Author Archives: Sherrie
Ancho Chili Beef Empanadas
Who doesn’t love food that you can hold in your hand? The beauty of empanadas is that the rich, buttery dough can be filled with almost anything - sweet or savory. Our Ancho Chili Powder is mild-medium in heat and adds magnificent depth to the beef and vegetable filling we chose. Ancho chiles have a wonderful, darkly sweet flavor, so we added a little Alderwood Smoked Salt for just a touch of smoky contrast. They can be served either hot or at room temperature; we like ours with salsa, sour cream and a Hibiscus Margarita. They freeze well, so make a bunch and plan to enjoy them another day, or surprise yourself at how quickly your guests devour the extras.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Sift flour into a large bowl. Add salt and chilled, cubed butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, mix together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, chilled water and vinegar and add to flour mixture.Combine until well incorporated.
- Empty onto a lightly floured surface and knead just enough to bring the dough together. Cut dough in half and form each half into a rectangle. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- In a heavy skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions, red bell peppers and garlic and saute until softened. Add Alderwood Smoked Salt, Ancho Chili Powder and Mexican Oregano, and saute for about 1 minute.
- Add ground beef, breaking up any lumps and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add olives and mix well. Taste for seasoning, adjust as needed. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Cut each rectangle into 12 pieces. Form into discs and cover with a towel.
- On a lightly floured surface, take one of the pieces and roll it out into a circle (about 1/8 inch thick). Holding the circle in the palm of your hand, place 2 heaping teaspoons of the chilled filling in the center.
- Fold the two edges of the circle together over the filling. Press the edges to seal. Using a fork dipped in flour, crimp the edges so the filling won't escape.
- Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling. Lightly brush the empanadas with egg wash.
- Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. They are done if they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Serve with salsa and sour cream.
Continental Curry Biryani
It’s almost Buddha’s birthday! Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar in nearly all east-Asian countries. This year it falls on Friday, May 17th in the Western calendar. Because it is customary to eat rice on Buddha’s birthday, we developed this heavily spiced vegetarian biryani to honor the Buddha and many of the exotic lands from which our spices come. Our Continental Curry is the perfect blend for this occasion, as it combines the best elements of several varieties of yellow curry. While we can’t promise a permanent Nirvana as a result of this dish, we guarantee at least a transient one!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pan over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until softened.
- Add raisins, cashews, cloves, cumin, Indian coriander, green cardamom and cassia sticks.
- Saute spices until fragrant and the seeds start to "pop", about 3 minutes.
- Add salt, water and saffron and bring to a boil.
- Add rice and turn heat down to simmer.
- Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Rice will be 3/4 of the way cooked. Spread in a shallow pan to cool.
- While rice is cooking, par-cook the vegetables. In a shallow pan over medium-high heat, add the vegetables and water. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes.
- In a food processor, puree the garlic, ginger, onions, mint leaves, Continental Curry, jalapeno, salt and tomato.
- In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil.
- Add paste and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add par cooked vegetables, stirring well to combine. Taste for seasoning and salt.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small saucepan, warm a pinch of saffron and the milk. Remove from heat.
- Spray a large ovenproof casserole dish with pan spray.
- Layer in half of the rice and sprinkle with half of the cilantro.
- Evenly spread the vegetable curry paste mixture over the rice.
- Top with remaining rice and sprinkle with remainder of cilantro.
- Drizzle with the saffron-infused milk.
- Cover the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
- Turn the oven off and let the biryani stay in the hot oven for another 10 minutes.
- While the biryani is baking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the sliced onions and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
- Add chopped cashews and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
- Remove the biryani for the oven.
- Top with fried onions and cashews.
- Serve with Greek yogurt on the side.
Kala Masala Skillet Cornbread
This savory cornbread knocked our collective socks off at first bite. Our Kala Masala spice blend is a complex one, and that complexity of flavor transfers easily to the skillet cornbread. There’s a tiny bit of heat from some guajillo chiles in the blend that is balanced perfectly by a healthy dose of toasted coconut for sweetness. Try it with a fish, lentil or vegetable soup for maximum enjoyment!
Cast Iron is essential for crusty cornbread!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to get hot while you make the batter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda and Kala Masala. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and the ¼ cup melted butter together.
