Za’atar Spiced Popcorn
This is the time of year when I really miss Chicago. St. Patrick’s Day weekend is coming up, and the whole city gets together to dye the river green and party. The festivity screams Chicago. Just like the many Chicago staples: Lou Malnati’s deep dish, Wrigley Field, and Garrett’s Popcorn.
In honor of our Chicago roots, we wanted to celebrate this holiday and Garrett’s Popcorn by making our own Middle Eastern version spiced with za’atar. Although the St. Patrick’s festivities have been postponed, we hope you can celebrate this weekend and try our recipe!
Thank you, Carrie, for painting the picture of the Chicago skyline in our featured image!
Za’atar Spiced Popcorn
Ingredients
Homemade Popcorn
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp ghee
- 1/4 cup kernels
- 1/4 tsp salt
Za'atar Spice Mix
- 2 tsp za'atar
- 1/4 tsp ground mustard seed
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp lemon pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 3 grinds of black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
Homemade Popcorn
- On medium heat, heat coconut oil and ghee in a medium-sized pot with a lid. I like this mixture to help balance the flavor, but you can use 4 teaspoons of either coconut oil or ghee
- Once the coconut oil and ghee have just about melted, add salt. Add 3 kernels to the pot, and place lid on pot to test the heat of the oil. Once the 3 kernels all pop, immediately add the rest of the 1/4 cup of kernels. My favorite popcorn kernel brand for homemade popcorn is Quinn popcorn kernels (pictured)*
- Remove popcorn from heat once you hear 2-3 seconds in between pops
- If you do not want to make homemade popcorn using the pot, just pop a bag of lightly salted popcorn
Za'atar Spiced Corn
- In a large Ziploc bag, mix together za'atar, ground mustard seed, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder and salt
- Melt 2 tbsp of butter and either in pot or popcorn popping bag add butter to mix/shake to coat on popcorn
- Place butter coated popcorn into Ziploc bag with spices, close the Ziploc and shake! Make sure all popcorn is evenly coated and it's ready to serve!
Notes
*Depending on brand of popcorn kernels, size may vary. Rule of thumb is to make sure that all kernels are covered by oil. If you add more kernels than can be covered by oil, then the kernels will burn.
