In This Installment
Sumac Spice from Kama
A few weeks back we (Zingerman’s) welcomed Khalil and Jumana to our snowy, frigid Ann Arbor. They were in the midst of a cross country work odyssey—hosting a booth at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Diego, then to San Franciso to visit with vendors, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Boston—and I got the chance to show them around our Community of Businesses and share a couple meals while they were here.
This is the best part of my job. Most folks would guess it’s all the great food I get to taste and play with and that’s way up there, but I’m an extroverted type of person and I love getting to know someone. In my experience we’re all basically the same type of folks. A farmer here is the same as a farmer in Jordan (where Kama is bassed)—they may speak a differently language but they worry about the same things. I bet an engineer here is the same as one in any other country, know what I mean?
So it doesn’t take much for me to connect with folks who make and sell delicious artisan foods. We speak the same language, even if our dialects are different. Food connects us all. Being able to talk over dinner at Miss Kim’s (part of the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses) and lunch at Zingerman’s Deli (the one that started it all) is the fast track to being friends. For instance, Khalil preferred the corned beef reuben (the #2) at the deli where as Jumana thought the pastrami (#48) was very good. We talked about college about travel about family and most of all we talked about food.
They came to do a “demo” and class for the staff on a Sunday and the brought a plethora of their products. Some we sell at the deli (and soon at Zingerman’s Mail Order), some where just to share. But the event had everyone talking for days and the excitement was centered on the amazing spices they featured, especially this gorgeous sumac.
We—meaning the food loving folks like you—are ready to start spicing our food correctly. That’s our next collective step. Once we master how to use spices, we’ll be able to turn the simplest of dishes into flavorful feasts like we wouldn’t believe. Try this recipe to see what I mean.
Traditional Musakhan Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 3-6
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients:
3 whole chicken legs, extra fat trimmed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 large onions, sliced thinly
4 tbsp sumac
3-6 pieces of taboon or naan bread
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
Plain yogurt
Green Olives
Directions:
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over a medium-high stove. To keep the oil from splashing up, use a splatter guard or, if you don’t have one, simply use less olive oil. Once heated, add the chicken and brown it on both sides – about 8 minutes per side.
Remove the chicken and set aside on a platter. Add the sliced onions to the pot and cook until translucent. Return the chicken to the pot and add the sumac, salt, and pepper.
Loosely cover the pot and continue cooking until the chicken is falling off the bone and the onions are very soft and browning – about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and reduce heat as necessary to avoid burning the onions.
To serve, brush the flatbread with olive oil, then add a layer of onions on top, followed by the chicken. Garnish with sumac and toasted pine nuts.
Enjoy with plain yogurt and green olives.
Recipe notes:
For lighter portions, cut the whole leg at the joint and divide the leg and thigh pieces over 6 pieces of bread instead of 3. You can use any leftover chicken and onions to make musakhan rolls: just roll up the ingredients into pieces of thin lavash or shrak bread. Stick them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they’re slightly crispy. You can eat these delightful rolls hot or cold.