Tag: cloves

German Red Cabbage
Although I often focus on main dishes (especially one pot meals), there’s a lot of value in being able to provide the perfect foil to your piece de resistance. This recipe is simple, but cooking shredded red cabbage for over an hour with vinegar, sugar, apples, and a few key spices makes for a delicious side. I ate this tangy sweet cabbage alongside a simple combination of sausage and white beans, and I think it would serve as a good complement to any kind of beans or any kind of pork. The vibrant purple of the resulting dish also makes it an easy way to provide a often much-needed visual pop to a meal.

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May 7, 2012
Garam Masala
I know I post a lot of spice mix recipes, but they’re really an easy way to get the most flavorful food out of your kitchen. The same basic spices (which will stay good for years when stored whole) can be recombined into many distinct mixes. Garam masala is one of my favorites. A staple of North Indian cuisine, the recipes can vary widely from one household to the next, but always involve some “warming” spices (such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper). So this is a great mix to adjust exactly to your liking, whether its changing the proportions, omitting some ingredients, or adding others (allspice, star anise, or a couple bay leaves would all fit nicely here); I like mine a little heavy on the cumin and chili peppers. The resulting mix can elevate a simple stew, help to recreate authentic North Indian dishes, or even be added to cookies or hot chocolate for an unusual twist.

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April 30, 2012
Ethiopian Berbere
Growing up in DC (home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of Ethiopia), I’ve gotten used to a city with a plethora of cheap and delicious Ethiopian restaurants. My favorite place is a mere half mile from me and offers up a vegetarian platter big enough for two or three people for ten dollars. So it’s understandably difficult for me to motivate myself to try cooking Ethiopian food. But I might not be in this city forever, and the flavorful filling stews and spongy sour bread has become somewhat of a comfort food for me so I recently decided to try my hand at making them. The very first step in cooking delicious Ethiopian food is the spicy and fragrant spice mix known as berbere. This deep red mixture is vaguely reminiscent of Indian garam masala with warm sweeter spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg playing a role on top of spicy chiles, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom, and coriander. Berbere adds a large amount of paprika to these spices for a unique and unmistakable flavor that serves as the base for many different Ethiopian stews.

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February 27, 2012
Chinese Five-Spice
Chinese five-spice is a strange beast; many of the flavors here are usually associated with sweet applications, but the resulting spice mix is traditionally used in savory dishes to amazing result. The five spices referenced in the name are usually star anise, fennel, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and cloves, but some variants include ginger root, anise seed, cumin, and white pepper. I stick with the traditional here, but the amounts used are flexible and can be adjusted to your tastes. This is a great mix to have on hand for adding to stir fried vegetables, upping the flavor in soups, or including in dry rubs for chicken, pork, or duck. And, although desserts aren’t the typical use, I’ve even come across recipes for five-spice cookies and cakes, and I think the spicy licorice-like flavor would be well-suited to sweets. On Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting two of my favorite recipes using this unique spice mix.

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January 2, 2012
Gingerbread Waffles
Spices and molasses come together in these gingerbread waffles to make the perfect winter breakfast. For extra decadence, serve topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and maple syrup. Berry preserves would also work well here, as would a dollop of yogurt to cut the sweetness. If you don’t have a waffle maker, I think this batter could be easily used for pancakes. My suggestion is to make the full batch, even if you’re only planning on eating a couple waffles (or pancakes); probably my favorite part of making these waffles was freezing the leftovers. Now, whenever I’m feeling particularly lazy, I can quickly toast up a couple of these and have a delicious breakfast (or dessert!).

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December 28, 2011
Pumpkin Pancakes
We’re approaching the end of pumpkin season, so I’ll be posting my very best pumpkin recipes this week and next week. Luckily, pumpkins keep well for a couple months (and my pumpkin puree will keep good for 6 months or more when frozen) which means after you buy up those last pumpkins, you’ll have ample time to cook these delicious recipes!

These subtly orange pancakes are quite easy to toss together and have the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor alongside traditional pumpkin pie spices. They’re great for when you have some leftover pumpkin puree but not enough for most recipes, since you only need 1/2 cup for this recipe. I mixed some butter and extra pumpkin puree together (warming these together in the microwave for 15 seconds or so make them easier to combine) to serve on top for an added pumpkin boost, along with maple syrup, of course. These pancakes make for a great seasonal breakfast (comfortably serving two people) or a decadent dessert.

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November 25, 2011