It was Father’s Day and what do you give the man who does not revel in the practice of gift-giving/gift-receiving as does I?

Constant Companion lived in Morocco many years ago and holds an abiding enjoyment of things Moroccan. I enjoy doing my best to replicate a number of dishes found in my favorite Moroccan cookbooks, to all of our pleasures. I thought for the recent Father’s Day I’d try my hand at a recipe for merguez, Moroccan sausage, distributed by the self-appointed Kosher Cowboy (https://koshercowboy.com/merguez-sausage/).

Merguez a la Morocco. As per his instructions I mixed the ingredients the day before, giving them a day to merge and meld together. Not according to the directions, I used ground turkey in place of lamb.

Start in the best of Moroccan ways by toasting ½ teaspoon of each – cumin, coriander, and fennel in a small skillet over medium-low heat for about 1 to 2 minutes. Mix thoroughly into 1 pound of ground lamb (preferable), beef, or turkey along with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper.*

*One family member likes none of these requisite North African spices, especially the pepper. This was a dish for Constant Companion, so I used my Hungarian hot paprika and left out the cayenne.

Form the meat into 1-inch-thick by 5-inch-long cigars or patties. Chill for up to 5 days, freeze for up to 3 months, or use immediately. More below …

In the meantime, several (girl)friends were coming over to watch a recent film. We are all descended from Jews from Ioannina in northwestern Greece, the topic of the film. Food is often a center piece of our infrequent gatherings. This time I was at a loss of what to prepare. Then on Saturday evening, inspiration hit and I remembered some packages of ready-to-use pizza dough safeguarded in the freezer just for an occasion such as this.

While my brain was working, I remembered long ago, when I worked in Cleveland, Ohio, the Syrian-Lebanese bakery* where I’d stop on the way to work to pick up some fresh-baked spinach pies, pitas, and pita topped with za’atar (who knew it has a name, (manakeesh).

*The bakery still there, going strong – Aladdin’s Baking Co., https://www.aladdinbaking.com/.

Za’atar pita. Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Because I had the thawed pizza dough, I did not have to make the dough. I started by separating my dough into 4 kind of equal pieces. I dusted the work surface and my rolling pin with cornmeal (I used cornmeal because when making pizza, you dust the surface with cornmeal).

In a small bowl, mix three tablespoons of za’atar with three tablespoons of olive oil so that you have a wet mixture. Add more oil or za’atar as needed to keep it wet, and depending on how much you like it.

I’m not very good at achieving circles with dough and a rolling pin. I did my best to create 4 similar surfaces for the za’atar/olive oil mixture. Move your “rounds” to a cookie tin dusted with cornmeal. Make sure to carefully dock the rolled-out dough; use a fork to poke some holes to prevent air bubbles from forming. Top the dough with the za’atar/oil, spread evenly depending on how thick you want it. Bake for 4-8 minutes depending on how crusty you want it.

Merguez Pides. Next the merguez waiting to be shaped as per the Kosher Cowboy. I knew instinctively I could use the extra pizza dough for something. Back to the internet for other ideas using pizza dough and found Martha Stewart’s Spiced-Lamb Pie (https://www.marthastewart.com/1163289/spiced-lamb-pie). Et voila, the Kosher Cowboy met Martha.

Martha’s recipe includes the meat preparation ; I had the merguez resting in the refrigerator and skipped her instructions and went straight to how to assemble the waiting meat with the proofing pizza dough. As follows:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly dusty your work surface; again I used cornmeal. I divided the dough into 2 balls and did my best to roll them into ovals. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Let stand in a warm place covered with plastic or a clean kitchen towel until doubles, about 30 minutes.* Divide the meat and add half of it to each prepared dough oval, leaving a small margin on the edges. Fold edges over the meat; pinch ends together. Martha had tomato sauce in her meat; I brushed some pasta sauce on top of both pides. Brush crust with olive oil, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Bake until golden, about 18 minutes.

*Honestly, I’d left the frozen pizza dough out over night to thaw and proof. At this point I left it aside for about 15 minutes.

Constant Companion was pleased and enjoyed my attempts at za’atar pitas and the use of the merguez. They are both today’s left-over lunch. Daughter ate left-over roast chicken.

A nice dinner for Father’s Day.