Zaatar…I have tried it in the form of pizza before but have never been so into the herb mixture till recently. Zaatar is a flavourful Middle Eastern spice blend consisting of dried herbs like oregano, marjoram or thyme, and earthy spices like cumin and coriander with sesame seeds, salt and sumac.
How does my love affair with zaatar begin?
A few weeks ago, I started teaching in a school in Fairfield, a suburb dominated by people of Middle Eastern background. I thank my lucky starts for landing a teaching block here for the whole experience of being in this neighbourhood has widened my horizons and piqued my curiosity in all things exotic. I walk to and from school as I commute by public transport. On my way to the train station after school, I have the opportunity to stroll past Lebanese and Iraqi bakeries serving delicious bread, including zaatar bread.
I love bread smeared with zaatar. It is finger-licking good and heavenly delicious. Dare I say, it is addictive. I savoured this savoury bread on two or three occasions within a week. Though the herb mixture is tasty, the bread makes my tummy bloat as it is made of white refined flour. It also has high glycemic index (GI) which means it spikes up the glucose levels in the body and break down quickly giving less satiety. So I thought to myself. I love the zaatar herb mixture but how and where can I get it so I can NOT have it with white bread.
Loose Zaatar
So I went looking up loose zaatar herbs online and found out that Woolies have them on their shelves. I felt elated! Yes…finally I could lay my hands on the herbs. Instinctively one afternoon, I made my way to Neeta City after school and looked for Woolies there. But lady luck had better plans for me. I stumbled into this Alladin-like spice shop that displayed mounts of spices and herbs in various colours. My wish to get these loose herbs was granted. I bought 100g of it and walked out of the shop with loads of creative ideas.
Aside from smearing these amazing herbs onto wholemeal pita bread and grilling it, you can mix the herb with some extra virgin olive oil and spread the mixture on crackers, sandwiches and wraps, add to salads, sprinkle or hard boiled eggs and the list just goes on. The best thing is, I don’t have to eat bread made with refined white flour to enjoy zaatar.
If you are interested to know how to use loose zaatar herb mixture, stay tuned on my upcoming posts.