I first encountered wild sumac in 2015 in Pennsylvania’s Loyalsock Forest. I’ve foraged for it most summers since, both there
and along the Pine Creek Rail Trail.
This year’s sumac crop was a little disappointing. Despite how much I picked, most of the fruits had worm infestations that limited the amount of usable berries. (Note to self – pick sooner in the season next year…) Still, I got about a cup and a half of dried sumac for my efforts, more than enough for my needs. (If you want to know how to harvest and dry sumac to make the spice, read here.)
I used the fruits of my harvest to to make Za’tar, a Middle Eastern spice mix of sumac, thyme, oregano, salt and sesame seeds.This year, my friend Paula gifted me some dried oregano just around the time I finished drying my sumac, so I used that and discovered that home-grown dried herbs make a superior spice blend! (Duh…)
If you’re looking to use za’atar in cooking, look to the cookbooks of Yotam Ottolenghi, the Israeli-born Brit who has introduced many a home cook to the flavors and spices of the Middle East. (He sells Sumac and a Palestinian Za’atar on his site.)
From Ottolenghi’s cookbook Simple comes this recipe for Gigli Pasta with Chickpeas and Za’atar. Here he uses za’atar as a garnish, which I find is a wonderful way to showcase the individual spices in the mix.
Even if you don’t forage your own sumac, za’atar is not too hard to find in most good grocery stores or online. I urge you to give it a try!
Gigli with Chickpeas and Za’atar
As much as I love this dish as published by Ottolenghi, I’ve made a couple of changes. First, I increased the garlic from 2 to 3 cloves (and may go to 4 cloves next time) and doubled the spinach. I’ve saved some pasta water to thin out the sauce at the end, as it really thickens if you let it sit. And I feel like the dish needs tomatoes to complete it. There are two ways to accomplish this. One is to add tomatoes to the sauce itself or to leftovers the following day. An even better option is to serve the pasta with flatbreads topped with tomato sofrito and garlic, as I’ve done up there. The combo is perfection.
Gigli with Chickpeas & Za’atar
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 10 grams thyme leaves, finely chopped 1/2 cup
- 7 anchovy filets drained and finely chopped
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and black pepper
- 2 cans 15.5 oz/480 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 7 ounces gigli pasta
- 100 grams baby spinach leaves
- 3/4 cup chopped parsley (15 grams)
- 1 1/2 tsp za'atar
- 1 small can diced tomatoes (optional)
Instructions
- Place large saute pan over high heat, All olive oil, then onion, garlic, cumin, thyme, anchovies and lemon peel, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of pepper. Fry, stirring often till soft and golden. Decrease heat to med-high, add chickpeas and sugar and fry , stirring occasionally, till chickpeas begin to brown and crisp up. Add chicken stock and lemon juice and simmer 6 mins, till sauce slightly reduced. Remove from heat and hold. (Can make ahead) If you are going to add tomatoes, I would do so along with chicken stock and lemon juice.
- Boil large pot salted water. Cook pasta for 8 mins till al dente, Drain and set aside. (Save some pasta water if the sauce has gotten too thick, you can thin it a bit.)
- Stir spinach and parsley into chickpeas, warming it to wilt the spinach if needed. Add pasta to the chickpeas and stir to combine. Divide among 4 plates and srpinkle za'atar atop. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.
