You can use thyme to prepare about any dish, and easily blends well to provide a good flavor. You can use it a fresh leave to cook as well. Apart from its use in preparing thyme recipes, it is widely used in as additional spice in stews, traditional African foods like egusi soup, ogbono, ewedu, nodolee, and pepper soup. Thyme is a good source of iron and is used widely in cooking. Thyme is a basic ingredient in French, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Persian, Portuguese, Libyan, Spanish, Syrian, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Arab and Caribbean cuisines. Thyme is often used to flavor meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavor with lamb, tomatoes and eggs. Thyme, while flavorful, does not overpower and blends well with other herbs and spices. In French cuisine, along with bay and parsley it is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence. In some Levantine countries, the condiment za'atar (Arabic for thyme) contains thyme as a vital ingredient.