Eye opener: Organic eggs with parmigiano, pesto and fresh herbs

IN THE PAN: Cage-free organic eggs from Costco Wholesale with Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Basil Pesto, two other premium items from the warehouse store; chopped fresh herbs and a couple of pinches of Aleppo pepper. Make them butter free by using olive oil for frying.

ON THE PLATE: I ate them with garlicky mashed sweet potatoes prepared the night before. I boiled two cut-up, skin-on medium sweet potatoes with lots of peeled garlic cloves for about 50 minutes, and mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil and several seasonings, including curry, cinnamon , black pepper and red-pepper flakes.

--VICTOR E. SASSON

Flavors from the Middle Eastern kitchen bring meals alive

Pomegranate seeds and non-fat Greek yogurt lend a Middle Eastern accent to organic Spanish brown rice with black beans, garlic cloves, organic diced tomatoes and saffron.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

This onetime bread lover couldn't get enough of loaves spread with a fragrant mixture of za'atar (Arabic for "thyme") and olive oil.

Fresh bread covered with za'atar -- dried thyme, sumac, salt and sesame seeds -- was terrific, but I also loved toasting it and hearing the mixture sizzle when it got hot.

Za'atar and yogurt, filled with diced cucumbers and dusted with dried mint, are flavors I recall fondly from the Syrian cooking I enjoyed growing up in Brooklyn.

I discovered Aleppo pepper -- a simple, mildly spicy crushed red pepper that adds color and flavor -- in the Syrian groceries and restaurants in Paterson's Middle Eastern bazaar. 

I continue to enjoy those flavors today.

Now, I use za'atar to season eggs, rice, fresh tomato slices and other food, relishing the sour sumac and crunchy sesame seeds.

In an omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon, the sourness of the za'atar contrasts nicely with the slightly salty fish.

At dinner tonight, I tried to recall the flavors of my mother's mujaddara -- a rice-and-lentil dish served with yogurt, diced cucumbers and dried mint -- using thick Greek yogurt and hothouse cucumbers from Costco Wholesale, dried mint from Fattal's in Paterson and pomegranate seeds from ShopRite.

Aleppo pepper and za'atar thyme mixture can be added in the last few minutes of cooking an egg-white omelet stuffed with reduced-fat Swiss cheese or used liberally inside and outside the omelet.

I sprinkled thyme mixture over organic Spanish brown rice before I reheated it in the microwave, and used a thick layer, such as you'd find on za'atar bread, with two organic eggs fried sunny side up.

Aleppo pepper added color and flavor to fresh wild Atlantic cod when I poached the skinless fillets in Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market, and organic diced tomatoes and fresh lime juice, both from Costco. The fish was $7.99 a pound at Costco.

Taking a break from eggs at breakfast, I plated the last piece of leftover cod with sweet potatoes and whole garlic cloves mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with sea salt, cinnamon, curry powder and other seasonings.

Za'atar thyme mixture, Aleppo pepper, dried mint and many other spices are available at Fattal's, 975-77 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-742-7125.

Fattal's is open 7 days a week and has a large parking lot.

Finishing touches: Aleppo pepper, za'atar and pesto

Coarsely ground Aleppo red pepper is around $8 a pound at Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson. The mildly spicy pepper is the perfect accent for organic brown eggs from Costco Wholesale, above, fish fillets or hummus.

I ate the eggs with pasta and mashed sweet potatoes.

Za'atar is a thyme mixture from the Middle East that is also available at Fattal's. Other ingredients include sesame seeds and wild sumac. You can buy za'atar bread or use the mixture on ripe tomatoes and olives, above. Za'atar is also good with eggs and broiled chicken or fish.

 

Refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale is terrific spooned onto cooked fish or with an open-face, egg-white omelet, above. The omelet, with a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese and sun-dried tomato, is thin enough to cook through from the bottom of a non-stick pan.

Half of the omelet made a terrific breakfast with fluffy organic quinoa and a can of organic diced tomatoes prepared in an electric rice cooker the night before. Egg whites, pesto and quinoa came from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. Quinoa has fewer carbs than brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.

More on Aleppo red pepper

Image via Wikipedia

The wonderful, crushed red pepper that enlivens Syrian food prepared in Aleppo, Syria, and at Aleppo Restaurant in Paterson can add a new dimension to dishes made in your own kitchen.


Click on the following link to learn more, then go buy some at Fattal's Bakery, two blocks from Aleppo Restaurant (Main and Thomas streets). At $3.96 a pound, it is a fourth of the price charged by this mail-order house.

I use it on eggs, hummus and wild salmon, but it's suitable whenever you want to elevate your food with a mildly spicy red pepper. I keep mine in the freezer.

Crushed Aleppo pepper

Fattal's Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson;
open seven days.