My Modified Modern Mezze

mmmm... 
Moroccan-Style Carrot Salad and Bread with Za'atar Mixed Salad

The other night we had a grown-at-home, designed-by-the-Mediterranean meal, which made for a great seasonal match. I got my inspiration from a book called Modern Mezze by Anissa Helou (Quadrille Publishing, London, 2007). 

Helou's culinary culture of origin is Lebanese, which in my opinion is a big advance on the Anglo traditions I grew up with, as far as food variety and taste are concerned. Mezze is the Greek word for a type of food which served all the way around the Mediterranean from Morocco to Spain (where it is called tapas). It is refers to small, light dishes or snacks, such as dips, salads, bread with toppings, stuffed vegetables and vine leaves, little savoury pastries, balls of meat or ground chickpeas, spicy sausages, bite-sized pieces of fish and salty cheeses. These can be served variously with drinks, as a first course, for lunch, or (Helou's favourite way) as a whole meal, made up of a succession of a dozen or more small dishes. 

 She remembers this fondly from her Lebanese childhood, when her father would take the family out to restaurants and carefully order a delicious variety of dishes to be served all at once. Although she does allow that it is better to sample mezze this way in restaurants rather than attempt it at home. Except on special occasions, and she covers how to do this easily in the book. 

 Helou now lives in London, where she can get most of the authentic North African, Middle Eastern or southern European ingredients she needs to create this food in colder climes. When I decided to prepare some freshly-harvested baby carrots and other prime salad veges mezze-style, I discovered that I was a bit lacking in some of the ingredients in Helou's recipes, but luckily I was able to improvise with others I had on hand (such as authentic za'atar, a signature mezze herb and spice mix, which is produced regularly by Lyttelton's Ground deli).


So here are my recipes for Moroccon-Style Carrot Salad and Bread with Za'atar Mixed Salad.

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MOROCCAN-STYLE CARROT SALAD

(serves 2)

Ingredients

12 baby carrots, scrubbed and trimmed

2 garlic cloves, peeled

sea salt

1 T flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 T coriander leaves, finely chopped

¼ t red pepper flakes or chilli flakes

1 T wine vinegar

3 T extra virgin olive oil

Method

Put the carrots and garlic cloves in a saucepan and cover with cold water.

Bring the the pot to the boil, add the salt, and cook the carrots gently over a medium heat until they are just tender.

Drain the carrots, discard the garlic cloves, and put the carrots on a teatowel to dry and cool a little.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a salad bowl, and whisk to mix well.

Add the carrots and toss them gently, until they are evenly coated in the dressing.

Serve at once, or at room temperature.

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BREAD WITH ZA'ATAR MIXED SALAD

(serves 2-3)

Ingredients

½ loaf of ciabatta bread

juice of 1 lemon

4 T extra virgin olive oil

1-2 t za'atar, to taste

3-4 large, juicy tomatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1 small buttercrunch lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 red or green capsicum, sliced finely

1 small cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and sliced

2 spring onions, sliced (OR half a small red onion, peeled and very finely sliced)

fresh herbs to taste e.g. basil, mint, flat-leaf parsley

Method

Slice the bread into bite-sized pieces and place them on a baking tray.

Bake them at 180 degrees C until they are crisp and just starting to go golden.

Put them in a salad bowl while still warm, and toss them in the lemon juice, then the oil, and then the za'atar.

Add the rest of the ingredients in the order given, tossing each time.

Add extra oil if the salad seems too dry, and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve at once.