From sweet meringue to tasty salads, this is one versatile spice. Plus, it’s a terrific way to get more minerals and antioxidants into your diet. Though people mostly eat sumac berries, the shoots are also edible. In fact, the dried and powdered plant makes a pretty popular spice that’s often used to season meat. And since it’s believed to help regulate blood sugar, improve heart health, and help with muscle pain, there’s no better time to try these delicious sumac recipes.
1. Fattoush Salad with Chickpeas
This particular salad is a Middle Eastern favorite that combines fresh veggies, mint, and chickpeas with toasted pita croutons. You’ll need ground sumac for the tangy lemon dressing. The great thing about this recipe, though, is that you can use the zesty, six-ingredient sauce for any salad you want. So if you try it and find that you like it, feel free to use it often.
2. Fattoush Salad
This salad is almost the same as the one above, but you’ll leave out the chickpeas. Doing so draws more attention to the bright, tangy dressing and the mint leaves. Of course, if you think you’ll miss that kick of protein, you could always add some chicken or keep it veggie-friendly and add tofu.
3. Ottolenghi’s Eton Mess
If you’re looking for something sweet and colorful that smells as amazing as it tastes, you’ve got to give this admittedly messy dish a try. It’s a 20-minute, no-bake dessert that’s ideal for summertime. It’s fruity, fragrant, and has the lightest, most wonderful taste imaginable. There’s nothing else quite like it, so it’s hard to describe. You’ll just have to trust me. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
4. Snap Pea, Mint and Feta Fattoush Salad
Here’s another tasty salad full of fresh, crunchy veggies and plenty of herbs and spices. The mint adds a delightfully refreshing flavor, while the sumac and feta provide tangy citrus notes. It takes about 30 minutes to pull together, but it’s a surprisingly filling salad that won’t leave you feeling unsatisfied or wanting meat after you eat it.
5. Baba Ganoush Recipe
If you love rich and creamy hummus, then you’ll likely also enjoy its lesser-known cousin, baba ganoush. It’s a lot like hummus, only it’s made from eggplants. It’s a bit smoky and insanely flavorful, featuring such robust ingredients as garlic, sumac, tahini, and lemon juice. The toasted pine nuts add both flavor and crunch.
6. Kasha Varnishkes with Sumac Fried Brussels Sprouts
I’ll admit that this isn’t one of the prettiest dishes on the list, but don’t let that stop you. The pasta and mushrooms are mild and tender and take on the flavor of everything you add to the dish. The Brussels sprouts are delicious, and the egg adds a nice splash of color and protein. It’s a naturally vegetarian-friendly meal that may be outside of your usual repertoire, but I think you’ll enjoy it.
7. Quinoa Salad with Za’atar, Herbs & Pistachio
If you love salads but are looking for something a bit denser and heartier, you can’t go wrong with this quinoa salad. It’s naturally gluten-free and vegan-friendly, and it tastes fantastic. It has all the crisp garden freshness of any salad, but the quinoa makes it much more filling than some salads with only greens and veggies.
8. Yogurt Sumac Sauce
This recipe is less of a “dish” and more a condiment that you can put on any Middle Eastern or Mediterranean meal that you make. Honestly, it tastes great on food from any region! It requires just five minutes and seven ingredients, and it adds a bit of tangy creaminess to anything you put it on.
9. Sumac-Anise Hyssop Spice Mix
If you’re looking for the perfect sweet and salty spice to add to your summer fruits, you can’t beat this four-ingredient recipe. All you’ll need is sumac, flaky salt, dried mint, and dried anise hyssop. Mix them up, and add them to your favorite summer melon. Yum yum yum!
10. Low-Carb Lebanese Sumac Salad
This five-ingredient sumac salad dressing is another excellent way to enjoy sumac on your salads. It’s zesty and has a bright, citrusy flavor that’s hard not to love. The salad is wonderfully flavorful and has a bit of spice from the red banana peppers, while the mint leaves add a very refreshing touch.
11. Stovetop Beef Kabob and Basmati Rice (Chelow Kabob Deegi)
This yummy rice and beef dish is the national dish of Iran, and after one taste, you’ll understand why. It’s incredible. The rice is a gorgeous golden color, and the splash of red sumac on top of it makes it even lovelier. The beef is tender and so exquisitely seasoned that you’ll want to lick your fingers after eating it. The tomato adds another dash of color and flavor, too. It’s just an all-around phenomenal dish.
12. Baharat Roast Chicken
The thing that makes this roast chicken so good is the marinade. If you get that part right, you’ll have the most amazing, succulent chicken ever. You’ll make it with sumac, garlic, cumin, baharat seasoning, chicken stock, olive oil, lemon rinds, coriander, salt, and pepper. It’s a magnificent flavor blend that you’ll want to use on everything.
13. Shish Tawook
This sweet and tangy lemon-garlic chicken is tender, juicy, and 100% yummy. It’s basically just chicken in an herby yogurt marinade, but its simplicity doesn’t take away from its deliciousness.
14. Za’atar Roasted Chicken Over Sumac Potatoes
You can whip up this insanely good roasted chicken and potatoes with three main ingredients (chicken, potatoes, and shallots) and plenty of herbs and spices. If you’re looking for an easy dinner recipe that’ll delight your taste buds and transport you to Israel with every bite, this is the one you want.
15. Kabob Koobideh
Usually sold as “street meat” in Iran, kabob koobideh is one Iranian dish you don’t want to miss. It’s a perfectly spiced kabob made from lamb and beef with roasted veggies on the side. It’s a filling, easy-to-make meal of meat and veggies that even the staunchest “plain, down-home cooking” fan will love.
16. One Pan Sumac Chicken Thighs
If you’re anything like me, you appreciate easy one-pot meals that cut down on the dishes. These chicken thighs are a no-fuss, no-muss dish that you can have ready in an hour tops. They’re juicy and fall-apart-in-your-mouth delectable. They have an incredible sweet and savory taste that features the citrusy flavors of oranges and sumac. That, along with the garlic and fresh thyme, makes these thighs very hard to resist.
17. Turkish Sumac Onions
This simple five-minute recipe requires fewer than ten ingredients and no cooking on your part. Simply slice the onions and add the other ingredients when you’re ready. It’s a crunchy, tangy, and colorful dish that you can add to burgers, sandwiches, wraps, or serve with chicken breasts.
18. Sumac Roasted Sweet Potatoes
If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy sweet potatoes, these babies can be ready in less than 30 minutes. All you’ll need are cubed sweet potatoes, powdered sumac, olive oil, pink Himalayan sea salt, smoked paprika, and chili powder. The spice mixture will give your potatoes plenty of sweet heat and allow you to experience them in a totally different light.
19. Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This different – but delicious – salad features cauliflower and butternut squash. They’re tender, perfectly roasted, and covered in a sweet, zesty lemon-honey vinaigrette. The salad also contains greens, toasted nuts, and raisins to add more flavors and textures to the already wonderful sumac recipe. And, as I’ve already mentioned, if you enjoy the sumac-infused dressing, you can use it on any salad you like.
20. Hummus
This rich, velvety smooth hummus features the flavors of tahini, garlic, sumac, salt, and lemon juice. It’s simple to make and even simpler to devour, so make extra if you’re planning on sharing it with others. Otherwise, it gets eaten far more quickly than you’d imagine. Click on a star to rate it!
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