- Take the hot cast iron skillet out of the oven, and add in the butter. Swirl it around until the butter starts to melt, being sure to tilt the pan to coat the sides and bottom evenly.
- Pour the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients and mix quickly, just until moistened. Do not overmix. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cornbread until it’s golden brown, about 20 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven, and try to let it cool for a few minutes before you dive into it. Cut into 8 wedges.
Heavenly Hawaij Soup
This decadent mushroom soup wowed us at our last tasting. The fusion of the aromatic cardamom, turmeric and saffron in the essential Yemenese blend combined with mushrooms and cream to make one heavenly bowl of soup. We added Porcinis for a meaty richness and additional depth of flavor. This exotic twist on an American classic is perfect as a soup shot for a holiday party or on those chilly winter nights.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, melt the butter on medium heat. Saute the garlic and onions until slightly browned. Add the flour, and mix well. (It will be thick.) Add in the Porcinis, Criminis, stock, wine and Hawaij. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium low, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Once the soup is pureed, return it to the pot and add the heavy cream. Simmer for about 10 minutes, to reduce the cream a bit. Add the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, then taste for salt and add what you need. If you feel the soup is too thick, add more stock. If you feel it needs to be thicker, continue to reduce it on low until it’s at the consistency you prefer. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Aleppo Pepper Muhammara
This eastern Mediterranean dish is the perfect example of that regions ability to take simple ingredients like nuts, peppers and olive oil…and make something magical by adding a spice such as Aleppo Pepper. The sweet and sharp chile from the Aleppo region of Syria has a moderate heat and fruity flavor that brings a taste of the sunny Mediterranean to every bite. An elegant alternative to hummus, Muhammara will be the easy holiday hors d’oeuvre that your guests adore.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Put the toasted nuts in a food processor or blender, and pulse until they are broken down into small pieces.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning - you might want to add more salt, lemon juice or pomegranate molasses.
- You can then transfer to a serving bowl or put in a container for the fridge. It will keep about a week.
Ghost Chile Honey Cake
The combination of chile and chocolate is irresistible, and this Ghost Chile Honey Cake is a mouth watering example. By infusing the chile into honey, we were able to mellow the heat and reveal the subtle fruity flavor of the Ghost Chile. The fudgy and fiery creaminess of the frosting, the moist chocolate cake, and the synergistic tang of the marmalade combine together to make one luscious cake. While it’s perfect for a Halloween party, we’ve made this cake for birthdays, holiday gatherings, and just when we wanted a thick slice of a really good chocolate cake. Enjoy!
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The Ghost Chile Honey infusion in progress.
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the Ghost Chile infused honey - A "honey bear" works great for this, as it will also give you a container to store it in. Empty the honey into a small pan and turn the burner to low heat. Put a tiny slit in 3 Ghost Chile pods, and place in the honey. (Make sure you push them down in the honey, so you get all of that wonderful flavor.) Let steep for about 1/2 hour. Cool to room temperature and pour the honey and chile pods back in the "honey bear" (or a clean jar with a lid). This can be made ahead.
- Preheat 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch sides with pan spray. Cut a piece of parchment to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, infused honey, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in the vegetable oil, then half of the flour mixture. Whisk in all of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mixture. Pour into your prepared cake pan.
- Bake the cake about 55 minutes (or until your cake tester comes out clean). Your cake will have a slight "dome", but that's ok. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Remove parchment.
- While the cake is cooling, you can make the frosting. Fill a small saucepan halfway up with water, and put on a medium-high burner. Get a non-plastic bowl that will easily fit on top of the saucepan. You now have a double-boiler, which is used to melt chocolate (so that it doesn't burn). Put the chocolate in bowl, and stir until it's almost melted. Set bowl aside. Pour out the water from the saucepan and pour in the honey and cream. Bring to a boil, then pour over the melting chocolate and stir until smooth. Let it cool.
- Assembly - When cake is cool, carefully cut it in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the cake onto a plate. Spread the marmalade over the cake bottom, being careful not to spread it all of the way to the edge. Place the other half of the cake on top of the filling, and gently press down. (This is why you don't want to spread the filling all of the way to the edge - it will ooze out when you press on the cake.) With a butter knife (or offset spatula), frost the cake. (After you've put all of the frosting on the cake, you can 'smooth' it out by dipping a clean knife into hot water, wiping it off, then using the warm knife to 'smooth out' the frosting.)
