I had never heard of za’atar until I went to culinary school and a classmate of mine from Israel brought in a little packet of homemade za’atar to share with me. It contained sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, hyssop and a little salt, it instantly became one of my favorite spice blends. The first time I had za’atar bread was from a vendor at a farmers market. He was from Palestine and owned a local restaurant and was selling homemade za’atar, as well as this huge pile of soft flatbread with a generous topping of za’atar and olive oil baked onto the bread. Yet again, I became an instant fan. The word za’atar means thyme in Arabic, as well as referring to a general family of herbs such as thyme, hyssop, marjoram and oregano, among others. A popular spice blend in the Middle East, there are slight variations to the spice combo depending on the region.