Just add za’atar: Six comfort food recipes with Middle East spices

From pimped-up garlic bread and sesame halloumi fries to four delicious ways to oomph up potatoes

From left: baked spicy potatoes, top, and roasted lemon and honey potatoes; sesame halloumi fries with chilli yoghurt
From left: baked spicy potatoes, top, and roasted lemon and honey potatoes; sesame halloumi fries with chilli yoghurt
HAARALA HAMILTON
Salma Hage
The Times

Garlic bread, chips, roast potatoes… Middle Eastern cooking isn’t only about mezze and pomegranate-bejewelled salads. The kind of carb-heavy side dishes familiar to any westerner are also a staple of the region, but always given extra oomph with the use of herbs and spices.

Salma Hage, author of the bestselling cookbook The Lebanese Kitchen and The Levantine Vegetarian
Salma Hage, author of the bestselling cookbook The Lebanese Kitchen and The Levantine Vegetarian

So pick up those half-forgotten jars of za’atar, sesame seeds and Aleppo pepper and get creative with Salma Hage’s comfort foods. Ketchup strictly optional (and not advised). Tony Turnbull

HAARALA HAMILTON

Serves 4

Thanks to its woody, savoury and sharp flavour, za’atar is as essential a seasoning as salt and pepper. We Lebanese sprinkle it on so many savoury dishes.

• 1 part-baked baguette, sliced in half lengthways
• 75g butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• A quarter of a bunch