America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Ultracreamy Hummus with Baharat-Spiced Beef Topping

By Andrew Janjigian

Published on November 13, 2019

Time

45 minutes

Yield

Serves 12 to 14

Ultracreamy Hummus with Baharat-Spiced Beef Topping

Ingredients

Hummus

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed½ teaspoon baking soda 4 garlic cloves, peeled⅓ cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ½ cup tahini, stirred well2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Topping

2 teaspoons water ½ teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup finely chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, minced1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika 1 teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon ground coriander ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Before 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

    for the hummus

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. for the topping

  6. Combine water, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Add beef and toss to combine. Let set for 5 minutes.
  7. 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.
Ultracreamy Hummus with Baharat-Spiced Beef Topping
Photography by Carl Tremblay. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.

Ultracreamy Hummus with Baharat-Spiced Beef Topping

Save

Time

45 minutes

Yield

Serves 12 to 14

Ingredients

Hummus

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Topping

2 teaspoons water
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Ingredients

Hummus

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Topping

2 teaspoons water
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Ingredients

Hummus

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Topping

2 teaspoons water
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

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.

Before 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

    for the hummus

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. for the topping

  6. Combine water, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Add beef and toss to combine. Let set for 5 minutes.
  7. 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.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.