Pimped hummus with lamb and pomegranate
When time’s short, we pimp like crazy. And nothing begs pimping more than a tub of hummus… and look, you could make your own for this recipe if you liked. But we’re cheating like hell here because we’re all out of time this week and we’re rooting for Team Easy. You just grab a half kilo of lamb (or beef) mince, give it a hard sear, amp it up with spices, a slosh of pomegranate molasses and some honey, then pile it over your hummus and garnish it with a tumble of nuts, pomegranate seeds and coriander. That. Is. It. Let’s talk technique though; we don’t want to gloss over that ‘hard sear’ bit. When you’re browning mince, the temptation is to keep stirring it and not cook it over high enough heat and the result? Pallid, stewy meat. Ewww. What you want to do is get your pan really hot, dump in your oil, spread your meat over the base, then… leave it. Don’t touch it, don’t poke it, don’t stir it, don’t turn it. Leave it to sear for a full 4-5 minutes, giving it the right amount of time to turn a decent brown and for any liquid to evaporate. Only then should you turn it, and let it brown all over. Reduce the heat a little, add the spices and stuff, stir them in, breaking up the meat as you go, and let the spices cook for a minute or so until they’re fragrant. Pile your platter with the hummus and everything else, then let your crew dig in with toasted pita bread for scooping. With a salad to the side, you could call this dinner’.
SERVES 4-6
3 large pita breads, split into 2 rounds
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
660g (3 cups) hummus chopped pistachios, pomegranate seeds (optional), 4 radishes (finely sliced), mint leaves to garnish
Lamb Topping
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp canola, or other high smoke point oil
300g lamb or beef mince
1½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp Aleppo pepper or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Heat the oven to 180°C. Place the pita bread on 2 oven trays, and drizzle with oil. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool, then break into large pieces.
For the lamb topping, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, then cook, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes or until light golden.
Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large frypan over high heat. Add the mince, spreading it out to form a thin layer, then leave it to cook for 4-5 minutes or until well browned. Turn it over as best you can to brown the other side for another 4 or so minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the onion mixture and the spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to break up the mince and mix everything well, or until the mixture is fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then drizzle with pomegranate molasses.
Spread the hummus over a serving platter or large, shallow bowl, then pile on the mince mixture. Scatter with pistachios, pomegranate seeds, if you’re using them, radish and mint, then serve with pita bread for scooping.
