Add a little spice

Buy Manju's Books -

Add a little spice, cut back on salt and add something zesty like caraway to liven up your food. Many of us neglect the spices in our cupboard. Here are a few hot tips and tasty inspirations..

Add a little Spice

Add a little spice, cut back on salt and add something zesty like caraway to liven up your food. Many of us neglect the spices in our cupboard. Here are a few hot tips and tasty inspiration.

Szechuan Pepper

Flavour: spicy and woody

Saute chunks of aubergine with crushed Szechuan pepper and grated orange zest, then toss with egg noodles.
Crush the peppercorns and rub onto steak before searing.

Add a pinch to a tomatoey pasta sauce for an extra kick.

Coriander Seed

Flavour: mildly sweet with a peppery finish

Boil 200ml orange juice until reduced by half, whisk in 15g cold butter that’s cut into cubes, add 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds and use as a sauce for grilled sea bass.
Mix the crushed seeds into Ricotta cheese with a dash of lemon juice and use to dress cold broccoli.
Fry a few seeds with sausages.

Juniper Berries

Flavour: bitter-sweet, with hints of pine and pepper Sprinkle crushed juniper berries over cold poached salmon and serve with crisp romaine lettuce and crème fraiche.
Segment 4 oranges and marinate with 4 tbsp Grand Marnier, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tbsp crushed berries.
Crush the berries, stir into cranberry sauce and serve with smoked venison.

Caraway Seed

Flavour: warm, pungent, salty with aniseed overtones
Stir crushed caraway into tomato soup.
Mix a pinch of ground caraway into a pot Greek yogurt and use to coat chunks of cucumber.
Mix whole caraway seeds into scone dough before baking. Serve warm and buttered, topped with smoked salmon.

All Spice

Flavour: between nutmeg, cinnamon and clove
Pound 1tsp allspice with 1tbsp brown sugar, mix into 100ml orange juice and brush onto gammon before baking.
Add ground allspice to hot chocolate instead of cinnamon.
Grind a few allspice berries over warm buttered peas instead of pepper.

Asafoetida

Flavour: very pungent and oniony
Use a small pinch of asafoetida to spike a puree of peas, grated ginger and chilli and then wrap into filo pastry to make samosas.
Fry a tiny pinch in sunflower oil before stirring in a can of drained lentils. Top with fresh coriander and crème fraiche.
Add to hot oil before sautéing okra, then add a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Popular

Search

Syndicate

Login