Lamb Hummus Bruschetta

Notes from the road…

As everyone knows, our firm does most of our work overseas for our US and international clients.  Since most of work is communications on global issues, coverage of most matters is spread throughout the world, not just with our friends in D.C.  So we pack our bags and off we go.

Which means a lot of  trains and planes as well as restaurants, eating spots, food markets, bizarres, souks, hotels and so on.  It really inspires a lot of dishes we finally work through when back home in the United States.

Thanks to #LPBCooks and social media, we can share and exchange ideas on cooking, new spots to go, special cuisines and just about everything else that expand our view of the world, not just about food but the cultures that drive the many cuisines we enjoy.  We always like to post where we are, when it makes sense, as it inspires friends all over to send us recommendations for restaurants and things to do while we have some downtime.  It’s not only makes traveling a lot more enjoyable but we are ardent believers in understanding the culture of the locations we work.

One day I checked-in on Facebook while in Beirut and sure enough a friend who was a reporter there,  but more importantly a native,  fired off a laundry list of things to do including the amazing lunch spot pictured below.  You will see a lot of dishes influenced from the meals we have had all over Lebanon.

Seven years later from Maria’s recommendations in Beirut, I find myself in Morocco for a week, a country rich with culture, amazing food, truly welcoming people but I really had no idea what or where to go in the limited downtime on the schedule.  Once again, I checked in on social media and the recommendations came flying in, including a stop at a few traditional Morocco hot-spots and a well known Spanish seafood place in Rabat.

When I land back in the United States from this trip, I have fourteen hours to have a working lunch for a group of visiting dignitaries from overseas and was thinking of trying one of the Moroccan dishes I came across on this trip but always like to do a LPB Test Kitchen before I make it for a lunch or dinner.

So while smelling the amazing spices of Morocco and thinking about how I want a one dish meal, I thought I would give a new dish a try that is made up of a mix of items I have already made but not put together in such a way.

So for a flavorful lunch, try taking a freshly grilled sliced country bread, layer it with roasted red peppers, slather hummus on top then herbed ground lamb.  Accompany it with a Greek salad and serve on one dish.  As I look at the make-up, this meal was inspired the the outdoor market in Morocco (spices), Spain (roasted red peppers), US, Lebanon & Greece (Lamb/Hummus), and Bruschetta, (Milos in NYC)…it takes a lot of villages to make a tasty lunch.

Ingredients 

• Simple Bruschetta
• Spiced Lamb on Hummus
• Hummus (Supercharged)
• Roast Red Peppers, thinly sliced
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Paprika
• Greek Salad or Cucumber Dill Salad

Making It

• You can make the hummus the night before, slice the bread to get it a bit crusty overnight.  You can roast the red peppers as well, then marinated in olive oil overnight
• Make the salad and do not dress it until 15 minutes before serving
• Take the hummus and red peppers out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature
• Saute the lamb and at the same time grill the bread
• Take the bread and lay spread out the sliced red peppers, slather on the hummus and top with spiced lamb and plate while adding the salad next to it and served immediately