Use it for tartness anywhere you might use lemon or lime but don’t want wetness. Add to quick pickled anything (onions esp). Great on grilled meats and in ground meat mixtures like kebabs, sprinkled over dips and yogurt, even rice.
The first (non)recipe I tried and loved was this: toss chicken pieces with sumac, salt, and lots of sliced onions; line a baking dish with pita wedges; place chicken and onion mixture over pita, and drizzle with oil, and bake till chicken is done and pita is crisp around the edges. It’s called Musakhan or M’sakhan with many variations.
Thanks for getting this discussion revved up, Rooster. I LOVE sumac!
Serious Eats has some nice ideas. Ice cream topping, anyone?
I sprinkle sumac on homemade hummus and white bean dip.
My riff on the flavors of Turkish manti - elbow macaroni tossed with jarred Turkish hot pepper paste, butter, and whole milk yogurt and topped with a ton of sumac and Urfa biber.
I have an “Uzbek” marinade for lamb. Although I doubt sumac is used there, it is tasty:
ground cumin
cumin seed
coriander
lots of garlic
Urfa
Aleppo
olive oil
water
smoked salt
minced white onion
sumac
Clever! I found a recipe link for making the dumplings. My niece has been stopping by on wknds for a guitar lesson and some baking. i think trying dumplings might me a fun alternative. If we mess up I’ll boil elbows😋
Loving sumac this month, although can’t recall in what. I feel like I’ve been so many places, and cooked and eaten so many things. I’m recalling garbanzos, cauliflower, both of which I’m halfway through preparing again this week.
Following!
Well and of course both sumac or za’atar is more than welcome ontop of hummus!
Can’t remember where i was but the restaurant served homemade pita chips with za’atar as a free snacky thing at the table (and to use up day old pita probably!)
Making this tonight! I followed Diana Henry’s recipe for the spice mixture but added lemon pepper and Aleppo pepper. Her roasting method is fussy with keeping the chicken and bread separate, so I think I’ll just follow your instructions. Wish me luck.