Za'atar Manakish

Following on from my Middle Eastern explorations with labneh, I thought I'd make some za'atar as well. This is a mixture that is often served on flatbread like a pizza and is called za'atar manakish.

The basic recipe consists of sesame seeds, dried thyme, sumac and salt. The exact amounts are not terribly important so adjust for your tastes. The proportions I tried came from combining recipes from multiple sources:

2/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried thyme
1/4 cup sumac
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried marjoram
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp paprika

In a mortar and pestle, grind together half of the sesame seeds and all the other ingredients. Do this in batches as there will be too much to do in a single go. Mix in the rest of the sesame seeds. This can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for a few months.

The za'atar can then be used in heaps of ways and goes well with many different food:

• Brush turkish bread (pide) or flatbread with olive oil, cover with za'atar and put under the griller for 5 minutes to make za'atar manakish. I added some blobs of lebneh to make it tastier.
• Dip bread in good olive oil and then into the za'atar for a tasty snack
• Add to scrambled eggs or roast tomatoes topped with za'atar
  

I was also thinking of using half my batch to make dukkah. To get the taste right, grind some cumin and coriander seeds, roughly crush some roasted hazelnuts to add to the za'atar mixture. A project for the weekend...

Labneh (Strained Yoghurt Cheese)

At the Pigg's Peake 2008 wine release, I tried labneh for the first time and it was awesome! Labneh is a strained yoghurt common in the middle east and southern asia that retains the sour taste of the natural yoghurt. You can go to a "gourmet" store and pay $14 for a small jar or make you own for much less, it's pretty easy (but requires patience) and would surely get you big brownie points if you brought some to a dinner party.

Just take 1kg of natural yoghurt, add 1 teaspoon of sea salt and mix in well. Pour yoghurt into a large piece of really clean muslin cloth, tie it tightly with string, put this in a strainer and hang above a large bowl in the fridge. Leave it to drain for at least 2 days until the whey stops coming out but be careful to ensure the strainer stays above the liquid.

When it gets to the consistency you like, form into small walnut-sized balls and leave in the fridge for a few more hours to dry out a little. Bottle in sterilised jars with light olive oil and add some goodness like rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and chilli.

I was possibly a little impatient and should have waited three days rather than two. The yoghurt I used was pretty thick to start with so I might try a more liquid yoghurt next time. Naturally, different yoghurt will give you different tastes so don't skimp and never ever use low-fat!

I think a nice way to serve it would be to take turkish pide spread with za'atar, mint, tomatoes, blobs of labneh and drizzled with olive oil before baking for a few minutes. This blog suggests serving labneh with macerated apricots for brekkie. Or you could serve it like hummus, spread on a plate with olive oil and paprika. Options are endless!

Broccoli Soup with Parmesan Toast

I figured this would be a good way to get rid of the woody broccoli from the Pyrmont Grower's Market. This pretty much convinced me that broccoli is better placed in anything but soup. Not sure why people like this but it was worth a try.

One recipe I saw recommended drizzling with chive-cayenne oil made by blending 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup chives and some cayenne powder. Sounds like this would be great on mashed celeriac or on good bread.

Crème Caramel

This recipe definitely needs a bit more practice. Rather than a smooth texture for the crème caramel, I somehow ended up with a lumpy flan. One theory is that you need to tap the tray before cooking to get rid of air bubbles. Also, you are meant to pass the egg mixture through a sieve to smooth out lumps but I only had a strainer in the house.

So, here's the recipe that came from a friend of my brother's:

6 Tbs sugar
6 eggs (if 700g dozen), 5 eggs if bigger, 7 if smaller
1/2 rice bowl of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 rice bowl of sugar
3 rice bowls of milk

Gently heat the 6 Tbs of sugar in a shallow round metal tin till it bubbles and then goes brown. Ideally, avoid using a non-stick as it is hard to cover the bottom of the tin. Allow the toffee to cool and set.

In a separate bown, mix together the condensed milk, sugar and milk until well blended. Pass mixture through a sieve into the round tin and tap the tin to remove any bubbles. Place tin into a water bath with boiling water and cook in a 150C oven for around 1.5 hours. If it browns too quickly, reduce temperature to 120C. If you have a fan forced oven, don't use this, go old school.

Allow the crème caramel to cool and refrigerate before serving.

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

At barely 9am, an insanely early hour for a Saturday, I met up with J+M to head to the monthly Pyrmont Grower's Market. Not only was I ignored by both the snotty cheese man and the knife sharpening woman, the markets were pretty outrageously expensive and was catering for a more exclusive Sydney demographic than I belong. I bought some fennel and broccoli from one "grower" that were really woody and disappointing. However, the jam and honey shop had some great stuff and the enthusiastic guy at the olive oil stand gave an interesting tasting demo.

The only bargain of the day was an excellent tray of zucchini flowers for $5. I was at Cafe Sopra's later in the day who claimed that zucchini flowers were out of season. These look pretty in season to me! I stuffed them with ricotta and toasted pine nuts and then battered them in a tempura. Definitely less egg in the tempura batter next time and only dunk the flowers.