Hello lovelies! I go through periods of food obsessions. This is one of those times. I recently ate some hummus with za'atar on it and it was love at first bite.
What is za'atar, i hear you cry? Well, I am so glad you asked. Za'atar is a spice mixture consisting of various woody herbs, sesame seeds and lemony sumac. it is often used in middle eastern cooking.
Even the name is cool. Za'atar. The two letter a's separated by an apostrophe just amp up the coolness factor. Or should that be the Z factor?
I searched online for recipes and found half a dozen...some had cumin and coriander which gave it an earthy quality, but I wanted fresh and woody--like a forest in the sunlight. Because this is how za'atar makes you feel--like you are forest bathing on a sunny day.
I made my recipe as simple as possible. I couldn't even be arsed to toast my sesame seeds and it still turned out amazing. I had everything in my cupboard except for sumac which I bought at Tesco. Don't leave out the sumac. This tart, lemony red spice gives it the sunshine taste.
Za'atar Spice Mix
2 TB dried oregano
2 TB dried mixed herbs (mine contain oregano, parsley,rosemary, tarragon, basil, thyme and sage)
2 TB sesame seeds (toasting optional)
2 TB sumac
1 tsp fine grain salt
Mix together and sprinkle on EVERYTHING. Literally everything. Your mouth will thank you.
Sure sounds like a great seasoning. Sumac as a spice is new to me.
ReplyDelete