More than a recipe, roasted vegetables with zaatar is the idea of a unique dish with winter vegetables like cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, along with peppers, carrots, and cannellini beans, all flavored with a very fragrant and intriguing spice mix called zaatar.
ZAATAR or ZA’ATAR is made up of Lebanese thyme which is the first aroma that hits your nose when you open the strictly glass jar, followed by roasted sesame seeds, sumac, sea salt, and olive oil.
It has a very intense aroma and is used in its many versions in many recipes, especially in Middle Eastern cuisine.
The ingredients that make up the Middle Eastern spice called zaatar have many properties, for example, thyme, which is the main ingredient, has digestive and antiseptic properties, while sesame is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins.
In the Middle East, an old belief says that consuming zaatar gives a person greater mental alertness and also strengthens the body.
A recipe where the spice is used in Middle Eastern cuisine is soft and tasty zaatar flatbreads (Maanayesh or Manaskin) which are essential in their cuisine, especially for breakfast, and often accompany the labneh that I have already prepared for the blog. It is a creamy yogurt cheese, and below I leave the recipe if you want to make it in your kitchens!
ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH ZAATAR
ASI’s kitchen
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Portions: to taste
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients
- to taste cauliflower
- to taste Brussels sprouts
- to taste carrots
- to taste peppers
- to taste canned cannellini beans
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste zaatar
Tools
- Parchment paper
- Knives
- Baking trays
Steps
For this unique dish that I was good enough to taste with whole grain bread, first wash the vegetables and cut them according to the variety.
I sliced the cauliflower, cut the carrots into wedges, and the peppers into strips.
Besides the classic pepper you find in the produce section, I also included a couple of Cornelio peppers which are very sweet!
I preferred to blanch the cauliflower, carrots, and Brussels sprouts in salted boiling water for just 3/4 minutes to then have a single oven baking time without varying times based on the type of vegetable, but you can do what’s more convenient for you!
I then quickly drained the vegetables, and after lining the baking tray with parchment paper, I laid them without overlapping and added a generous amount of zaatar and extra virgin olive oil.
I baked at 375-400°F, cooking them for about 20/30 minutes, turning the vegetables seasoned with the Middle Eastern spice ZAATAR halfway through.
Enjoy the roasted vegetables with zaatar while still warm, and bon appétit!
Annalisa
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MANY DETAILS ABOUT ZAATAR CAN BE READ HERE
