6 Mideast flavor blends you need to know
Surveying the menu at Charleston’s popular restaurant Butcher & Bee a few weeks ago, the word jumped out at me:
Schug. (See pronunciations below.)
It was served with the hummus plate. I know hummus. I know tahini, the sesame seed paste that’s the key to hummus. But schug? It sent me scrambling to my smartphone to look it up: A bright green herb sauce from Yemen that’s like Argentine chimichurri with a hot-pepper kick.
And there were more new words on the menu, a clever blending of traditional Southern ingredients like grits and okra with Middle Eastern touches from Israeli-born owner Michael Shemtov: Sumac sprinkled on melon. Whipped feta with fermented honey. Chraimeh, a tomato sauce, with the local fish. Amba, spicy mango pickle, with tuna tartare.
It’s happening all over the food world right now. The vibrant flavors of the Middle East are grabbing the attention of chefs in the early 21st century in the same way Italy’s ingredients inflamed our passions 30 years ago and Southeast Asia’s combinations exploded on our palates 20 years ago.
Middle Eastern inspirations are everywhere: Whipped Tahini in Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen’s new cookbook, “Poole’s: Recipes and Stories From a Modern Diner.” Merguez, the North African lamb sausage, on the wood-fired menu at Stoke in uptown Charlotte.
Who would have guessed that an Israeli-themed restaurant, Alon Shaya’s Shaya in New Orleans, would win the James Beard Award as the best new restaurant in the country in 2016, the year after Shaya himself won the award as the best chef in the South? Or that one of the hottest cookbooks in America in recent years would be Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Jerusalem” in 2012?
It shouldn’t be a surprise: The cooking of the Levant – roughly, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, with influences from the surrounding area, including Turkey and North Africa – is the epitome of using simple things to deliver maximum flavor.
Looking for a way to explore that food, I found my way to flavor mixtures. Things like schug – yes! – and harissa are easy to make and stir into dips and sauces. Dry spice mixtures like dukka and za’atar take 5 minutes but pack a wallop on meats or roasted vegetables.
Yes, you can buy them ready-made in Middle Eastern markets. But the ingredients are cheap and mostly easy to find, and as always, fresher tastes better. I came up with a list of six mixtures, three wet and three dry, to add to your recipe rotation.
Almost all the ingredients are easy to find in a supermarket. Even pomegranate molasses was at my neighborhood Harris Teeter. The only exception is ground sumac, which I found at Savory Spice Shop and Whole Foods. Sumac is worth tracking down: If you’ve had something lately that had a lemony taste you couldn’t quite place, it was probably sumac.
Kathleen Purvis: 704-358-5236, @kathleenpurvis
Six to know
Schug. Say it: SZ-ugh. From Yemen, also spelled shug, zhug, s’rug or sahawq. Similar to pesto or chimichurri. Green, with cilantro and parsley, is the most common, but there are other versions. Usually served as a dip with falafel or fried vegetables or stirred into soups and beans. Try this: Mix a little into Greek yogurt for a dip.
Muhammura. Say it: mya-hah-MARA. From Syria. A loose mixture of roasted red pepper, walnuts and bread crumbs, with a tart touch from pomegranate molasses. Usually served as a dip with pita, or on baked fish. Try this: Use it as a spread on a wrap.
Harissa. Say it: hah-RIS-ah. Most sources say it originated in Tunisia, but it’s used all over the Mideast. A paste from dried chiles, it’s stirred into soups, stews and couscous or tossed with roasted carrots. Try this: Combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup chopped mint, 3 tablespoons harissa and 1 teaspoon salt and rub it into chicken before roasting. (From bonappetit.com.)
Dukka. Say it: dock-AH. From Egypt, also spelled dukkha or dukkah. A fluffy blend of raw nuts, sesame seeds and thyme. It’s usually sprinkled on bread dipped in olive oil. Try this: Sprinkle it on salads, roasted vegetables or pasta. Or use it to top deviled eggs.
