Hushwee (or hashweh) is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine as a humble, flavor-packed dish made of ground meat cooked in clarified butter.
Lebanese Hushwee (or hashweh) is a simple, modest Middle-Eastern recipe made with ground meat, cinnamon, and toasted pine nuts. Every family has a staple, comfort food that they go to over and over. For my family? That’s Lebanese Hushwee or Ground Beef with Pine Nuts. Packed full of flavor, but done quickly, we use it in a handful of different dishes, but also enjoy it on it’s own!
Ingredients
- Clarified butter: Also called ghee, it has more of a roasted, nutty taste than normal butter, and also stores and lasts longer than typical butter.
- Onion: I use a white onion, as it’s mild and palatable to most, but still adds great flavor.
- Ground beef: I use ground sirloin, but you can use ground chuck or even a different ground meat that you have on hand!
- Lebanese spice blend: My Lebanese spice blend is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and pepper.
- Pine nuts: Mild and sweet in flavor, and buttery in texture, they’re flavir is greatly enhanced when roasted or toasted.
How to Make Lebanese Hushwee
Start by melting your clarified butter over medium-high heat, then add in your diced onion and sauté until slightly translucent.
Add your ground beef and season with some salt and pepper, breaking up with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
Add your Lebanese spice blend and continue cooking until ground beef is all browned and crumbled.
Finish by adding your toasted pine nuts and minced parsley (if you have it).
Serve with pita bread and brown rice, and enjoy your Lebanese Hushwee!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is hushwee?
Hushwee (or hashweh) is a one-pot dish full of warm spices and flavor that comes from the Middle-East. I make it the way my family did, which stems from Lebanon, but there are variations from many countries!
What do you serve with hushwee?
We love eating it with creamy, cucumber laban and a giant Syrian salad. To eat, ditch the fork and scoop up your bites with pieces of pita bread!
What type of meat do you use with hushwee?
This recipe works with any type of ground meat you have on hand, but I prefer beef sirloin, ground lamb, or a combination of the two.
Recipes with Hushwee
- Sfeehas (Lebanese Meat Pies)
- Lebanese Hushwee Rice
- Hummus and Hushwee Pinwheels
- Lebanese Hushwee Rice with Chicken
More MIddle Eastern Recipes
- Lebanese Hindbeh
- Classic Hummus with Toasted Pine Nuts
- Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- Greek Herb Salad with Feta
- Arabic Lentil Soup
Did you try this recipe and like it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
What family recipes always bring you back to special times in the kitchen? Lebanese Hushwee is one that we always come back to in my family.
No fork required.
Lebanese Hushwee – Ground Beef with Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter (also known as ghee)
- 1 medium onion (minced – use frozen diced onions to save time)
- 20 ounces ground sirloin (lamb or bison work well too)
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend
- ¼ cup pine nuts (toasted)
- fresh minced parsley (garnish)
Instructions
- In a deep pan, melt butter over medium high heat then add the minced onion. Sautee until translucent, 4-5 minutes.
- Add ground sirloin and spices. Cook 8-10 minutes or until meat is browned, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up meat. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in toasted pine nuts and set aside.
Toasting the Pine Nuts:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a small cookie sheet place raw pine nuts and cook for 5-7 minutes or until they are at a light brown in color. Keep a careful eye on them as they can burn quickly.
Hey Liz. Thanks for a great recipe and spice mix. I served it over salad. Love it with the pine nuts. Thanks again, Liz
How I miss my sister in-laws wonderful cooking and culture. 💖😘😢
We make this adding rice and leftover chicken or turkey chopped.
Oh, and we brown the meat in one pan, and toast the pine nuts in a stockpot near the end of sautéing the onions. Add the browned meat, chopped chicken or turkey, rice, and chicken stock to stockpot, cover, and simmer until rice is done.
I love, love, love this recipe. It’s easy, flavorful AND my toddlers will eat it!!!
Oh yes my boys love it too Cara!!! So glad!
Parboiled rice isn’t available in my area at the moment. How should I prepare it with long grain white rice?
Same way! :)
I absolutely love this recipe, however I do not think it is gluten-free with the vermicelli, nor would it be Paleo. If you remove the rice and pasta it would absolutely be gluten-free and Paleo! Would probably taste great over cauliflower rice cooked in ghee!
Hi MJ! Sorry for the confusion – you just pointed out an error: the recipe listed is for hushwee WITH RICE (but it’s supposed to just be the hushwee/meat part which is gluten free and paleo.) :) We are working to resolve – sorry about that!
The missing ingredient is rice. We have made this dish with rice for generations.
Hi Tina – We make it with rice also but that’s a separate recipe. :) https://thelemonbowl.com/lebanese-hushwee-rice-with-toasted-pine-nuts/
Oh my goodness, this was absolutely divine! We added some sultanas to it during the cooking, which gave it a little sweet pop, but… ohhh my. I can’t begin to describe how amazing this was. I am not a massive parsley fan, but it really was amazing in this, and I added lemon juice at the end just to cut the fat of the lamb. I actually forgot about the chicken, but it didn’t need it. :)
Oh I love the lemon juice idea at that end!!!!!!
This was delicious. I served mine over cooked spinach, less salt and more ghee. Ahhh. My husband had his over butternut squash. I can think of many ways to eat it. Thank you.
What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it!
This might sound crazy but can this be made without the nuts as my dialysis diet doesn’t allow nuts?
Yes totally just leave them out!!
Liz, 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt is way too much. You must love a lot of salt. You really don’t need the salt with the other spices mixed.
Hi Denise – I always do 1 teaspoon of salt per one pound of meat but you’re welcome to adjust to your personal taste! Enjoy!
I make the Hashwe with the 5 spices but I use much less salt in the spices. This is great in pita bread with a Lebanese salad.
This recipe is a fave in my family, and my kids are very finicky. Thanks for sharing this.
I’m so glad you enjoy it!!! We love it too.
Could this be made with ground turkey? I can only eat poultry due to food allergies and really want to try this!
Yes it absolutely could but it will be a bit on the drier side. Enjoy!
Would adding some ghee help that?
Yes absolutely!!
Hey, i only have stir fry rice noodles. Will this method work? Or should i soak them in water per the box’s instructions?
Oooo that sounds tasty too. I would cook them according to package instructions!