Food of the Day -- Za'atar

I rarely get a chance to say, "We might as well eat Persian tonight." The other evening I had to pick up the Mini Chef and had such an opportunity. Mom was at the Minnesota Textile Center on University doing something interesting. MC was an unofficial classroom assistant. We were in the neighborhood of the Caspian Bistro & Market. It was late, thought we'd stop by and . . .

In Hungary the salt and pepper shakers are salt and paprika shakers. At the Caspian Bistro there is S&P but there is also a larger shaker of a dark tart powder, sumac. The sumac used in sumac powder is related to the stuff you're not supposed to touch while hiking and the less toxic bright red berry bushes I found in the undeveloped acres of small town Minnesota. It is a common condiment in Persian and Central Asian cooking.

Sumac is quite tart. It is used wherever you might expect to use lemon, e.g. fish and hummus. It is more broadly common as a component in the herb and spice mix Za'atar (زعتر ). Za'atar is the Arabic word for wild thyme or marjoram, but this term doubles for a mixture (powder or paste) that is used on roast meat and on flat bread, even in yogurt.

Za'atar and sumac have a reputation for improving health and even sharpening the mind. I can't say whether this is mumbo jumbo or not, but sumac does contain tannins, that like wine are supposed to be healthy.

Scouring the internet for recipes, I discovered there is little agreement on what comprises za'atar - aside from thyme. Some recipes call for predominantly sumac, others none at all. I've included my finds and links. I also recommend two sites for information, the blog Desert Candy has a more complete and competent discussion of Za'tar (plus recipe) and for an almost scary dedication to the study of herbs and spices, Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages. I'm including only the ingredients below:

Syrian Za'atar (from Jewish Recipes)
1/4 cup ground sumac, dry
2 teaspoons dry thyme leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

From RecipeZaar
1/2 cup excellent-quality Mediterranean savory or thyme
1/4 cup sumac
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

From About.com
1/4 cup sumac
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons marjoram
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Why My Breakfast Hasn't Turned Me Into a Rabid Jihadist

Dear FBI,

I thought I better explain my breakfast today. The Persian Cauliflower Kuku I ate this morning may sound like food for jihadists plotting the destruction of the US, and so I'd like to clear a few things up. It is Persian, which of course is just a euphemism for Iranian, and we all know what that means.

When I ordered Najmieh Batmanglij's cookbook, Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey from Amazon, I was afraid I might be making a bad impression. Batmanglij makes no effort to hide or apologize for the fact that she was born in Iran. Her cookbook features recipes and tales from regions as diverse as China and Italy, but most are central Asian. Iranian, Uzbek, Afghan and Turkish dishes make it look like a veritable Al Jazeera of food. But I really bought it for my cookbook collection. I didn't mean to show interest in recipes incorporating pistachios, pomegranates or saffron. My wife hasn't said anything, but I can tell -- she wished I'd picked it up in a regular store and paid cash.

The eggs, cheese, and cauliflower of the Kuku didn't use too much fat so I thought it looked like a hearty, healthy breakfast. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything. It was our family breakfast before going to church today. We haven't gone quite as much as we should, but I thought I'd let you guys at the FBI know, we are church-going types. Although, we're Presbyterians.

The recipe was kind of complicated. It had 16 ingredients. I wonder if such recipes are meant to boggle and distract Americans. First, I had to prepare an egg mixture, sort of like an omelet: 6 eggs, a little baking powder, flour and cheese (mozzarella and/or Parmesan), then I had to saute onions and garlic. Next, I added the florets from a head of cauliflower and a whole bunch of spices. No American recipe would use 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, 1 tsp of cumin, 1/4 tsp of paprika, 1/4 tsp of turmeric, 1/8 tsp of cayenne and a 1/4 cup of flat parsley.

I was supposed to put the onions and garlic in a non-stick skillet, add the cauliflower and spices and when the cauliflower was soft, add the egg mixture. Okay, and are you ready for this? Wait for the eggs to set and then put it in the broiler. Yeah, fine except I had been cooking in a non-stick and then I realized -- I'm going to transfer this to an oven safe skillet! Just a reminder that we all need to be on our guard! Thank God for those cast iron skillets I've been dragging around with me since my earliest cooking days. If I can get government approval to make this dish again, I'd use a Dutch oven next time.

The dish was really good. My only complaint was that I thought it might be a little salty. An easy adjustment. My wife and I liked it so much that we had seconds. Even our spice shy daughter said she loved it. Sometimes she sings herself to sleep with "It's a Grand Old Flag," or "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." I figure, if she likes it, it's safe for the rest of America.