Ras El Hanout. Say it: rahz el hah-NOOT. From Morocco, the name is an Arabic phrase for “head of the shop,” or top shelf. The combination of heat from cumin and cayenne and the spiciness of cinnamon, allspice and cloves makes it unexpected and complex. Used in marinades or as a rub for lamb or added to the water before cooking rice or couscous. Try this: Sprinkle it on popcorn.
Za’atar. Say it: ZAT-ahr. From Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. A combination of dried herbs, sesame seeds and sumac, which has a lemony flavor, it varies from cook to cook. Known as an antioxidant, some believe it boosts brainpower. It’s sprinkled on flatbread before baking or on hummus or thickened yogurt. Try this: Toss it with roasted nuts or on roasted butternut squash.
Schug
Adapted from seriouseats.com. The question is whether to make it in a food processor or using a mortar and pestle. Doing it by hand is more work, but gives it a thicker, chunkier texture. A food processor is faster, but be sure to pulse rather than puree, to keep the texture.
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 to 6 small red chiles, such as Thai bird chiles, seeded and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
About 2 cups, loosely packed, flat-leaf parsley and cilantro with stems
1/2 cup olive oil
Combine coriander, cumin and black pepper in a mortar and pestle or food processor. Pound or pulse into a powder. Add garlic, chiles and salt and pound or pulse into a paste. (If you pound it, the coarseness of the salt helps with the grinding.)
Add the parsley and cilantro by handfuls, working them in to form a rough paste. Drizzle in olive oil slowly, pounding or pulsing after each addition. Taste and add more salt if needed. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to several weeks.
Yield: About 1 cup.
Dukka
Adapted from epicurious.com.
2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts, cashews or almonds
1 1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Pulse all the ingredients in a food process until finely ground but not a paste. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Yield: About 1/4 cup.
Ras El Hanout
From epicurious.com.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Whisk all the ingredients together until combined. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to a month.
Yield: About 2 tablespoons.
Za’Atar
The mixture varies from cook to cook, like a barbecue rub. You can change the amounts of herbs or add others, such as marjoram, to suit your taste. Don’t skip the sumac, which gives it a bright, tart flavor.
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon sumac
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
Yield: About 1/3 cup.
Muhammara
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and The New York Times.
1 (8-ounce) jar roasted red peppers or 2 to 3 red bell peppers (see note)
3/4 cup walnuts, divided
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, divided
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper, divided
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 to 6 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
Spread the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly browned. Set aside 2 tablespoons. Combine the rest of the walnuts with the roasted red pepper, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, salt, 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses, 1/2 teasoon red pepper and 1/4 cup oil in a food processor. Puree. Add 4 tablespoons bread crumbs and pulse. Add more bread crumbs as needed to make a thick mixture.
Refrigerate in an airtight container. If serving as a dip, bring to room temperature. Spread in a shallow bowl and top with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses, 1/2 teaspon red pepper and the remaining toasted walnuts, roughly crushed.
Note: If you use roasted red peppers from a jar, drain them well and pat them dry. If you use fresh red bell peppers, place them under a broiler and roast, turning often, until blistered. Place them in a paper bag and let stand until cool, then pull off the papery skins and remove the core and seeds.
Yield: About 1 cup.
Harissa
Adapted from Saveur.com and “A Mediterranean Feast,” by Clifford Wright.
12 to 16 large dried chiles, preferably a combination of guajillo and New Mexico or pasilla
About 4 cups boiling water
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried mint
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)
Cut away the stems of the chiles and shake out and discard the seeds. Place the chiles in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let stand for 20 minutes to soften.
Toast caraway, coriander and cumin in a dry skillet. Grind with mint to a fine powder in a mortar or in a clean coffee grinder or food processor.
Drain chiles well and transfer to a food processor. Add the ground spices, olive oil, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Top with oil and refrigerate, topping with more oil whenever you use it.
Yield: About 1 cup.
This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 9:08 AM with the headline "6 Mideast flavor blends you need to know."