One huge and easy way for me to do this is through cooking.
Growing up, this was always a breakfast food staple in my house. Waking up to the deliciously unmistakable smell of za'atar in the oven with a gorgeous spread of all the accouterments was divine. My mom would have all chopped and ready some tomatoes and cucumbers and a bowl of olives to top our manaeesh with. It has now become a staple in my house for my own family. My kids have been eating this since they got their first teeth and my husband has been enjoying it since we first got together.
I don't have a recipe on how to make the mixture. In fact, I have never seen my mom make it and I'm pretty sure she never has. We buy it in bags from the Arabic market. We are also lucky enough to have family that go to Lebanon every summer and buy us fresh, vacuum sealed bags of it from the locals over there that make their own.
There is sure to be an Arabic market in your area, or at the very least, an international market. Look for one and you will most likely find Za'atar there.
Pick up some extra virgin olive oil to mix into it and believe me, you will not be disappointed!
A staple in any Lebanese household is a spice mixture called za'atar.
It is usually a mix of thyme, oregano, sumac, sesame seeds and a few other ingredients that vary from household to household. It can even include fennel, cumin and coriander, depending on where you're from. The Lebanese versions normally contain sumac.
You mix this dry medley with extra virgin olive oil and it turns into a spread that you put on arabic bread or any dough base and bake it as bread. This is generally called manaeesh or manoosh.
Growing up, this was always a breakfast food staple in my house. Waking up to the deliciously unmistakable smell of za'atar in the oven with a gorgeous spread of all the accouterments was divine. My mom would have all chopped and ready some tomatoes and cucumbers and a bowl of olives to top our manaeesh with. It has now become a staple in my house for my own family. My kids have been eating this since they got their first teeth and my husband has been enjoying it since we first got together.
I don't have a recipe on how to make the mixture. In fact, I have never seen my mom make it and I'm pretty sure she never has. We buy it in bags from the Arabic market. We are also lucky enough to have family that go to Lebanon every summer and buy us fresh, vacuum sealed bags of it from the locals over there that make their own. It's incredible. Each bag always tastes a little different. There's nothing like it.
There is sure to be an Arabic market in your area, or at the very least, an international market. Look for one and you will most likely find Za'atar there.
Pick up some extra virgin olive oil to mix into it and believe me, you will not be disappointed!Top it with fresh tomatoes, persian cucumbers, olives and I like mine with fresh mint, too!
It's pure heaven.
Really.
No joke.
Just be prepared for lots of it to get stuck all up in your teeth with every bite!
It is sooo worth it though!
So try a little something exotic and different for breakfast, lunch or dinner this week. Get some za'atar and spread it on your favorite bread and get your teeth all tangled up in the easiest, tastiest and most delicious condiment from Lebanon!
No comments:
Post a Comment