Zaatar

Zaatar is a spice mix prepared with herbs, sesame seeds, salt, and often sumac.. Households throughout the Middle East have their own secret spice mixtures and it is a staple of our Middle Eastern classes. One easy way to enjoy zaatar is with bread: dip the bread in olive oil, then the zaatar, and snack away! You can also use it as a seasoning on veg, a hummus-enhancer, sprinkled over a salad - it's hard to go wrong! Here are some of our favourite zaatar recipes once you have some at the ready:

• Zaatar Spiced Pita Bread
• Nutty Stuffing Balls
• Fattoush Salad Dressing

A jar of Zaatar also makes a great gift!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsps sesame seeds
• 2 tbsps sumac

Method:

1. Chop the thyme and oregano.
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds by placing them in a dry frying pan and frying until they start to smell and have a light smoke. If you want to be sure the spices don’t burn you can toast the coriander for a couple of minutes before adding the cumin, which cooks quicker.
3. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and then grind them to a fine powder.
4. Dry fry the sesame seeds for a minute to give them a little colour.
5. Mix together the thyme, ground cumin and coriander, sesame seeds and sumac. Store in an airtight jar.