ALL ABOUT SUMAC

“Even just a few spices or ethnic condiments that you can keep in your pantry can turn your mundane dishes into a culinary masterpiece.”- Marcus Samuelsson 

Sumac (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: summāqāʾ [=red, red shift, turning red], Arabic: سمّاق‎‎ summāq; also spelled sumach, sumaq) is any one of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. The dried and powdered fruits are used as a spice in Middle Eastern cuisine. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in East Asia, Africa and North America.

Sumacs are shrubs and small trees that can reach a height of 1–10 m. The leaves are spirally arranged; they are usually pinnately compound, though some species have trifoliate or simple leaves. The flowers are in dense panicles or spikes 5–30 cm long, each flower very small, greenish, creamy white or red, with five petals. The fruits form dense clusters of reddish drupes called sumac bobs. The dried drupes of some species are ground to produce a tangy crimson spice. Sumacs propagate both by seed (spread by birds and other animals through their droppings), and by new shoots from rhizomes, forming large clonal colonies.

The fruits (drupes) of the genus Rhus (for example, R. coriaria) are ground into a reddish-purple powder used as a spice in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a tart, lemony taste to salads or meat. In Arab cuisine, it is used as a garnish on meze dishes such as hummus and tashi, and is added to salads in the Levant. In Iranian, Afghan and Kurdish cuisines, sumac is added to rice or kebab. In Jordanian and Turkish cuisines, it is added to salad-servings of kebab and lahmajoun. Rhus coriaria is used in the spice mixture za’atar. 

Za’atar
Ingredients
1/4 cup sumac
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon coarse salt 

Method
Grind the sesame seeds in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle it on bread, dips, dressings, meat, vegetables, rice, potatoes, pasta, soups, and more.

In North America, the smooth sumac (R. glabra) and the staghorn sumac (R. typhina) are sometimes used to make a beverage termed “sumac-ade”, “Indian lemonade”, or “rhus juice”. This drink is made by soaking the drupes in cool water, rubbing them to extract the essence, straining the liquid through a cotton cloth, and sweetening it. Native Americans also use the leaves and drupes of the smooth and staghorn sumacs combined with tobacco in traditional smoking mixtures.

Sumac was used as a treatment for half a dozen different ailments in medieval medicine, primarily in Middle-Eastern countries (where sumac was more readily available than in Europe). An 11th-century shipwreck off the coast of Rhodes, excavated by archaeologists in the 1970s, contained commercial quantities of sumac drupes. These could have been intended for use as medicine, as a culinary spice, or as a dye. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is a powerful antioxidant, with ORAC rating over 1500 μmol TE/g.

Some species formerly recognised in Rhus, such as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, syn. Rhus toxicodendron), poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum, syn. Rhus diversiloba) and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix, syn. Rhus vernix), have the allergen urushiol and can cause severe allergic reactions. Poison sumac may be identified by its white drupes, which are quite different from the red drupes of true Rhus species. Cases of allergy involving pure Rhus coriaria have not been documented in medical literature.

In the language of flowers, sprigs of Rhus carry the meaning: “Touch me not”. Flowerheads or seed clusters incorporated in bouquets imply: “If you get to know me, you shall love me.”

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

POETS UNITED - TRANQUILLITY

“We live in the age of the refugee, the age of the exile.” - Ariel Dorfman

This week, Poets United has as its theme “Tranquillity”. In a world becoming increasingly more violent, more agitated, more unstable, to find tranquillity may be well nigh impossible for the majority of people around the globe. Over the last few months, the shocking news of an escalating refugee crisis in Europe illustrates the point only too graphically.

Vast numbers of refugees have made their way across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2015, sparking a crisis as countries struggle to cope with the influx, and creating division in the European Union over how best to deal with resettling people. More than 750,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived by sea so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), but exact numbers are unclear as some may have passed through borders undetected.

Although not all of those arriving claim asylum, over half a million have done so. Germany continues to be the most popular destination for migrants arriving in Europe. It has received the highest number of new asylum applications, with almost 222,000 by the end of August. Hungary has moved into second place, as more migrants have tried to make the journey overland through Greece and the Western Balkans. It had 96,350 applications by the end of July.

The Aegean Sea crossing has seen the deaths of more than 3,000 people this year, but the route is still one of the most popular for refugees trying to cross into the European Union, as the eastern Greek island of Lesbos is only a few hours away from Turkey, where many Syrian refugees are coming from. The majority of people who take boats across the Aegean are using smugglers, whom they have often paid up to 2,000 euros each.

Tranquillity

When the bombs fell and our homes destroyed
In ghastly, fiery infernos,
We screamed, we cried, we ran away
And sought tranquillity.

When soldiers shot at us, and partisans shot back,
In deadly, deafening crossfire,
We crept low, and hoped to flee
And sought tranquillity.

When climbing into trucks, thrown in together,
In fusty, airless, stinking compartments,
We held our breaths and swallowed our tears,
And sought tranquillity.

When thankfully we boarded illegal, leaky boats
In tossing seas and wind-swept treacherous waters,
We held onto each other and prayed to God,
And sought tranquillity.

When on doors locked we knocked, and met closed borders,
In icy weather, while hunger gripped our belly,
We gritted our teeth, survived against all odds
And sought tranquillity.

We search for a safe haven, a home to call our own,
Somewhere to raise our children without fear;
We need a sunny place where we can smile again,
And seek tranquillity.

And in the depths of winter, while one by one we die,
In dark grey fields of war we perish, in perilous journeys we expire.
A cold, bleak, callous indifference kills us all
And in our death we find, at long last,
Tranquillity.

FOOD FRIDAY - TABBOULEH

“Parsley - the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.” - Albert Stockli

Parsley is growing luxuriously in our garden at the moment and yesterday we made some tabbouleh (Arabic: تبولة‎ tabūlah; also tabouleh or tab(b)ouli – a word derived from “seasoning”). This is a Levantine vegetarian dish (sometimes considered a salad) traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Bulgur is usually added to the dish; some variations add garlic or lettuce, or use couscous instead of bulgur. It is important to have more herbs than bulgur (unlike shop-bought tabbouleh, which is more bulgur than herbs!).

Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients
25g bulgur wheat
2 large, ripe tomatoes
1 large bunch fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves only, washed, dried, finely chopped
1 small bunch fresh mint leaves, washed, dried, finely chopped
2 large spring onions, cleaned, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt, freshly ground pepper
4 Middle Eastern flatbreads to serve

Method
Place the bulgur wheat into a small bowl and cover with 50ml of boiling water. Stir, then set aside for 30 minutes, or until the bulgur wheat has absorbed all of the water.

Cut out the green stalks from the tomatoes and make a small cross at each of the bases. Place the tomatoes into a separate bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 30 seconds, then drain away the water.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skins. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, discard the seeds and dice the flesh. Transfer the diced tomatoes to a serving bowl.

Add the parsley, mint and onion to the tomatoes and mix well until combined.

When the bulgur wheat has absorbed all of the water, fluff it using a fork until the grains are separated. Add the bulgur wheat to the tomato mixture.

Drizzle over the lemon juice and olive oil and season, to taste, with salt. Mix well to coat the ingredients in the liquid.

To serve, divide the tabbouleh equally among four serving plates. Place one grilled flatbread alongside each.

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