Hummus kawarma (lamb) with lemon sauce.
Hummus kawarma is the Lebanese name given to freshly made hummus, topped with fried chopped lamb. It is a small meal or a starter in a bowl and one of the most sensational things you can put in your mouth. Have it with fattoushor a similar salad and pita. Minced lamb can be used instead of chopping the meat by hand, but it won't have quite the same gratifying texture. This dish also works well without lamb altogether: just the hummus, chickpeas, lemon sauce and pine nuts.
1 quantity basic hummus, reserving 4 tablespoons of the cooked chickpeas to garnish
2 tbsp pinenuts, toasted in the oven or fried in a little unsalted butter
Kawarma
300g neck fillet of lamb, finely chopped by hand
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp crushed dried zaatar or oregano leaves
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee
1 tsp olive oil
Lemon sauce
10g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp salt
1. To make the kawarma, place all the ingredients apart from the butter or ghee and oil in a medium bowl. Mix well, cover and allow the mixture to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Just before you intend to cook the meat, place all the ingredients for the lemon sauce in a small bowl and stir well.
3. Heat the butter or ghee and the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat. Add the meat in 2–3 batches and stir as you fry each batch for 2 minutes. The meat should be slightly pink in the middle.
4. Divide the hummus between six individual shallow serving bowls, leaving a slight hollow in the centre of each. Spoon the warm kawarma into the hollow and scatter with the reserved chickpeas. Drizzle generously with the lemon sauce and garnish with some chopped parsley and the pinenuts.
Serves 6