(Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief)

Za’atar can mean Syrian thyme / Origanum syriacum by itself, but it’s also meant thyme-based spice blends from the Middle Ages until today.

In Nasrallah’s Treasure Trove recipes 529-33, the za’atar blend she describes is used for flavoring cheese and involves moldy bread in the mixture. My modern soul quails at the notion of experimenting with homegrown bread molds, so I’m not going to recommend that particular method. But thyme and mint are stirred into soft qanbaris cheese in recipe 529, and used in the making of a milk-based condiment in 530. (I can’t see the exact details because of the Google Scholar cut-offs. At this point, imagine here my standard rant about having a library-available print copy less than a mile from my house that I can’t read, and let’s move on.)

Daniel Newman notes that The Sultan’s Feast 190 is comparable to Treasure Trove 533, and his version reads:

“190. Recipe to make thyme. (Take thyme) [and] clean its leaves. Wash and rub with salt and squeeze [the juice out. Then add] good quality olive oil on top; for each ten raṭls [of thyme], take one raṭl of olive oil. Place in an oiled wide-mouthed clay jar and seal. Add ground salt and if you want to season it, [add] pounded peeled garlic, a little bit of salt and good-quality oil until it becomes like ointment. Add pounded walnuts and eat; it is extremely tasty.”

The English rendition of “to make thyme” sounds as though the word za’atar is already beginning to be used to mean a seasoning beyond the plant itself, though this particular recipe reads more like a thyme-based pesto (with oil, garlic, and walnuts) than the modern definition of za’atar.

The modern definition of za’atar as a spice blend involves some combination of dried thyme, dried sumac, sesame seeds, and occasionally other flavor notes as desired. Penzey’s sells a sumac-rich blend that is absurdly tasty when sprinkled on hummus or pizza.

If you want the historic experience, mash up the thyme, garlic, and salt with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a mortar and pestle. (The rest of the oil is for covering the surface in the jar(s).)

If you have a food processor, use it without shame.

Once you’ve made your thyme puree, put it in a jar and cover the surface with olive oil before closing. Use within a few days, if you can resist that long.

(These dry spices are sometimes mixed in with olive oil as in the manakish recipe below, but they aren’t stored that way.)

You can sprinkle it on things as it is or blend with some olive oil for a tasty dip or spread.

Little dipping bowls (like for soy sauce with sushi) are handy for dipping bread into za’atar-mixed olive oil. (They’re also handy for portion control, because I will devour za’atar-and-olive-oil-dipped bread with far too much enthusiasm.)

Manakish

Spread your bread with a thick layer of oil and za’atar. Optionally top with cheese. Toast or grill. Nom.