EAT Magazine March-April 2013_Victoria_48_Layout 1 2/27/13 11:24 AM Page 8
epicure at large — by Jeremy Ferguson
The Zip of Za’atar The Arabian spice mix is irresistibly herbaceous with thyme, nutty with sesame seeds and tart with sumac. A VICTIM of Syria’s brutal civil war, the great, labyrinthine market or souk of Aleppo is often described as the soul of that city (one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world). It was burned last September. The army and the rebels generously credited each other. Aleppo’s Souk al-Madina was a UNESCO World Heritage Site leapt from the fantasia of the 1001 Arabian Nights: its 13 kilometres of twists and turns, arched corridors and thousands of stalls left you feeling like a mouse in a maze. And wafting through it like a flying carpet came the heady fragrance of za’atar, the Arabian spice mix irresistibly herbaceous with thyme, nutty with sesame seeds and tart with sumac. We found the Aleppo souk towards the end of a six-week journey on the ancient Incense Road, the route of the caravans that carried the aromatics frankincense and myrrh from the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean. We’d started in Oman, crossed medieval Yemen to the Red Sea and turned north to Jordan, Syria and the Aleppo souk. What an Ali Baba’s cave of treasures and pleasures that souk was: Want a cooking pot, an armload of pomegranates, a sack of coffee beans or a kilo of pistachios? Step right up. We followed the throng to the spice market. We left with half a kilo of za’atar. In an hour, we were dunking warm pita into a pool of olive oil and then into the wondrous mix. Had there been instructions, they would have read: Take one bite and proceed to heaven. “Za’atar” is the Arab word for both wild thyme and the spice mix, so confusion has been inevitable. Its history is foggy—it seems the centuries took it for granted—but records suggest it originated in Mesopotamia, today’s Iraq and northeast Syria.
The components can vary, sometimes combining oregano, cumin, fennel and caraway. Za’atar’s contemporary empire includes such cultures as Morocco, Libya, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Iraq. I have warm memories of the Jordanian breakfast: pita spread with olive oil and za’atar—fuel for days of crawling around the ruins of Petra. Sprinkling it on goat cheese is a tradition in the eastern Mediterranean. Palestinians mix it with yogurt at breakfast. The Lebanese are fond of it with fried eggs. In the Gulf States, they make a tea of it. It is an unimpeachable candidate for the Global Village kitchen. It gives sublime accent to grilled fishes, meats and chicken. It infuses soups and salads, breads and batters with exoticism. Potatoes roasted with olive oil, garlic and za’atar are as addictive as frites. Some food-lovers dust it on goat cheese, and it can rescue cottage cheese from dietary hell. And popcorn-lovers have their very own way with it. Happily, it has arrived even on these rain-swept shores, a beam of Mediterranean sunshine to distract from the Gothic skies that can slide over us like a dank, filthy duvet. The mix—and its individual components—can be purchased in packages from Victoria’s Middle Eastern stores the Blair Market on Pandora and Lakehill Grocery on Quadra. The genial proprietor of the Blair Market, known to customers as “Mat,” blends his own every few days. Lakehill’s Yasser Youssef stocks four products from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. (Celiacs beware: commercial products often contain, but don’t list, wheat. “Gives the package heft, makes them more money,” scowls an observer. At home, we use it as casually as salt and pepper. I like the additional pizzazz it brings to grilled salmon and barbecued lamb chops. We prefer to buy the ingredients—except for thyme, which we pluck fresh from the garden—and blend them to our own taste. I give more prominence to the sumac, whose lemony tartness opens up possibilities as tintoxicating as Ali Baba’s Cave. I’m just not sure about the popcorn.
“I have warm memories of the Jordanian breakfast”
Where chefs, foodies and knife nerds shop
s HAND MADE *APANESE KITCHEN KNIVES s HAND MADE *APANESE KITCHEN KNIVES s KNIFE SHARPENING BY HAND s KNIFE SHARPENING BY HAND ss CLASSIC SHAVING GEAR CLASSIC SHAVING GEAR 2983 Pandosy Pandosy St. St. Kelo Kelowna, wna, BC nifew ewear.com s www.knif s www.knifewear.com 8
EAT MAGAZINE MARCH | APRIL 2013