Za’atar

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while – I’ve been away in London for work. Luckily whilst I was there my hosts – both fantastic cooks – made me numerous tasty meals, and in the process introduced me to za’atar.

Za’atar (also known as satar, zahatar or zatr) is a mix of spices used most frequently in middle-eastern cookery.  My friend made Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon, a recipe which he’d adapted from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.  The recipe and some pictures of my version of the same are below.

I’m a big fan of Yotam Ottolenghi and have frequently used his New Vegetarian recipes in The Guardian.  I’ve just ordered my own copy of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook (by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi) – so I’ll let you know what it’s like when it arrives. Apparently garlic and lemon are involved in nearly every recipe (presumably not the baking) – perfect for me, I already use both in nearly everything I make.

If you can’t find za’atar in the shops don’t fret, there are plenty of recipes on-line. I used this one which seems to be quite representative. Like many  spice mixes there seem to be many variations, although the basic ingredients for this one always seem to include thyme, marjoram, salt and sesame seeds.

Image 1: Making Za’atar

Roast Chicken with Sumac, Lemon & Za’atar

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 1 free range chicken cut into four (I used 4 legs, you could also use thighs – chicken on the bone is is definitely better for taste)
• 2 red onions thinly sliced
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sumac
• 1 lemon thinly sliced (mine were small so I used 2)
• 200 ml chicken stock or water (I used my favorite Reduced Salt Marigold Vegetable Bouillon)
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp za’atar
• 20g butter (I didn’t use this)
• 50g pine nuts
• 4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Method:

1. Combine the chicken, onions, lemon, garlic, oil, spices (bar the za’atar), stock and salt & pepper in a large bowl
   
2. Marinate overnight, or at least for a few hours
   
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C
   
4. Transfer the chicken (skin side up) and marinade to an oven tray and sprinkle with the za’atar
   
5. Roast for 30-40 minutes, basting regularly towards the end
   
6. Fry the pine nuts in the butter (I dry fried mine).
7. Serve the chicken with the nuts and parsley.

We ate ours with what’s known in our house as, Egyptian Rice (recipe below); and a greek style salad made of cos lettuce, cucumber, tomato and red onion dressed in an olive oil, lemon juice, sumac and salt & pepper dressing.

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“Egyptian” Rice

I have no idea whether this is really egyptian or not – a housemate in my long past student days taught me how to make it.

Ingredients
(serves 4)

• 1.5 cups rice
• 3 cups water
• a good dollop of butter
• a glug of olive oil

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 mins (I really do find this helps)
   
2. Heat the olive oil and butter together
   
3. Drain the rice
   
4. Measure out the water
   
5. Add a couple of tbsps of rice to the butter/oil mix
   
6. Fry the rice until it is a nice nutty colour, as soon as it’s brown throw in the water (it only takes a minute to catch and go over) and add the additional rice
7. Bring to the boil then cover with foil and the lid and simmer
8. When nearly all the water has disappeared turn off the heat, cover the pan with a tea-towel and the lid and leave it (for about 10  minutes)
   
   
9. Fluff up with a fork
   
10. Hopefully you have fluffy rice with lovely little nutty brown nuggets.