Spice (54 page)

5.
Grill the köfte for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through.

6.
Rest the köfte on pita halves. Pass them around the table with bowls of sliced red onions sprinkled with sumac, yogurt, tomatoes, romaine, pickles, and mint leaves.

Warm Olives with Za’atar

The taste of za’atar makes you want more of it, so use it generously. Sprinkle it heavily over cheese, flatbreads, thick yogurt, and grilled chicken. My favorite za’atar comes from Jordan—it has the brightest flavor and the purest green color—but there are other delicious varieties from Syria and Lebanon as well.

I like to load za’atar onto niçoise olives and then gently warm them up to nibble on as a snack or before a meal. Although they aren’t very meaty, these olives have a wonderfully fruity taste that will whet your appetite but won’t fill you up.

S
ERVES
8

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ pound niçoise olives, drained

2 heaping tablespoons za’atar

1.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the olives and gently warm them through over low heat.

2.
Stir in the za’atar, transfer the olives to a bowl (preferably an olive dish with a lip or edge), and serve them with crusty bread.

Francisco’s Manaaeesh (Flatbread with Za’atar)

Francisco Betancourt is a farmer and father of four from Colombia who is the tireless backbone of Oleana’s kitchen. After he works at his day job in an Italian restaurant, Francisco comes into Oleana to wash the vegetables and greens, form the köfte (ground lamb kebobs), peel beets, cook mussels, peel and seed tomatoes, make dolmas, shuck peas, peel fava beans, plate desserts, and make manaaeesh.

Manaaeesh is a Lebanese name for a flatbread baked with generous amounts of olive oil, salt, and za’atar. It’s not unlike a very thin foccacia. Francisco helped me perfect this recipe.

Manaaeesh is best made and served the same day. You can, however, make the dough a day before and let it rise—lightly oiled and covered with plastic—overnight in the refrigerator. The dough needs at least 4 hours to rise before baking, so it’s not something that can be whipped up quickly.

Manaaeesh is a great bread to serve with meals and it’s a centerpiece for many mezze-style dishes. It’s wonderful alongside Whipped Feta (page 149), Armenian Bean and Walnut Pâté (page 334), Spicy Carrot Purée (page 6), or Hot Buttered Hummus (page 200).

M
AKES ONE
10 × 12-
İNCH FLATBREAD

1 package (¼ ounce) active dry yeast

¾ cup warm water (110°F to 120°F)

¼ cup olive oil

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons za’atar

1.
In the work bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the yeast into the warm water and let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, or until a gentle foam blooms across the surface. The water must be under 120°F or it will kill the yeast.

2.
Whisk in the ¼ cup olive oil and add the flour and ½ teaspoon of the salt.

3.
Using the mixer’s dough hook or paddle, stir on low speed until the flour is combined and it forms dough. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes, until the dough is still sticky to the touch but stays on the dough hook in one piece.

4.
Lightly oil a large stainless or glass bowl and scoop the dough into it. Cover with plastic and chill for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight; the dough should double in volume.

5.
About 2 hours before baking, place the dough and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil on a heavy baking sheet and cover it with plastic. Let it rest and rise again for 1½ hours at room temperature.

6.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

7.
Press the dough onto the baking sheet—using your hands to stretch and pull it into the corners—into a flat 10 × 12-inch rectangle. Make dimples in the dough with your fingertips (this creates little pockets for the oil and za’atar to collect in) and brush the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.

8.
Sprinkle the za’atar evenly over the dough, and then sprinkle the whole bread with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.

9.
Let the dough rest for at least 20 to 30 more minutes, uncovered and at room temperature.

10.
Bake for 15 minutes, until golden on the edges and cooked all the way through in the center. Serve warm.

Favorite Yogurt Soup with Toasted Pasta and Dried Mint

Inspired by the classic Armenian or Turkish yogurt soup, this recipe is my absolute favorite comfort food. It’s very easy to make and incredibly delicious. It’s also now on my husband’s top 10 list.

I usually make this recipe with
manti
: tiny raviolis that can be smaller than cashew nuts and are filled with beef or veal and then toasted. In Turkey, the smaller the manti, the more honored the guest. I made manti in Turkey with a group of extremely skilled women, and it took the three of us half a day to prepare the dish. It is truly a labor of love. Now I buy my manti at my favorite Armenian shop: Sevan Bakery in Watertown, Massachusetts (see Resources, page 358), and I try to always have some on hand. At Sevan Bakery, six people gather to make the manti for the week. After toasting the raviolis, they freeze them. It’s difficult to find manti in the United States, but if you can, you must try it.

For this recipe, crushed vermicelli works very well as a substitute for manti. I crush the vermicelli into very small pieces and toast them before adding them to the soup—a Turkish technique that doesn’t take much time and imparts a rich layer of toasted flavor.

If it’s spring and you’re feeling fancy, you can also add morel mushrooms and chopped, sautéed ramps. I’ve also added spinach and even chunks of avocado to make this dish more substantial.

Yogurt soup is hard to pair with wine. Try a beer instead—like Efes Turkish pilsner.

M
AKES ABOUT
12
CUPS TO SERVE
6
AS A MEAL OR
8
AS A FİRST COURSE