Can't wait to see you tomorrow- wedding countdown clock at T-4 days (it's annoying now, but in a week, you'll read and smile).
In the meantime, I'll tell you a little story about a girl named Banana, who went to Israel 2 years ago. A sucker for any kind of local spice, Banana went to the market in Jerusalem and stumbled across a fragrant green spice called za'atar (see photo). The stuff has been around for thousands of years, but it took a trip halfway across the world to notice. Turns out, the spice was a mixture of thyme, marjoram, oregano, and sesame seeds- fragrant in an earthly, mildly musky way.
And it was commonly used to season thin, crispy, chewy flatbread...
Thinking she'd hit the jackpot, Banana waltzed out of the market with a 1 pound bag of za'atar and visions of homemade pita.
Fast forward 2 years. Banana is Anna, the bag of za'atar still weighs one pound, and no pita had been produced... until Sunday. Blame it on guilt, lack of pantry space, or the fact that I owed Matt a birthday dinner... regardless, a full kebab dinner was produced, with homemade za'atar pita to boot:
Here are the recipes- all worked pretty well with a few modifications.Pita: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
*1/4-1/8 of an inch will get you a pita as thick as War and Peace... roll those suckers till they're paper thin. If you have za'atar, sprinkle pita dough with olive oil, then rub with za'atar and salt right before baking.
Shawarma: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lamb-shawarma
*spice mixture worked well. I used a cut of lamb leg, but it was tough... recommend using the method in the recipe. Skip the sauce.
Tzatziki: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gyro-meat-with-tzatziki-sauce-recipe/index.html
*skip the gyro meat recipe (the meat will fall apart), but the tzatziki is awesome. If you use plain greek yogurt, no need to drain.
Eggplant Fries: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/08/eggplant-fries
*Changed my life, follow this one exact
Let me know if you try this out... I'll bring za'atar with me tomorrow.
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