This herbal spice blend, native to North Africa and the Middle East, has an earthy and mildly nutty quality that’s perfect when rubbed into chicken, sprinkled on pizza, and used to season salmon. Assembled from sumac, sesame seeds, and a variety of spices, you can toss a pinch of zahtar in a fruity pool of olive oil nestled next to crusty bread for an easy -- but impressively flavorful -- party hors d’oeuvre. Just a dash of this mix incites your imagination and transports you to faraway places, like narrow back pathways that wind through Middle Eastern cities, where the herbal mouthwatering scent of flat breads smeared thick with zahtar and olive oil hangs thick in the air, emanating from bakeries and tented souks. Arabic parents often joke by telling their children that eating zahtar will make them smarter, and we’re inclined to agree -- adding this to your cooking routine will be one of the smartest decisions you ever make.

Zahtar's nutty quality is perfect when rubbed into chicken, sprinkled on pizza, and used to season salmon. Assembled from sumac, sesame seeds, and a variety of spices, you can toss a pinch of zahtar in a fruity pool of olive oil nestled next to crusty bread for an easy -- but impressively flavorful -- party hors d’oeuvre.

Fairway Marketplace is brought to you by Fairway Market, a specialty food chain that started back in 1933 with a small fruit and vegetable stand on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Today, Fairway Market is legendary for its experts and expertise in all things food, and a relentless obsession with quality throughout all of the different departments in its stores. In December of 2011, Fairway launched this online shop, so that we could bring the best of the best of what Fairway offers, at the same great values, to those who don’t live near one of our stores. Why keep all of this foodie goodness to ourselves? That simply would not be fair.