Hummus bowls with spiced beef
Warm beef with cumin and a hint of cinnamon, spooned over cool, creamy hummus with a lemony chopped salad and soft pita for scooping.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $4.23 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 1 english cucumber, chopped
- 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1½ cups hummus
- 4 pita bread, warmed (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 500 calories, 31 g protein, 24 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $4.23 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No ground beef? Lean ground beef works.
- No english cucumbers? Cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No pita bread? Naan or flour tortillas work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the garlic, chop the cucumber and parsley, and the tomatoes before you start.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Halve. Halving means cutting something into two equal pieces. Even halves cook at the same speed, so one doesn’t dry out while the other finishes.
How you’ll know: The two pieces look like mirror images of each other.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, , for 4 to 5 minutes until .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beef and break it into small pieces with a spoon. Let it sit for 2 minutes between so it .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Leave it alone for a bit. Beef only browns when it sits against the hot pan.Keep cooking for 6 to 8 minutes in all, until no pink is left and the bits are . Spoon extra fat into a heatproof bowl if there’s a lot.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon of salt and the pepper and for 1 minute, .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
the cucumber, tomatoes and parsley with the lemon juice, the last tablespoon of oil and of salt.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Spread the hummus into four shallow bowls, making a swoosh with the back of a spoon.
Spoon the hot beef into the middle, pile the salad alongside and serve with warm pita for scooping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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