Shafut

Ingredients

The bread

• 4lahoh
• spongy fermented flatbread
• or 4 large thin flatbreads
• see the notes

The buttermilk mixture

• 600 mlbuttermilk
• or thin yoghurt
• 300 gthick yoghurt
• 1 teaspoonsalt

The herbs

• a large bunch coriander
• a large bunch mint
• 4spring onions
• 3garlic cloves
• 2green chillies
• or to taste

To finish

• a drizzle of olive oil
• extra herbs
• served cold

Directions

1. Discard it if it smells at all wrong. Dairy left warm grows bacteria. Keep it cold from start to serving. Take it out only when you eat it. It suits the cold sour buttermilk.
2. Wash and dry all of the herbs first. Wash them in a bowl of cold water. Lift them out rather than pouring. Then dry all of them thoroughly. Use a spinner or a clean cloth. They must be genuinely dry throughout.
3. Blend the herbs with a little buttermilk. Add the garlic and chillies too. Blend it into a smooth green paste. Add just enough liquid to turn it. It should be thick and vivid green. Chop the herbs as fine as you can. Use a very sharp knife for it. Whisk the buttermilk and yoghurt together.
4. Whisk them until entirely smooth. Thick yoghurt lumps if added fast. Add it gradually while whisking. It should pour like thin cream. Stir the herb paste into the dairy. Stir it right through thoroughly. Taste it and then adjust the salt. It should be clearly herby and sour.
5. Add it gradually and taste again. It should be clearly seasoned. Tear or cut the lahoh into pieces. Cut them to fit the dish you use. Lay bread in the base of a dish. Cover the base entirely with it. Let it soak in before the next layer. Add another whole layer of bread. Pour more of the mixture over that.
6. Pour enough to wet each layer. Do not drown any single layer. Finish with a layer of the mixture. That keeps the top bread moist. Cover it entirely with liquid. Refrigerate it for at least an hour. Serve it while that texture remains. Serving it is done genuinely cold.
7. Serve it straight from the refrigerator. It is meant to be properly cold. Scatter extra herbs over that. Add them only just before serving. It keeps one day refrigerated.

Technique

• This is dairy served cold and must be refrigerated throughout — dairy left warm grows bacteria. It keeps about a day at most and should be discarded if it smells at all wrong. Keep it cold from assembly to serving and take it out only to eat.
• The bread needs at least an hour to absorb but should not sit overnight: over-soaked bread turns entirely to mush, and some structure should remain with the layers still visible. A few hours is about the maximum.
• The buttermilk mixture must be pourable rather than thick, since it has to soak into the bread — a thick mixture just sits on top. Thin it with more buttermilk if needed, and season it properly, since unsalted buttermilk tastes flat.

Substitutions

• Any thin absorbent flatbread stands in for lahoh, a spongy fermented bread full of holes on one side; a day-old one absorbs better, and injera is a close relative. No substitute is quite the same, since lahoh has a particular sourness and texture, and the atlas records that.
• The herbs can be finely chopped rather than blended, which gives a flecked rather than uniformly green mixture; both are genuinely made and blending gives a stronger flavour. Chop with a very sharp knife, since a blunt one bruises the leaves and bruised herbs go dark and bitter.

Variations

• The holes in lahoh are the whole point: they soak up the buttermilk mixture where a solid bread would not absorb it, and that absorption is the dish.
• Build it in alternating layers, pouring enough to wet each without drowning it, and finish with a layer of mixture over the top — bare bread on top dries out.
• Wash the herbs in a bowl and lift them out rather than pouring, so the grit stays behind, then dry them thoroughly since wet herbs water down the mixture.

History

Flatbread soaked in herbed buttermilk and yoghurt, served cold through the hot months.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shafut?

Shafut is a salad & side from Yemen: lahoh soaked in minty spiced buttermilk, served cold. Flatbread soaked in herbed buttermilk and yoghurt, served cold through the hot months.

How long does Shafut take to make?

Shafut takes 30 minutes plus chilling of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Shafut?

Yes, within limits. Any thin absorbent flatbread stands in for lahoh, a spongy fermented bread full of holes on one side; a day-old one absorbs better, and injera is a close relative. No substitute is quite the same, since lahoh has a particular sourness and texture, and the atlas records that. The herbs can be finely chopped rather than blended, which gives a flecked rather than uniformly green mixture; both are genuinely made and blending gives a stronger flavour. Chop with a very sharp knife, since a blunt one bruises the leaves and bruised herbs go dark and bitter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Shafut?

Wash and dry all of the herbs first. Wash them in a bowl of cold water. Lift them out rather than pouring. Then dry all of them thoroughly. Use a spinner or a clean cloth. They must be genuinely dry throughout.