A confession: Before cooking thePitaquilesdish inAdeena Sussman's debut solo cookbook,Sababa,I had never cooked withza'atar(a mix of herbs, spices, and sesame seeds popular in many Middle Eastern countries) before. I'd eaten food seasoned with the herby, nutty-tasting blend plenty of times, but since my local grocers never stocked it, I'd never gotten around to getting a jar of my own.
But that's what's great aboutSababa—Sussman's easy storytelling inspires you to get into the kitchen and cook, and her weeknight-ready recipes make it feel doable to cook with an unfamiliar ingredient even for a last-minute Monday dinner. The Pitaquiles—a riff on the classic Mexican dishchilaquiles—is one such dish. Chilaquiles rely on fried tortilla chips simmered in salsa, with eggs cracked in to cook to oozy doneness. Here, za'atar-doused pita crisps stand in for the tortilla chips, and a homemade roasted-tomato sauce serves as "salsa," with plenty of feta and yogurty labneh on top for good measure.
苏斯曼pitaquiles从什么开始的堤防es as a staple of her own weeknight cooking: roasted cherry tomatoes. Tossed in oil, the tomatoes go onto a sheet tray with a jalapeño, a bit of onion, and a few garlic cloves. The lot are flash-roasted for about 20 minutes, and in this recipe, then get puréed in a blender or food processor afterwards.
Full disclosure: when I made the dish, I left the sauce a little chunky, which I preferred for the texture, but Sussman says she likes to "honor the original dish, which typically has a fairly smooth sauce" by blending the mix into a purée.
However you go, what happens next is really what makes the dish special. A stack of crisped, za'atar-coated pita strips go straight into the sauce and simmer for several minutes, developing a texture known in the Test Kitchen as "crispy-gone-soggy." Some bits of pita stick out, retaining their crunch, while other bits become submerged and start soaking in that spicy tomato sauce.
And about that za'atar: of course you can go out and scoop up a store-bought version. Or if your local market doesn't carry it, you canbuy it online. Or you can go Sussman's route andmake your own, which is what I did.
Making the za'atar blend starts with a clever trick for flash-drying herbs using themicrowave. Zap oregano leaves for 15-second intervals until they're dried and crumbly. Some of the leaves may turn gray as they cook, but Sussman says that's to be expected. Once dried, I ground them in mymortar and pestle(a spice grinder or food processor works too) and they turned an enticing shade of vibrant army green.
For Sussman, that oregano (a stand-in for the traditional—similarly flavored, yet more delicate—hyssop leaf) is the defining flavor of a good za'atar blend—"piney, pungent, and unique"—so she thinks it "benefits the most from being fresh" and drying it quickly yourself. But of course, you can also just start with the dried oregano that's probably already in your spice rack. The other herbs in the blend are dried thyme and marjoram, but she says that by all means, if you want to start with fresh herbs for those and use the microwave drying method, feel free.Sumac, a bright, sour dried berry, and toasted sesame seeds round out the mix.
To be honest, it's one of those things that tastes better than it smells. The aroma is akin to boiled eggs (at least to me), but the flavor is floral, acidic, herbal, and toasty. It tastes rich and fresh—even just a little bit sprinkled straight onto your tongue is surprisingly delicious. Used as a seasoning for those pita strips, it's all a person can do to resist snacking on them while finishing up the rest of the dish.
A host of toppings finish off these pitaquies:labnehor Greek yogurt, crumbled feta, cilantro, and a lacy, crispy-bottomed fried egg which lends more satisfying texture to the dish than the poached eggs found in the similar Middle Eastern dishshakshuka. The fried eggs make this a very wise choice for breakfast, but it's equally delicious for the aforementioned weeknight dinner. And, fair warning: you'll want to bring more za'atar to the table to sprinkle all over each individual serving—because if you're anything like me, you won't be able to get enough.
