Manakish

Flatbread topped with za'atar (the herb mixture of dried thyme, oregano, sumac, and toasted sesame, mixed with olive oil into a paste) or with cheese, baked in a hot oven until the bread blisters and the topping melts into the surface. The Levantine breakfast bread, eaten warm with mint tea or coffee in Lebanon, but increasingly served as a meze starter in Western settings. Assuming the za'atar version. The signature is sumac's tart, fruity, faintly woody character set against thyme and oregano herbal depth, with sesame oil-richness and the slightly sweet bread base unifying the dish.