Hashweh (or hushwee) is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine as a humble, flavor-packed dish made of ground meat cooked in clarified butter. Served with browned rice and seasoned with cinnamon and toasted pine nuts. It’s naturally gluten free and paleo.
You know how certain people have their specialties in every family? Well, in our family, my Aunt Paula is famous for hashweh. No matter how hard I try, mine never quite tastes like hers, Ironically, she always thinks hers is missing something too. (Trust me, hers is perfect. Every. Single. Time.)
What is hushwee?
Hashweh (or hushwee) is a simple, modest recipe made with ground meat, cinnamon, and toasted pine nuts. It is the foundation of many classic Lebanese dishes such as Stuffed Eggplant or my husband’s favorite, Sfeehas (Lebanese Meat Pies).
At Christmas, we love eating it on top of mashed potatoes with a drizzle of homemade gravy. It also tastes great served over hummus and eaten with pita bread.
How to easily toast pine nuts
Total Time: 7 minutes
Bake
Bake pine nuts 350 degrees on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes.
Smell
Use your nose – the pine nuts are done the minute you smell that intoxicating, nutty flavor.
The end result is a batch of evenly toasted, golden brown pine nuts. Your hummus will thank me.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What do you serve with hashweh?
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 hashweh?
Actually, 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.
What family recipes always bring you back to special times in the kitchen? I’d love to hear from you.
Your fork is waiting.
Lebanese Hushwee Beef
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.
Recipe Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Hey Liz. Thanks for a great recipe and spice mix. I served it over salad. Love it with the pine nuts. Thanks again, Liz
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!