Sometimes you have bread

I advocate for making just about everything on Hazaa flats. But sometimes there’s bread in the house, and I’m not going to pretend I won’t eat it and enjoy doing so.

This started with a couple slices of sourdough wheat. One got a generous layer of labneh, because... always labneh. The other got Hazaa's Tart Cherry + Sumac Preserves, followed by leftover roast chicken. The labneh side got topped with cheddar and sliced tomato, with a good grind of black pepper.

Here’s where I cheat: I’ll often give the cheesed-up slice a quick spin inside the microwave to get the melting started. That way I’m not waiting around impatiently for the cheese to melt, while the bread gets darker and darker.

Then, a thick knob of butter goes into a hot cast iron pan and in go the open-faced halves. (You could also spread mayo on the outside of the bread if you like a particularly good Maillard effect.) Once the bread is crisp and golden and the cheese properly melty, I add the lettuce so it stays cool and crisp, then put the whole thing together.

What makes this delicious is the same thing I’m always looking for when I build a bite: contrast. The cherry preserves are sweet and tart, the chicken and cheddar are savory and salty, the labneh is cool and tangy, and the tomato and lettuce bring freshness and crunch.

Could you build all of this on a Hazaa flat instead? Absolutely. And most days, I would.

But sometimes you have bread.