flatbread and falafel feast

friday night we wanted to do something fun, cheap and, of course, delicious for dinner. kris had the brilliant idea to buy a bunch of falafel that we could build our meal around. the original plan was to go to our favorite falafel place - the sunrise deli. rain got in the way of that one so kris came through with a big paper bag stuffed with warm fresh falafel from ali baba down the street and some tabouleh. the meal was halfway done!

kris is the designated dip maker in this household so he worked his magic and threw a bunch of stuff in the food processor. one minute it looked like this:

but what came out was a deliciously creamy sundried tomato hummus.

i decided to make flatbread cause....well....i love making bread products and always want to try out something new. it was really quick and easy to make and had a nice soft texture. i found a basic recipe to start with but wanted to spice it up a bit. so back to the internet to investigate za'atar. za'atar is a middle eastern spice blend and i was pretty sure we had most of the ingredients in our arsenal of spices. we did have most....all except sumac which apparently makes up the largest percentage of the blend. so it wasn't za'atar but it was close and it was good.

flatbread
ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup ice water
3 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of baking soda

combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. add the shortening and cut into the flour mixture. add the water and stir to form a dough.

divide the dough into 5 equal pieces. roll each piece into a thin circle (about 8 inches).

prick the surface of the dough with a fork*

cook on a hot, lightly oiled pan. these cook fast so keep an eye on them. it only takes a minute or less on each side.

(almost) za'atar
ingredients:
thyme
sesame seeds
marjoram
oregano
coarse salt

mix together equal parts (i did a 1/2 teaspoon) thyme, marjoram and oregano. add a little less sesame seeds and even a little bit less salt.

brush the cooked flatbreads with olive oil, sprinkle on spice mixture and rub it in.

*i actually forgot this step. they still turned out really well but maybe they're even better if you prick 'em.

-d