Sumac. Sub-tropical and temperate shrubs which grow predominantly across Africa and North America producing a reddish spice with a curious zesty flavour used in Middle Eastern cuisine, primarily.
I picked up a pot at the supermarket, having never cooked with it, with the intention of using it as part of a spicy marinating stock for lamb shanks.
Tonight's dinner was quite literally a use anything you have to hand kind of meal.
We've been sharing a good haul of haddock with our kitten and truth be told, he gets the best bits ... we're left with the offcuts and dog ends. See what I did there?
For something quick and tasty, I simply made up a tomato sauce from a carton of chopped tomatoes, some red onion, garlic, ginger and chilli, into which I cooked some carrot slices through making a gorgeous sauce with a subtle sweetness.
Drop in the haddock pieces, some sliced mushrooms and some peas. Haddock goes very well with mushrooms.
Cook through and we're ready to serve ...
Crowning glory? Pesto: a very simple way to pep up a rustic dish.
My pesto was tarragon and parsley, blended with hazelnuts and olive oil, sumac added in for the zingy, tangy flavour. If you don't have sumac, some lemon juice and the rind would do okay.
As I said at the top, this was a fast, quick and frugal dish for a Monday night. You can make up the sauce and add in whatever fish or meat you have; it's a kind of Soup Pistou ... of sorts.
