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Lebanese Hushwee – Ground Beef with Pine Nuts

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LIZ DELLA CROCE

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Hushwee (or hashweh) is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine as a humble, flavor-packed dish made of ground meat cooked in clarified butter.

Scooping Lebanese hushwee- ground beef with pine nuts.

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 with a side of lebanese green beans. 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).

Lebanese hushwee- ground beef with pine nuts.

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

Lebanese Hushwee- ground beef with pine nuts.

More MIddle Eastern Recipes

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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.

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Lebanese Hushwee – Ground Beef with Pine Nuts

4.75 stars average
Liz Della Croce
Hushwee rice is a beef and rice mixture made with cinnamon, toasted pine nuts and rice pilaf cooked in clarified butter. An easy one-pan meal.
PREP: 25 minutes
COOK: 35 minutes
TOTAL: 1 hour
Pin
Servings8

Recipe Video

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
 

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.

Lebanese Hushwee

  • In a deep pan, melt butter over medium high heat then add the minced onion. Sautee until translucent, 4-5 minutes.
    1 tablespoon clarified butter, 1 medium onion
  • 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.
    20 ounces ground sirloin, 2 tablespoons All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend, 1/4 cup pine nuts

Last Step:

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Liz’s Notes

To toast pine nuts simply spread in an even layer on a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.
If you don’t wish to make your own clarified butter (also known as “ghee”), you can find it online or in most health stores.
For lasting freshness, store pine nuts in the freezer to keep them fresher, longer.

Nutrition

Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 517mg | Potassium: 307mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg


4.75 from 31 votes (20 ratings without comment)

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74 responses to “Lebanese Hushwee – Ground Beef with Pine Nuts”

  1. Jean Fuller Avatar
    Jean Fuller

    Saw this recipe yesterday and made today. I added shredded chicken (and toasted vermicelli pieces). It was exactly as I remember from great Lebanese restaurants in Detroit/Dearborn. I will be following you. Thanks!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Thank you so much for the best compliment! I’m glad you enjoyed!

  2. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    Hey Liz. Thanks for a great recipe and spice mix. I served it over salad. Love it with the pine nuts. Thanks again, Liz

    1. Lynda Mende Ruggiano Avatar
      Lynda Mende Ruggiano

      How I miss my sister in-laws wonderful cooking and culture. 💖😘😢

  3. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    We make this adding rice and leftover chicken or turkey chopped.

    1. Lisa Avatar
      Lisa

      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.