Recipe Preview: Put a Little Spice in Your Life

Nicole Chaison is a talented writer and she helped to write a lovely cookbook with Chef Ana Sortun. The recipes in this book are clear and engaging, the photography is elegant, and the art direction is graceful.

The Cookbook is called Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ana Sortun is an acclaimed chef and owner of one of the top restaurants in Boston, Oleana. She has won the Beard Foundation award for The Best Chef in the Northeast. Zagat lists Oleana as one of the top 10 restaurants in Boston.

Nicole happens to be a Cousin of Food. The Family of Food has been given a gift by Cousin of Food. We have been given a taste of this delicious spice. The following is the first of two delicious recipes she has shared with us, from Spice.


Make Your Own Curry Powder

Start with this curry recipe as a base and add other spices to create your own signature blend. If you like your curry spicier, add more chilies. To sweeten it, add some allspice or fennel seed. To add more earthiness, try a little cumin. You can use a coffee grinder to grind your spices.

Makes 1½ cups.

¼ cup coriander seeds, toasted, cooled, and ground
¼ cup + 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground fenugreek leaves (push the leaves through a medium-fine sieve over a small bowl to remove bits of stem and to powder the leaves)
¼ cup dried ground ginger
3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, ground
2 tablespoons Aleppo chilies
2 tablespoons cardamom seeds (just the black seeds and not the pods), ground
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl until combined. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry, and dark place for up to 3 months.




Check back for the next recipe. Posting this week.