Hummus and Meat (w/Veggies)

Adapted from Bon Appetit’s Healthyish

I initially made this because (1) I am always looking for new ways to eat hummus (2) It seemed like something I could make in, like, no time and (3) I like serving things on a big-ass plate and telling everyone they’re responsible for avoiding someone else’s double-dip zone.

What You Need for the Hummus:
1 container of hummus. I suggest a lemon hummus, but if you’re feeling fancy, get roasted garlic or red pepper or whatever fancy hummus is to you.
Pita bread. Buy it at the grocery store!

What You Need for the Meat:
1 pound ground lamb or lean ground beef or ground turkey or chicken or…choose your meat adventure.
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, minced. Or, use a jar of minced garlic if you hate cutting garlic.
1 Tbsp. olive oil

What You Need for the Veggies:
1 pound of zucchini, cut into about one inch cubes
Olive oil–1 1/2 Tbsp., but divided. 1/2 for the pan, 1 for the zucc.
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced/jarred
Pepper

What You “Need” for the Garnish:
Fresh parsley. If you have fresh basil or cilantro…that’ll work too.

What You Need to Do: Hummus
Spread it on a large plate or platter. This is basically what I used.
That’s it. You’re done with the hummus.
For the pita bread, you want this heated gently, so either wrap it in foil and stick it in a 350-degree oven for 10(ish) minutes, or DO NOT wrap it in foil, put it on a plate and microwave it for 30 seconds.

What You Need to Do: Meat
Mix together all the dry spices in a small bowl or cup. Honestly, I like a coffee mug for this.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium.
Add the meat, and press down into a giant patty about an inch thick. You don’t need to bring out your middle-school ruler for this. Eyeballing it is fine.
Sprinkle the top of your meat patty with half of spice mixture and half of the meatgarlic.
Cook the meat patty about 3-5 minutes without moving it. Let it get a little browned and a little crisp. And then…
Break it apart into chunks–let’s say 5 or 6 chunks–and turn each piece over.
Cook this brand new side of until other side is browned and crisp, which should happen in like 3 minutes. And then…
Break it apart even more. Aim for lots of tiny, crispy pieces, or however many you can get during approximately 2 minutes of additional cooking. After those 2 minutes are up, your meat should be cooked through.
Remove the pan from heat and use a slotted spoon (because you don’t want all that grease/fat in your food) to scoop the meat over the hummus on the platter.

What You Need to Do: Veggies
Wipe out the skillet you just used for the meat.
Toss zucchini with about 1 Tbsp. olive oil, the spices and the garlic
Put the skillet back on medium heat with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.
When the oil is shimmering–or, like, after you feel like you’ve waited forever and what is “shimmering” anyway so let’s call it 40 seconds because I personally have no patience–add the zucchini. And then…
Cook the zucchini about 5 minutes over medium heat. You want it soft, but not so soft you could eat it if your teeth fell out and you were limited to a pudding diet, like that dream I keep having.
Spoon the zucchini over the meat and hummus.
Garnish with parsley (or cilantro or basil), or whatever fresh herb makes your heart sing before you serve.

How Do I Eat This?
Sit the platter betwixt yourself and whomever you’re eating with and use the warm pitas to scoop up the whole mixture. Eating alone? Whole platter to yourself! (This makes for great lunch leftovers.)

How Long is This Going to Take Me?
Roughly 30 minutes, start to finish. Especially if you’re using jarred garlic because wow you won’t even need to chop garlic–just zucchini.

Is This Even Healthy?
Check what’s in your hummus and pita bread for nutrition info there.
I’m not sure how much of this *you’ll* eat. Last time I made this, it easily fed three with a little bit of leftovers for lunch the next day. Let’s say this serves 3 generously, but you’ll prob come closer to 4 servings.
That said–I calculated the nutrition info for 3 servings, and keep in mind calories will depend on the meat you used. It’ll come in between 400 and 500 calories (for meat + veg), for turkey vs. lamb vs. beef and how lean your meat is. For three servings.
Also, I’m including the calories as a very general measure. I don’t think all calories are equal (because they aren’t) but if you’re looking for a way to gauge, I think it’s an easy shorthand.