Mezze is the most forgiving way to feed people. Nothing has to arrive hot at the same moment, most of it improves while it sits, and the parts you buy sit happily next to the parts you made.
The shape is simple: a dip or two, something raw and sharp, something pickled, something warm, and enough bread.
Hummus worth making
Tinned chickpeas work. Dried, cooked soft, work better. The differences between decent hummus and very good hummus are these:
- Overcook the chickpeas. They should collapse when pressed. A pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the cooking water helps them break down and helps the skins loosen.
- Use more tahini than feels right and make sure it is good tahini: pourable, nutty, not bitter or claggy.
- Ice water while blending. A few tablespoons whipped in at the end makes it pale and fluffy rather than dense.
- Blend longer than you think. Two or three minutes, scraping down, until it is properly smooth.
Finish with olive oil, a dusting of sumac or paprika, and something with texture on top: whole chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, chopped parsley.
The second dip
Pick one and it becomes a table rather than a bowl.
Baba ganoush: aubergines blackened whole over a flame or under the grill until collapsed, flesh scooped out and drained, then mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic. The smoke is the flavour; do not shortcut the burning.
Muhammara: roasted red peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, pomegranate molasses and chilli, blitzed coarse. Sweet, sharp and nutty, and it takes ten minutes with a jar of peppers.
Whipped feta: feta, yoghurt and lemon in a blender. Two ingredients, no cooking, and everyone eats it first.
Something raw and sharp
Chopped salad: cucumber, tomato, parsley, red onion, all cut small, dressed with lemon, olive oil and salt just before serving. Its job is to cut through the tahini and oil, so make it sharper than you would eat it alone.
Fattoush is the same idea with toasted flatbread and sumac stirred in at the last minute.
Something pickled, something salty
This is the buying half. Olives, pickled turnips, gherkins, preserved lemon, salty cheese. Turn them out into small bowls rather than leaving them in jars; the table looks composed for the sake of thirty seconds of work.
Something warm
One hot thing keeps the table from feeling like a picnic. Flatbreads warmed in a dry pan. Halloumi fried until it squeaks. Spiced lamb or lentils on a plate of yoghurt. Roasted cauliflower with cumin, still hot from the tray.
Bread
More than you think. Warm it, tear it, do not slice it neatly. If you are baking your own, flatbread is the easiest bread there is: flour, water, yoghurt, salt and baking powder, rolled thin and cooked in a dry pan for a minute a side, puffing as it goes.
Laying it out
Spread the dips wide and shallow on plates, not deep in bowls, so there is more surface for oil and toppings and more edge for bread. Vary the heights, keep the colours next to something that contrasts, and put the bread where everyone can reach.
Then leave it alone. The great advantage of mezze is that the cook sits down at the same time as everyone else.