For the last days of summer, a few more weeks of tomatoes and, with luck, another dinner or two outside.
I am incapable of meal planning; rather the opposite. I rarely know in the morning what we will have for dinner tonight, and who can possibly know on a Sunday what they will want to eat on Wednesday? I realize it makes much organizational sense, but food here is not so much a practical matter as an impulse and a craving, even within the confines and limits of the daily humdrum of cooking for six.
And so the necessity for fast food. One could of course have made the hummus and the flatbreads oneself, but that hasn’t so far fitted into the picture of having dinner ready in twenty minutes.
It’s a family favourite, through the ages. We make it often, while tomatoes last.
Lamb with hummus, salad, and tahini
I’ve not made hummus in a long time, though I’ve had a fantastic recipe for years, which I must eventually share
Tomatoes, cucumbers, and flat leaf parsley
Red onion (optional)
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Light tahini (sesame paste)
Fresh lemon juice
Water
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Onions (about half an onion per person)
Garlic (one small clove per person)
Olive oil
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
Minced lamb (about 100g per person)
Cumin and fennel seeds, ground in a mortar
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Hummus (home made or good store bought)
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Sumac
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Warm flatbread or other good bread to serve
For the tahini sauce: Put a few tablespoonfuls of tahini paste into a bowl, pour a little lemon juice, and stir. Incrementally add lemon juice and a little water, until the tahini has achieved a desired, runny consistency and just the right amount of acidity. **The tahini will initially thicken before it becomes runny with added liquid.**
For the salad: Wash and chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley into a salad. Very thinly slice the red onion, if using. Lightly season with olive oil and lemon juice.
For the lamb:
Peel and chop the onions. Smash, peel, and roughly chop the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Brown the onions over medium heat until just beyond deep golden, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or two until translucent. Add salt and pepper. Remove the onions and garlic from the pan and set aside.
Turn up the heat to high and brown the meat, in batches if necessary. **The meat will release some liquid and start to stew rather than brown if the pan is too crowded.**drizzle
Mix the onions and garlic into the meat and season with cumin, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper.
To serve:
Slather the plate with a few tablespoons of hummus. Place the spiced lamb over the hummus, then the salad, and, finally, drizzle some tahini and sprinkle with sumac. Serve with warm pita or toasted bread.
Nettle and Quince 