Nuts for Mezze

Mezze make my world go ’ round when I think of a picnic. Easy to pack in containers, any array of dips and spreads spells leisurely eating joy to me.

I got spoiled for life with mezze when I lived in Cairo, Egypt, some 15 years ago. One of our favorite pastimes was to lounge along the Nile, leaning back on colorful cushions, watching feluccas (traditional wooden sailboats) cruising the river as we nibbled on pillowy pita hot from the wood-fired oven and sipped cooling drinks like crimson karkade, a tart hibiscus juice that is said to date back to the ancient Pharaohs.

The only thing better would be to actually be on one of those feluccas and watch city life on the Corniche from the tranquility of the water. The air thick with the soothing scent of shisha tobacco wafting from bubbling water pipes, our table grew with little bowls and plates: lemony parsley salad, or tabouleh; silky hummus (sometimes topped with grilled chopped lamb, sometimes just sprinkled with herbs, always drizzled with a little olive oil); smoky mashed fire-roasted eggplant salad (aka baba ghanoush); and an assembly of pickles, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, olives and breads. Oh, and often there was dukkah, a mix of coarsely ground nuts and seeds that you mopped up with pieces of olive-oil-soaked bread.

Popular from the Balkans throughout the Middle East to North Africa, mezze (the spelling varies throughout the region) are appetizers. But really, that is just short for a tantalizing collection of small dishes that combine together in a veritable appetizer feast.

Mezze can include anything from dips created from pulses, vegetables and spices; to salads, olives and pickles; to seafood and meats. Typically, mezze is eaten as part of a larger meal for lunch or dinner, although things like hummus, olives and pickles also appear for breakfast in the Middle East. And on a trip to Cyprus, I discovered that Cypriot mezze is a full-on meal of 30-odd dishes, and often include repurposed leftovers from yesterday’s meal.

Mezze, in other words, can be anything you want them to be. Our days of lounging along the Nile at sunset are long gone. But to this day, mezze meals are part of our life. We regularly join together in the kitchen to whip up whatever dips we are in the mood for; wash vegetables, rinse herbs; knead and rise pita dough, heat up the oven and shove in the flattened dough balls; and—the best job of all—open goodies we picked up at a favorite Middle Eastern grocery.

Summertime in particular is simply made for mezze meals.

The recipes here—a twist on classic mezze using Indiana’s delectable walnuts—are perfect for a picnic. Gather a seasonal abundance of beets, radishes, summer squash and herbs. Throw in mixed olives, chunks of feta, walnuts and breads. Bring a blanket, and don’t forget some comfy cushions. It’s mezze time!