Middle Eastern ‘Maneesh’ flatbreads and the joys of za’atar..

Wednesday was the day of my monthly lunch club, there was 8 of us round the table, and this month my menu was:

Sourdough bread
Zaalouk with green peas
Shakshuka
Maneesh
Dips & sauces

It was lovely to share my bread making and wonderful to see them all enjoying it; I was so proud of my loaves I almost couldn’t bear to slice them! I made one white loaf and one 50/50 wholemeal/white loaf and followed Selma’s instructions and proved the dough over 3 days and the flavour was truly enhanced 🙂

I’ll tell you more about the zaalouk and shakshuka in my next post, today I want to tell you about my Maneesh and the wonders of za’atar.

Za’atar is a Middle Eastern herb and spice mix containing thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and salt; it is usually mixed with olive oil and bread is dipped into it – or just dip a spoon into it and enjoy it like I do!!! In Lebanon they believe that za’atar is brain food so za’atar and olive oil is spread onto ‘Khobez’ flatbreads which are rolled up and eaten for breakfast or as a snack or given to children before school to boost their minds!

Maneesh are thin breads spread with za’atar and olive oil and baked, and are LOVELY!! These are traditional Maneesh, there are now all sorts of versions available of course. I made them this week for my lunch guests and made versions with za’atar only, some with Lebanese akkawi soft cheese, which I bought in the Middle Eastern supermarket last weekend, and some with a bit of both.

Basically, use any dough recipe, add a tablespoon extra of sugar, roll the dough thin, about 3mm thick, spread them with za’atar and bake them for 8-10 minutes; that’s how I made my little ones. You can also make Maneesh the size of a pizza and cut it into slices.

Za’atar is also very tasty stirred through vegetables and roasted, as I did earlier in the week with butternut squash and sweet potato..

Or of course, stirred into dips..

..this one contains roasted aubergine, yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, za’atar and olive oil.

I hope you like the sound of za’atar and what I’ve done with it recently. I’m bringing these goodies to this week’s Fiesta Friday, now in its second year and thriving! This week we have two brand new co hosts, Sonal and Josette, do come along and join them and everyone else, and marvel at the amazing skill of so many home cooks and food bloggers. One day I will feel worthy of bringing my food to the same table as so much amazing food!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend xx