Hummus is more than a chick pea dip. Make it a meal by adding your favorite toppings and serve with warm pita, lavash, or flatbread. This recipe should be enough for 4-6 people, depending on how many delicious toppings you add.

• 2 cups hummus (store bought or homemade, recipe below)

To make the ground meat:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound KOL Foods ground meat (100% grassfed beef, 100% grassfed lamb, or ground turkey)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ¼ tsp cumin, if desired
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• Your choice of toppings:
• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets between 1 ½” and 2”
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 ½” to 2” chunks
• Hard boiled eggs, cut in half
• Pickled red onions
• Chopped olives
• Chopped figs or dates
• Lemon wedges
• Extra virgin olive oil (for serving)
• Pine nuts
• Za’atar
• Ground sumac
• Kosher salt

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until barely translucent. Add the ground meat and break up into small crumbles. Add the garlic, and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 5-8 minutes. Add cumin and salt to taste. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375. Toss the cauliflower and eggplant in olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt,. Roast until both are soft, about 35-45 minutes, tossing a few times to evenly cook. Allow veggies to cool slightly.

To assemble your meal:

Spread the hummus on a serving plate in a circle, leaving a well in the middle, and a few rings around the well. Spoon your ground meat into the well using a slotted spoon to drain any excess liquid. In each subsequent ring, add a new ingredient or combine ingredients (a ring of roasted cauliflower then a ring of chopped figs and then a ring of pickled red onion, for example.) Finally, drizzle extra virgin olive oil around the ingredients on the plate, and sprinkle with za’atar and ground sumac as desired.

For the hummus:

• 1 can chick peas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1/3 cup (or more) fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
• 2/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) ground cumin
• Olive oil (for serving)

Drain canned chick peas and rinse under cool water. Place in a pot with 1 tsp of baking soda and about 3 cups of water, or enough to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until chick peas are starting to fall apart. Drain.

Meanwhile, process garlic, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely pureed; let sit 10 minutes to allow garlic to mellow.

Strain garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to food processor; discard solids.

Add tahini and pulse to combine. With motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick. Add chickpeas and cumin and process, occasionally scraping down sides, until mixture is extremely smooth, about 4 minutes.

Thin with more water if you prefer a looser consistency; taste and season with salt, more lemon juice, and more cumin as desired.

Hummus recipe adapted from Epicurious