Roasted bone marrow

Bone marrow isn’t traditionally served on its own in Palestinian cuisine. However, many of our recipes – from mansaf to makloubeh to roasted lamb – involve cooking the meat with the bone. As a child, my grandmother used to always give me the bone marrow when cooking some of these dishes. In Arabic we call it mokh, which means "brain."

As child I assumed it was called that because it was good for the brain. But I loved the texture and appreciated how, depending on the way the meat was cooked, the texture of the bone marrow would be different. Much later in life, while in France, I started enjoying roasted beef bones with bone marrow, and I realised that I had been initiated into the secret of bone marrow very young. Here is a very simple roasted bone marrow recipe with a Palestinian twist.

Serves 6

• 1.3kg beef marrow bones, cut lengthwise
• 30g fresh zaatar leaves
• 15g flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1tsp coarse sea salt
• 1tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2tsp ground sumac
• 1/4tsp coriander seeds
• 1tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Ka’ek al-quds (see below) or toasted pita bread

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Place the bones marrow-side up on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until the bone marrow starts bubbling.

Meanwhile, reserve a few leaves of zaatar and parsley for a garnish. In a mixing bowl, combine the rest of the zaatar and parsley with the salt, pepper, sumac, coriander seeds, lemon juice and garlic. Whisk vigorously to combine.

When the bones are ready, drizzle the fragrant herb mix on the tops and on the sides and serve with the bread on the side.

Ka’ek al-quds

• 400g all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
• 60g powdered whole milk
• 1tsp salt
• 1tbs baking soda
• 1tsp instant yeast
• 1tbs extra-virgin alive oil, plus more for shaping
• 120ml warm water
• 3tbs water 
• 1 egg white
• 40g toasted sesame seeds