Hummus ma lahma is Middle Eastern food at its most basic unfussiness. You might say this spicy, but not too spicy dish of hot ground beef melting into hummus, and wiped up with fresh pita, is the quintessential Middle Eastern comfort food. It literally takes 5 minutes to sook the meat, so if you buy the pita bread and hummus, you’ve got dinner on the table in nothing flat.

Hummus Ma Lahma

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for serving)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin,
• ¼ pound ground beef
• Salt to taste
• Hummus
• Pita bread

Method:

1. In small nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, cook until translucent, a few minutes.
2. Add minced garlic, and stir until fragrance rises. Add spices, stir until fragrant.
3. Add meat and stir until brown. Add salt to taste.
4. Spread hummus on a plate, creating a well in the middle with the back of a spoon.
5. Spoon the hot meat into the well of hummus. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with pita.