Food and drink: Hummus with lamb and pine nuts

This recipe is the classic Lebanese way of serving meat with hummus. The cinammon–flavoured meat and nuts blend perfectly with the hummus, served here with a little green chilli sauce on the side. 

Serves: 4. Preperation: 10 minutes. Cook: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped 
• 500g/1lb 2oz minced lamb 
• 25g/1oz dairy-free butter 
• 450ml/16fl oz lamb stock 
• 85g/3oz bulghur wheat 
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp chilli powder 
• 1 tsp granulated sugar 
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper 
• 55g/2oz pine nuts, toasted 
• 450g/1lb hummus  

To garnish:  Tahini. Paprika, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and fry over a medium heat for five minutes, stirring until just beginning to brown around the edges. Add the lamb and dairy-free butter and fry, stirring from time to time and breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon until browned and tender. 

2. Meanwhile, bring the stock to the boil in
a saucepan, add the bulghur wheat, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until just tender with just enough stock left to keep the bulghur wheat moist. 

3. Add the cumin, cinnamon and chilli powder to the mince, then stir in the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. 

4. Tip the bulghur wheat and stock into the mince, then about two-thirds of the pine nuts. Stir together, cover and cook gently for
10 minutes. 

5. Spoon on to serving plates spread with hummus, then sprinkle with the rest of the pine nuts. Add a spoonful of tahini, sprinkle with
a little paprika to garnish and serve. 

• Extracted from Hummus To Halva: Recipes From A Levantine Kitchen by Ronen Givon and Christian Mouysset, published by Pavilion Books, priced £12.99 (hardback)