- Keep cake in an airtight container, so that it won't dry out.
Indian Coriander Energy Bars
Sometimes I get so busy doing things that I forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch. I know, I shouldn’t do that, but I do. I’ve tried various power or energy bars, but I find them too sweet, lacking in flavor, or really just not very healthy. So I set out to make an energy bar that tasted good, was high in all of the “good” stuff we’re supposed to be eating every day, and was full of things that I loved (like Indian Coriander). I’m also a huge fan of chia seeds, and using them eliminated the need to use oil or eggs in my energy bars. (Chia seeds are full of essential fatty acids, antioxidents, calcium, iron, fiber, and are a source of natural extended energy.)
I’ve found this to be a great recipe for experimentation and using up tasty odds and ends. Got a quarter cup left of fig butter? Put it in your next batch. Found an apple or banana you need to use? Mash the banana or grate the apple, and add it to your next batch. (These are also good with grated carrots, too.) I’ll make these every week or so, and bring them into the shop. Somehow, they always seem to disappear…there are even some days where I might actually get one or two pieces! (We have some sneaky people here at the shop, especially where baked goods are concerned.) They’re always a big hit, and no one feels guilty about eating them. Yes, I will admit to sometimes putting chocolate chips in them, but chocolate is good for you, too, right?
Dried cherries and almonds make this a tasty treat…and it’s good for you, too!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, making sure that you have extra hanging over the sides. (This will make it easier to take the bars out of the pan, as there is no fat used in this recipe. Just pull the foil & bars out, and your pan is still clean!)
- In a small bowl, add the chia seeds and water. Whisk together with a fork, being careful to make sure that all of the seeds are submerged in the water. Set aside for 10 minutes, gently stirring after 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the Indian Coriander, high-fiber cereal, non-white flour, oatmeal, salt, nuts, dried fruit and Poudre Douce. Mix together well.
- Add the maple syrup or honey and the orange zest and juice to the rehydrated chia seeds. Stir well. Add to the ingredients in the large bowl, using a rubber spatula to scrape out all of the chia seeds. Gently mix all of the ingredients together. (It will look like it won’t come together, but it will. If it find that it might need some more liquid, add a tablespoon or two of orange or grapefruit juice. You just want the ingredients to “bind” together – it won’t look like any batter you’ve worked with!) This makes a slightly soft bar - if you want a more cake-like bar, add about 1/4 cup more juice.
- Scoop out into the foil-lined pan and press down to fill every corner, smoothing out as you do it. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes – when you touch the center of the bar mixture, it should be very firm.
- If you want a drier, firmer bar, cook for an extra 5 - 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan. Then remove, using the foil.
- Place a cutting board on top of the pan and flip it over, so that the pan is on top of the board. Unwrap the bar from the foil carefully, and cut the bar into pieces. It’s great cut into bite-sized pieces, or just cut into 16 bars. Place in a zip loc bag or covered container and keep in the refrigerator. These will keep for over a week.
Israeli Zahtar Flatbread
After a long day of working (or running errands and doing chores), I just want something quick and easy for dinner, but it still has to be delicious… And if it’s at least somewhat healthy-ish, all the better! I don’t know about you, but I can always eat pizza, in pretty much any form. I can always find ready-made pizza dough at the store, which means my homemade pizzas or flatbreads can be made without any fuss. There’s also something incredibly soothing about rolling out pizza dough, especially after a long day. The smell of the yeast dough always takes me back to childhood when I would help my mother make bread. Working with that kind of dough has an air of tranquility to it…it’s a blank canvas, just waiting for you to do something fun, interesting and flavorful with it. I’ll roll out the dough, brush it with olive oil, then top it with spices. Now it’s ready for me to add fresh colors and flavors. I’ll rifle around in my fridge or the cupboards of my small kitchen for odds and ends of goodies that I can either put on the dough before I bake it, or after it comes out of the oven. It all depends on my mood at the moment. I have always enjoyed “playing with my food,” and this certainly fits the bill. Israeli Zahtar is my favorite spice to use for this, but I also love Dukka. The smell of the flatbread baking is heavenly, and always seems to perk me up a little bit. It’s a perfect end to a hectic day.
Israeli Flatbread, topped with the salad on the left, and an “untopped” Dukka Flatbread on the right.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Follow instructions on pizza dough package. (Sometimes you have to leave it out for 20 - 30 minutes to 'rest' at room temperature.)
