Malawach

This recipe is life-changing.  Time-consuming?  Yes, but worth it beyond measure. And it freezes well so you can make lots and have this any time you want.

Malawach (or malawah) is a flaky flatbread from Yemen typically eaten for breakfast topped with tomatoes, boiled eggs, cheese and zhoug.  You can think of it as a cross between a Chinese scallion pancake and puff pastry.  It’s the PERFECT accompaniment to the Turkish Eggs recipe I shared yesterday and really any recipe with roots in and flavors from the Middle East.  Good for dipping, spreading, layering, sandwiching and snacking…just about everything.

The time takes some work: the dough has to rest for a bit after it’s mixed and then portioned, laminated with copious amounts butter (don’t be tempted to skimp on this), rolled, and flattened into a pancake shape.  To cook, you fry it up in a skillet and wait for the magic to begin.  The smell of these cooking will make it impossible for you to wait for these to cool before diving in.  Oh and the flaky layers!!!!! They pull apart into buttery whisps of flatbread will quickly become addictive.

Freeze any leftover flatbreads between two layers of wax paper and go from freezer to mouth in less than 5 minutes.  Hey guys, but seriously…use two layers of wax paper or they will stick together with only one layer and you won’t be able to get them apart to cook them and you will be a very, very sad person (speaking from experience).

The forming process can be a little tricky to describe so watch this video a few times before and while making the recipe to help; once you get a few down, it will be a cinch.

Once you get the hang of it, mix in herbs and spices and experiment with whatever fillings or toppings suit your fancy.  I have no doubt that no matter what it’s served with, it will be a winner.

[tasty-recipe id=”31588″]