Skip to main content

Hummus with ground lamb and pine nuts. Sounds strange tastes sublime

We had eight for dinner on Saturday night and yet again turned to the excellent Moro cookbooks for a bit of middle eastern/Spanish/ Moorish inspiration.

This recipe received pretty good reviews from all diners (and the kids when we re-made it the following day!)

Ingredients

200 g (7 oz) chickpeas, soaked overnight with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda (I used canned chickpeas instead.)
6 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 large Spanish onion, diced finely
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with salt
3-4 tbsp tahini paste
170g (6 oz) lamb, minced
2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 medium bunch flat leaf parsley
a sprinkling of paprika
salt & pepper

Method

Rinse the chickpeas under cold water, then place in a large saucepan. Fill with 2L of cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, skimming off any scum as it builds up. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, or until the skins are tender. Remove from heat, pour off excess liquid until level with the chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat half the olive oil over low to medium heat and fry the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and sweet. Remove from heat and add the cinnamon.

To make the hummus, drain the chickpeas, keeping aside the cooking liquid. Blend in a food processor with a little of the cooking liquid. When smooth, add the lemon juice, garlic, tahini, and the rest of the olive oil. Add salt and pepper, and some more liquid if necessary. Taste for seasoning and spread the hummus on a plate.

Place a frying pan over high heat. When hot, add the caramelised onion and its oil, and then the lamb. Break up the lamb as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper. When the lamb begins to crisp, add the pinenuts and transfer immediately to the hummus. Serve with parsley leaves and paprika sprinkled on top, and plenty of flatbread or pita.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind