic restaurant where one of the owners was from Jordan the other owner was Lebanese and the head cook was Egyptian so the recipes I learned are a strange melange of all the very different regional preparations. I fell in love with this very simple dish, and this is the non traditional way I learned to make it. You can buy premade hummus or you can make your own. I prefer to make my own as you can make it just how you like it, and it is infinitely cheaper. Traditionally this dish is made with lamb but I  almost always use an organic lean ground beef because most lamb tastes a little too funky for me. I have made hummus with both canned and dried garbanzos but for ease I typically use canned.

the cast of characters

For the Hummus-
2-3 cans of drained garbanzo beans notice I substituted 1 can of cannellini beans to make a silkier product
3-5 large cloves of garlic
2 medium lemons juiced
1/4 c. Tahini paste
1 tbsp.toasted sesame oil
1 1/2  tsp. cumin powder (my spice obsession)
a few dashes of Sumac or smoked paprika
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp.olive oil (only if hummus is dry)
water as needed

So without further adieu...

everybody in the pool!

The delicious whippy result, notice the large missing spoonful

mix everything in food processor until well blended and hummusy (very technical, I know!). If the hummus seems dry then drizzle in olive oil or water while the food processor is running. I do not like a lot of olive oil in hummus so I usually only add about 1 tbsp oil, and then I use water to moisten it if I need to.  I like a lot of garlic and lemon but adjust it as you wish. Hummus is ALWAYS better if it gets to sit and meld the flavors for a while so typically I will make it in advance, but you do not have to. You will only use about half of the prepared hummus for the Lahme so you 'll have a little extra for dipping later in the week.

For the Lahme-
1/2 or1 lb. lean ground meat I prefer to make it less meaty
1/2 onion
 handful of pine nuts (they are currently ridiculously expensive but vital to a good lahme)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp.chopped cilantro or mint (I prefer cilantro but the mint is traditional if you are using lamb)

 Spread a thick layer of prepared hummus on large plate. Toast pine nuts in dry pan, remove from heat and set pine nuts aside. cook ground meat throughly, if the meat looks greasy pour off fat.Add onions and cook until translucent. Mix in pine nuts and cilantro and remove from heat.

The hummus all spread out

ta-da!

Place mixture on top of the plated hummus. Serve with warm pita wedges and sliced cucumber and tomato and devour : ) this serves about 4 as a family style dinner or many more as an appetizer. enjoy!

Oh, and Masie wanted to show you how to make a megablock hammer

step one:

 build your hammer, any color blocks will do

Step two:

wave it around and yell like a crazy person, because 

you are really excited that you built it, I guess.

Step 3:

 bang it on everything in the house while mommy is cooking

and make sure you sigh and groan a lot so mommy knows that you are really working hard

Peace and adorable kids gobbling hummus with a homemade hammer in the other hand!