Rhus coriaria

Sumac

Dried lemon, pomegranate, pale leather.

Where it comes from. The eastern Mediterranean. Romans knew it as sourness before the lemon: red berries, sharp, wine-coloured.

The mistake everyone makes. Cooking it. Sumac goes on raw, at the end, like a citrus powder.

An unexpected Italian use. On puntarelle, on roast fish, in pinzimonio, over burrata.

The recipe. Puntarelle, anchovy, oil, sumac in place of some lemon. The Roman salad with a Levantine accent.

Open the recipe Check availability