Making Mezze

Alfie Fletcher on how to make Middle Eastern sharing plates

But most of all, mezze is about sharing. There are no individual portions, just plates of deliciousness for everyone to dip into.”

Mezze is a table creaking under the weight of mismatched plates. Mezze is colours, glistening with olive oil and flecked with herbs and spices. Mezze is competitive: who can wipe more hummus onto their pitta; whose elbows can beat away their neighbour to reach that last falafel? But most of all, mezze is about sharing. There are no individual portions, just plates of deliciousness for everyone to dip into.

As long as it fits on a plate, and can be easily shared, then it’s mezze.”

When I went to visit family in Israel, it’s not the Wailing Wall that I remember, it’s mezze. Roughly translated as snacks, or tasting, having an array of small sharing plates is a common feature across the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa. This means that there is no strict regime, as different dishes are prepared across the different territories. Think taramasalata in Greece, or baba ganoush in Lebanon. As long as it fits on a plate, and can be easily shared, then it’s mezze. 

each of the dishes I have chosen has an excellent afterlife, able to reappear later in the week as something new.”

Below, I have included some ideas for how to create a mezze spread of your own. The recipes are inspired by Ottolenghi – the Marco Polo of Middle Eastern food. I have tried to give recipes for food you might not have eaten before – there are enough recipes about hummus in the world (by all means make your own because homemade hummus is nectar compared to the grainy artifice of supermarkets) and the same goes for baba ganoush. Also, each of the dishes I have chosen has an excellent afterlife, able to reappear later in the week as something new. There is also a recipe for pitta bread, which is the heart of every table, the edible cutlery of mezze. 

Although there are lots of components to consider, they can all be prepared earlier in the day. When your guests arrive, you can relax, take some plates out of the fridge, and fight over the hummus.

Labneh

Tart and refreshing, Labneh is the creamy palate cleanser at the table, acting as a base to the other flavours competing at the table. And, it couldn’t be easier to make. Look at how short this ingredient list is:

1kg natural yoghurt, full fat

10g salt

Mix the two together, and then spoon into either a cheese cloth, muslin, nutbag, or even a  clean t-shirt. Place that bag in a sieve, and put that in a large bowl to trap the liquid released. Weigh it down with a couple of cans and leave in the fridge for 12-36 hours; it should halve in volume. Spoon into a jar and cover with olive oil, or directly onto the plate, and drizzle with olive oil.

Labneh can be eaten on its own as a dip, but its versatility is what is so endearing.”

Labneh can be eaten on its own as a dip, but its versatility is what is so endearing. Use it instead of butter to make your sandwich more interesting, or eat it with roasted vegetables to provide a contrast to their deep flavour. But also try it in a sweet context: Ottolenghi has a recipe for labneh with mixed berries, dressed in orange-infused olive oil. It is amazing. 

Muhammara

This recipe, made across the Levant, requires slightly more work, but the burst of flavour in your mouth makes it entirely worth the effort. It is also an excellent contrast to the creamy labneh.

Ingredients: 

 

3 red peppers

50g walnuts

50g breadcrumbs

Half a lemon’s juice

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Roast the peppers in a 200C oven for 25-30 mins, until a bit charred. Place in a lidded bowl to steam for a few minutes. This makes peeling the skins easier. When the skins are peeled, add to a blender (or pestle and mortar if you’re feeling authentic and energetic) with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until it is chunky, and spread on the plate. Drizzle with olive oil and pomegranate molasses (it’s hard to come across, but adds an extra punch of flavour.)

Crushed peas with herbs and feta

This is not traditional mezze fare, and again owes its inspiration to Ottolenghi. But given how delicious and year-round frozen peas are, and how fresh and zesty the dish tastes, I think it deserves to be added to the mezze canon. 

500g frozen peas (go for petit pois)

15g mint

15g parsley

The juice of a lemon

1 clove of garlic

Salt

Pepper

100g feta

(You can go with whatever herbs you have available.)

Blanche the peas in boiling water and then refresh under a cold tap. Add to a food processor (or pestle and mortar), add the rest of the ingredients (apart from the feta), and pulse until still fairly chunky. Spread the mix on a plate, and crumble over feta. Top with olive oil (or the Za’atar oil below).

Za’atar oil

Za’atar is a herb and spice mixture that varies across the Middle East. You can sprinkle it over anything, adding perfume and texture to dishes. Letting it infuse in oil allows that flavour to coat your mouth. Swirl it across the top of your labneh; or just dip your pitta into it.

2 tsp za’atar

50ml olive oil

Pitta is one of the most-ancient breads, and perhaps it is its simplicity that has carried it through the ages.”

Pitta bread

So far, we haven’t been presented with too much of a challenge. But making bread; shouldn’t that be left to bakers? Well, no. Pitta is one of the most-ancient breads, and perhaps it is its simplicity that has carried it through the ages. It is both forgiving – and hard to get wrong. Not only that, but the difference in quality between the flabby cardboard that is found in the back of a supermarket in the long-life section, or the smell of fresh bread scenting your kitchen… it will leave your guests’ jaws hanging. 

Ingredients for 10 pittas:

500g flour (bread flour)

350g luke warm water (high hydration to increase puff)

10g salt

8g active dry yeast

20g olive oil

Mix the yeast into the water with your hands, and then gradually add the flour. Mix in the bowl until all the flour is incorporated. Keep kneading in the bowl for a few more minutes, and then let it rest for ten minutes (to allow the gluten to relax).

Add the salt and olive oil, and with a wet hand, knead for another five minutes (you can do this in the bowl by scooping the dough underneath and stretching it). Then leave in a warm place for 1 hour to allow it to prove. (You could do this process in the morning, and leave it in the fridge until 1 hour before you want to eat.)

Turn on the oven to max heat. Invert a baking tray and leave it in the oven to heat – this will be the cooking surface.

Turn out the dough onto the table, and separate into 10 pieces. Round them into balls, and then leave them to relax for 15 mins.

Then, using a rolling pin or a wine bottle, roll them into 15cm rounds, or until 0.5cm thick. (Too thin and they won’t puff, too thick and they won’t cook). Use plenty of flour so that they don’t stick to the rolling pin. Leave the discs for another ten minutes under a damp cloth.

Working quickly, place the pittas onto the hot tray, and let them cook for 5 mins. They should puff up nicely. Take them out and keep them wrapped in a cotton cloth to preserve the moisture.

Don’t let tradition dictate you: open up your soul to mezze.”

Place your plates in the middle of the table, arm your guests with pitta bread and you’re ready to mezze. There will be laughter sprinkled among groans of delight. Don’t stop with these recipes. This is just a start. There are plenty online, but also, once you’ve got a sense of the fundamentals you can make up your own! I’m thinking roasted tomatoes on greek yoghurt; I’m thinking brussel sprouts with tahini sauce; how about mushrooms on hummus? Don’t let tradition dictate you: open up your soul to mezze.

Alfie Fletcher

Alfie Fletcher is the Deputy Food and Drink Editor of Trinity News, and a Junior Fresh English student.