Well, 2020 has been quite the right off for traveling and tasting foreign cuisine! Thanks, COVID- 19 (insert eye roll here). I was supposed to have traveled to Morocco in April with my family and then to Crete in June for a wedding -both of which were canceled.
I love traveling not only for the change of scenery but also because of the new and interesting cuisines that I get to taste. Unfortunately, no being stuck in the UK, there is only so much variety within the British repertoire of dishes (roasts, potatoes, pies, etc) so I was definitely not going to be getting the same interesting cuisine as I would have abroad.
However, instead of getting (too) hung up on missing out on my travels, I decided to feature those regions’ flavours in my at-home cooking.
In Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cuisine, punchy spices are always a star and one of my new favourites is sumac! I mean, seriously, where has this spice been my whole life?!
I initially bought sumac to make a za’atar spice mix for butternut squash soup but prior to that, it had never graced the shelves of my pantry.
For those of you who are also new to this spice, sumac is a ground berry, native to the Middle East but also prevalent in Mediterranean cooking. My go-to flavor guide, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, describes sumac as bitter/salty/sour/sweet and recommends adding it to foods you might otherwise add lemon to. Sumac is bright and acidic, which complements a wide variety of dishes so I decided it would be great to explore new ways to sprinkle this stuff in more dishes!
In many recipes, sumac is featured in yoghurt or cream-based dressings served on salads, bowls, or even roast vegetables. I am always a fan of a good cream sauce, and my immediate thought would be to use cashews (obviously).
However, I decided to mix it up a bit and use sunflower seeds as a base in this cream sauce for this dish which added a slightly more sour-cream like flavour.
Furthermore, instead of pasta on its own, I decided to add in spiralised parsnips and carrots as well for some crunch. Overall, the citrusy flavours of sumac levelled out the creamy flavours in the sauce and complemented it brilliantly.
creamy sumac spaghetti w/spiralised carrots &parsnips
Equipment
- high-speed blender or food processor
Ingredients
Sauce
- 100 grams sunflower seeds
- 7 grams garlic minced
- 15 ml lemon juice ½ lemon yields
- 5 grams sumac
- 240 ml non-dairy milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Pasta
- 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 500 grams carrots spiralised
- 500 grams parsnips spiralised
- 5 grams sumac
- 200 grams spaghetti of choice
- 4 grams garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat to the oven to (190°C) 375°F and prepare a roasting pan with parchment paper.
- Soak sunflower seeds in boiling water for 15-20 minutes.
- Place a large of water on the stove and bring to a boil.
- Place spiralised parsnips and carrots in roasting pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and sumac – toss to distribute evenly. Roast for 10 -15 minutes until tender and slightly browned.
- Add in spaghetti to the water and cook according to instructions, approximately 10 minutes and before straining make sure to save some of the pasta water.
- Combine the soaked sunflower seeds and rest of the sauce in high speed blender.
- Add the kale to a pan and cook for a minute or two until the kale starts wilting. Add the roasted root vegetables to the pan.
- Blend soaked and drained sunflower seeds, lemon juice, garlic and non-dairy milk until very smooth and creamy. Add to pan and toss. Add a splash of water as needed to thin and coat the spirals. Serve with a sprinkle of sumac and paprika
- Season with salt and pepper as needed.
