Got some sumac - what should I do with it?

[TheArmadillo]

Found some sumac in a shop, bought it cos it looked interesting. Never tried it before. Googled but can't find any particularly inspiring recipes.

I do have a chicken recipe I use that is lemon, thyme, cumin, chilli flakes, oregano to make a marinade/rub - could I add it to that and if so how much? It seems to be similar types of ingrediants to what I saw online.

TIA

Sumac is best added to a dish as close to serving as possible, it loses its flavour quickly if cooked. I use it to sprinkle on grilled meat after meat is cooked for an extra burst of flavour.

It is very delicate, it is ground dried bilberries, not a hardy seed like other spices.

Sumac is fab! You need to google Lebanese recipes, which use it a lot.

It is great sprinkled over potato wedges.

Also, if you mix it with wild thyme, you have a Lebanese spice mix called zaa'tar. Brush some flatbread with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with the spice mix, then bake until crisp. It is great.

and yes, you could add it to your marinade recipe, but don't add the chilli or it will be overwhelmed. Goes really well with any mediterranean/middle eastern flavours like cumin, coriander, thyme, oregano, lemon, that sort of thing, or with yoghurt and mild cheeses like mozzarella.

In Iran it is sprinkled over kebab and rice. Delicious. It has a sour lemony tang that gives food a real lift. It is not, however a bilberry. Iranians do use dried barberries (zerehsk) in rice dishes, but sumac comes from the dried, ground 'fruit' of the sumac tree.

couldtryharder there you go, I learn something everyday, I thought it was all the same stuff.

make fattoush = chopped up salad - lots of lemon juice add sumac and then add toasted pitta bread - best salad ever!

Thanks, some lovely sounding ideas.
I'll do the chicken tonight as it needs cooking - leave the chilli flakes out and add the sumac at the end.

I was going to do some kind of kebab next week - the flatbread idea sounds lovely so I'll go for that with it and probably look at a chopped salad as well.

moro cookbook is great for these... make something like:

barley grape sirloin salad

or

courgette stuffed omelettes

Thanks for those links - will check them out.
The chicken was lush.