Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Cinnamon twist challah is going on my list of things to do as soon as the weather breaks. I really like the sound of it. Thanks, Fuzzy.

fitzie

Lindsay,

Um ... it's not really a recipe. Like:

2 Tbs pomegranate molasses
3 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried sumac
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt

But really, I just drizzle things on top of the ingredients, and toss them ...

Still good to know, ESP. Since I just got some sumac from a friend who had to go to Iran since her mother died and I'm looking for ways to use it.

What does sumac taste like and what's it used for? We used to have sumac trees/bushes growing in our back yard and were always told they were poison. Don't remember them having any berries or anything - just glorious red foliage in the fall.

fitzie

Fitzie,
It is tart and a bit woody. I think there must be several varieties. The sumac I have looks like woody red flakes. I remember a wild plant in Pa called sumac that got a gorgeous red plume, kind of like the top of a corn cob. No idea if it is edible or not.

Mary

Toxicodendron vernix, commonly known as Poison sumac, is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 9 m tall. It was previously known as Rhus vernix. You can find an image here.

Sumac spice has a tart flavor that is very nice sprinkled on fish, chicken, over salad dressings, rice pilaf, or over raw onions. Try substituting in any dish on which you might squeeze fresh lemon juice. If you enjoy hummus, try topping it with a sprinkling of sumac. As Mary said it is red and has a fresh smell. I got mine from myspicesage.com which was the cheapest of all the sites I tried. Plan on using it to make the Ottolenghi date salad.

Alina, I just made that salad again this week. I would gladly make it again this week. The biggest challenge is keeping everyone (myself included) from eating the fried pita.

Mary

The Arab Table and Mediterranean Street Food each have recipes which use sumac (a lot of them in the former). It's also a nice addition to the cheese mix in Kachapuri.

Oddly, Penzey's doesn't carry sumac. Nor za'atar, nor aleppo pepper. Not sure why. Can't find good suppliers?

Josh, I don't know about your local store, but Penzey's online does carry those 3 items. I have both the Aleppo and the Zatar from Penzeys. I chose to not get the sumac from them because of the shipping cost since I did not need anything else they carry. I've been very happy with what I've gotten from myspicesage.com as well so I got the sumac there. It's nice because you always get a free 1 oz. sample, but you get to choose which one. This time I got tomato powder to try.

Penzey's does carry sumac. They also have zatar, which I am not sure is the same as za'atar, and aleppo pepper. I found all three on their search engine this morning.

I bought my sumac from Sumac and have used it in one dish. I haVE no idea what else to do with it, so thanks for the ideas!

--Lisa