- Divide into 3 portions and roll them out thinly - if you roll them into long ovals, and not rounds, they will fit on one cookie sheet. (They will cook more evenly this way.) Brush the cookie sheet with the olive oil and place the dough on it, without any of the sides touching.
- Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle on the Israeli Zahtar. Bake in the oven until the crust is golden brown cooked through. Since there is only oil and spice on the dough, keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn.
- While the flatbread is baking, you can make the salad that will go on top of it. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the lemon juice and olive oil), mixing well.
- When the flatbread is done, remove from oven. It will be easier (and less messy) if you cut the flatbread into pieces now before you put the salad on top. Put the cut up flatbread on your serving plates. Add the lemon juice and 2 Tbl. olive oil to the salad and toss to coat. Evenly top the flatbread with the salad.
- Feel free to drizzle more olive oil on top before you serve it. Or anything else you choose!
Tasmanian Pepperberry Berries
The Tasmanian Pepperberry is a rare find, native to Australia and wild harvested in limited quantities. There are a dazzling array of flavors in that little pepperberry! It has many uses, but one of our favorite ways to use it is in all kinds of infusions, such as honey, oil and alcohol. (An added bonus – it adds a pinkish-purplish color to your infusion.) Tasmanian Pepperberry-infused honey is easy to make and can be used for any recipe that calls for honey. We found that when mixed in with fresh strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, it makes a heavenly combination perfect for brunch or dessert. Try it on waffles, french toast or pancakes, or better yet…liberally pour it over ice cream, then sit on the front porch and enjoy the lazy summer afternoon. We won’t tell…
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Put the honey into a small pan and heat on low until the honey has become more "liquid". Pour into a bowl and add the ground Tasmanian Pepperberry, mixing well. All to cool before you add it to the berries. (You can make the infused honey ahead of time - make double, so you have extra to use for other things.)
- Put the berries into a big bowl. Whisk together the cooled honey, orange juice and alcohol (if using) in a small bowl. Pour over the berries and gently toss. (It's ok if some of the berries get smooshed.) Let sit at room temperature for about an hour, stirring occasionally (to help the berries "break down" a bit - that just makes it taste even better).
- You can serve this for any meal or snack. This tastes just as good on pancakes as it does on ice cream or even just mixed in with Greek yogurt.
Ranch Potato Salad
I’ve lived all over this great country, and while there are some pretty big differences between Boston and the Carolinas, one summer constant nationwide is barbeques, and for my family, that meant potato salad! Mom’s potato salad was full of mayo, hard-boiled eggs and bacon – delicious, yes, but it needed an update. I came up with this recipe to combine my love for mom’s cooking with my equally unhealthy love of tangy, delicious ranch dressing into a potato salad that even my doctor would eat. Instead of mayo, I use Greek yogurt, so it still has that traditional creaminess I crave without the fat, and it gives the World Spice salt-free Ranch Seasoning a little extra tang, too. (I still use bacon because, after all, potato salad wouldn’t be the same without bacon!) The festive and unusual colors of heirloom varieties of red, white and blue potatoes are perfect for enjoying the Fourth of July fireworks at Gasworks Park in downtown Seattle. And since I work at World Spice Merchants, I have to garnish it with something fun, right? I like to use a little bit of Piment d’Espelette, or maybe some Aleppo pepper, or some Urfa Biber . . . decisions, decisions!
Ranch Potato Salad made healthy – no mayonnaise!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes in bite-sized pieces, and boil until just fork tender. (They will have some carry-over cooking - you just don't want them to be "mushy". Drain, and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool. (You can also roast the potatoes, too. Just toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them until done. Also allow them to cool before making the salad.)
- While the potatoes are cooling, you can make the dressing. In a large bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, salt and Ranch Seasoning. Mix well - it will be a little thick. (You can always use a little water or milk to thin it out, if you like, but the natural liquid from the chopped veggies will also thin it out a little.)
- Add the cooled potatoes and chopped veggies and bacon to the bowl, and toss well to make sure everything is coated with the dressing. Taste for seasoning - you might want to add a little more salt or Ranch Seasoning.
- Transfer the finished potato salad into a serving bowl and garnish with Piment d'Espelette for an extra-special treat.
