Smoky cauliflower hummus topped with indian spiced beef & toasted pine nuts

My parents used to take me to this great Lebanese restaurant that had the yummiest hummus topped with this amazing spiced ground beef. I wanted to create my own version.

I also LOVE Indian food and thought the flavors inside of beef samosas would work perfectly with this smoky cauliflower hummus. I even include the peas that are in samosas, they add a slight sweetness to all the other flavors — a great compliment. It is such a perfect balance of tangy, sweet, smoky, and spicy. The toasted pine nuts on top tie it all together. Who says you cannot combine different ethnicities when cooking? There are few cooking rules in my kitchen.

Cauliflower hummus has a texture that is more hearty to me than traditional chick pea hummus. This dish is nutty, smoky and when I make it slightly spicy too. I make the hummus alone often to have in the fridge as a healthy snack during the week but add the spiced beef topping with pine nuts when entertaining to give it a really unique twist. It is a lot of steps but they are fairly simple and well worth the work.

RECIPE TUNES (because everything is always better with music)
Need You Now by Cut Copy • All Night by Chance The Rapper • Sit Next To Me by Foster the People

INGREDIENTS

• Plenty of soft pita bread or plain pita chips for dipping. (I love multigrain pita chips)

     Indian Spiced Beef Ingredients (to go on top of hummus):

• 2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil (to cook the meat in)
• 1 small package of ground beef, ground lamb or other ground meat of your choice
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala (see picture at the bottom of this recipe if you are not familiar with this spice.)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 small bunch finely chopped cilantro

     Cauliflower Hummus Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower (or two smaller heads) cut up into pieces about 1-2 inches big (see photo in recipe below)
• 2-3 TBSP tahini (This is Sesame paste. See reference photo at the bottom of the recipe)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 TBSP smoked paprika. It is important to use smoked and not just regular paprika for it adds the smoky flavor which is key to this recipe. (see photos at the bottom of the recipe.)
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 TBSP diced garlic or Garlic paste from a tube
• 1 large lemon
• optional: red chile flakes (1 tsp or more if you like it spicy.)

     Garnish:

• 1/2-1 cup Pine Nuts toasted

LETS COOK!

First let’s make the beef topping:

1. Using a frying pan put your olive oil in pan and heat to medium/high.
2. Sauté your onions in the oil until they start to look translucent.
3. Add your ground meat and cook, stirring it lots and breaking up the meat to keep pieces ground small.
4. Once meat is cooked drain the oil/fat.
5. Put your beef/onions back in the pan on medium-low heat and mix in the following ingredients:
   • Chili Powder
   • Coriander
   • Cumin
   • Garam Masala
   • Turmeric Powder
   • Chopped tomatoes and
   • Frozen peas
6. Cook all together on low-medium until your peas are cooked through. (About 10 min.)
7. Take off the burner, toss in the freshly chopped cilantro and then set it all aside.

Note: If serving it the same day you make it leave it out so it doesn’t chill but if making in advance put it in the fridge in a separate container and warm it up before topping your hummus with it when you serve it.)

Now we will make the hummus:

1. Cut up your cauliflower into small florets. (see pic for visual)
   
2. Place florets into a large bowl with all the ingredients listed below.
   • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (this is half of what the recipe calls for. You will use the rest later.)
   • 1 TBSP smoked paprika (see photo at the bottom of the recipe for visual.)
   • Big pinch or two of Kosher salt
   • Big pinch of black Pepper
   • 1 TBSP diced garlic or Garlic paste from a tube
3. Mix your florets with all the ingredients added until cauliflower is coated well with everything.
4. Cover a large cookie sheet with foil and lay all of the cauliflower onto it. Roast in your oven for 16-18 minutes tossing florets midway through until the edges start to get dark. (Its ok if they have some slightly blackened edges.)
5. Remove from the oven and let the cauliflower cool for 10-15 minutes.
6. Place your roasted cauliflower florets into your food processor.
7. Add the following ingredients to the cauliflower in your food processor:
   • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
   • 2 TBSP tahini
   • the remaining olive oil
   • 1/4 cup water
   • red chile flakes which are optional but I love (1 tsp or more if you like it spicy.)
8. Squeeze in the juice of half of your lemon
9. Pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until they are well mixed and a somewhat smooth consistency.
10. Taste and add more of any of the following until its to your liking: salt, pepper, oil, tahini (for more nuttiness), water and/or the rest of you lemon juice if you need more tang.
11. Once your hummus tastes how you love it scoop it into a serving bowl.
12. When you are ready to serve it, warm up your beef mixture and top off the hummus with as much of it as you wish. If you make this just before your are entertaining the beef is fine at room temp or slightly warm. (As people eat your hummus you can always refresh it with more beef topping so don’t feel you have to use it all.)
13. Finally, toast your pine nuts on a foil lined cookie sheet and then sprinkle them on top of the entire dish. (I do them under my broiler for about 3 minutes but using a toaster is fine too, just watch them closely so they don’t burn which can happen really quickly.)
14. Serve with pita bread slices or pita chips.

ENJOY!

INGREDIENT VISUALS