Smen

This is a cooked butter made from zebda to which a little salt and sometimes a little thyme, oregano and za’atar (a wild herb from the scrubby wastes of the pre-Sahara) have been added. Smen, although a trifle strong-tasting to be consumed as butter for European palates (including my own), is absolutely delicious when used to lend its fragrant, cheese-like flavour to couscous or k’dras (stews of chicken or lamb simmered in smen with vegetables, chick peas and almonds). I can always tell when we are cooking couscous or k’dra in my house for the tantalizing aroma of smen – delicate, buttery, with perhaps a hint of Dolcelatte or Gorgonzola to it – permeates the house.