Spice up your family’s fall menu
The much maligned blend can have tasty results if you know how to use it
It’s fall, meaning the ubiquitous pumpkin spice flavour is back in the form of lattes, ice cream, Oreos and even potato chips.
It’s a shame the wonderful blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves has become synonymous with seasonal snack food flavours because this spice blend enhances classical dishes, bringing a warm, slightly sweet and highly aromatic flavours to meats, vegetables and sweets.
The spices that make up pumpkin spice mix have been used in Arab, North African and Persian cooking for centuries — long before the first pumpkin pie was baked for Thanksgiving and certainly before Starbucks popularized it by adding it to their lattes, inciting a wave of pumpkin-spice-flavoured junk food that is ruining the flavour for many of us.
Here are three recipes that give these spices the respect they deserve and show the versatility of pumpkin spice.
Spiced Wine-Braised Beef Shank with Carrots and Mini Potatoes
Beef shanks, cut from the upper leg of the cow, are a relatively inexpensive cut that’s best cooked low and slow to tenderize the muscle.
Shanks come with a delicious marrow-filled bone in that adds loads of flavour to the braising liquid. These shanks are braised in a spiced wine, which is then reduced to become a rich gravy.
Ingredients:
4 beef shanks (about 1 pound each and 1-1/2-inch thick), patted dry with paper towel
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp (30 mL) canola or vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) ground cinnamon
¾ tsp (4 mL) ground ginger
¾ tsp (4 mL) ground nutmeg
½ tsp (2 mL) ground cloves
2 cups (500 mL) dry red wine
1 cup (250 mL) no-salt-added beef broth, plus more as needed
8 mini red and white potatoes, skin-on and thoroughly washed
6 small carrots, peeled and tops removed
Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Set up middle rack and preheat oven to 300 F (150 C).
Generously season shanks on both sides with salt and pepper.
In a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat, heat oil. In batches, sear shanks until brown on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer seared shanks to a plate to rest.
Turn heat down to medium. Add onion and garlic. Sauté till onion begins to soften and turn yellow. Season with salt and pepper. Add spices, wine and broth, scraping fronds from bottom of pan with wooden spoon. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until raw alcohol smell has cooked off.
Place seared shanks and any residual juices from plate into a large roasting pan or casserole dish.
Arrange carrots and potatoes around shanks. Pour wine mixture into roasting pan, covering about 2/3 of shanks. Add more beef stock if necessary. Tightly cover pan with foil or lid to prevent beef from drying out in oven.
Braise on middle rack until shanks are fork tender, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Remove from oven. Transfer shanks and vegetables to a serving platter. Skim off any rendered fat from braising liquid and discard. Simmer braising liquid, straining out onions and garlic if desired, over medium heat in a saucepan to thicken to desired gravy consistency.
Garnish shanks with parsley and serve with gravy.
Makes 4 servings.
Spiced Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Apricots
Inspired by flavours of Persian cooking, Israeli couscous (also called pearl couscous) is given a subtle hint of warm spices and sweetened dried apricots and finished with a grassy punch of parsley.
2/3 cup (160 mL) pine nuts
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, plus more for finishing
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups (500 mL) Israeli couscous
½ tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
1/8 tsp (1/2 mL) ground cloves
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
3 cups (750 mL) no-salt-added vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup (125 mL) dried apricots, chopped Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
In a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat, toast pine nuts until slightly golden brown and fragrant, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.
Wipe down pan. Over medium heat, heat oil. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant and onions have softened. Add couscous, spices and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until couscous is lightly toasted but not burnt. Add broth. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until couscous is tender and liquid has mostly absorbed.
Remove lid. Fluff couscous with fork. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Stir in apricots and toasted pine nuts. Discard bay leaves or set aside as garnish. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with parsley and serve warm.
Makes 4 servings.
Pumpkin Spice Nanaimo Bars
While these bars have nothing to do with North African or Arab cooking, they embrace the components of pumpkin spice without going off the rails on sweetness. The canned pumpkin and spices give enough flavour that they don’t require as much sugar as the typical Nanaimo bar recipe.
For bottom layer:
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500 mL) loosely packed graham cracker crumbs
½ cup (125 mL) chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
Line an 8in-by-8in (20cm-by-20cm) square cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together butter, egg, vanilla, graham cracker crumbs and pecans. Firmly press into pan making an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool completely to room temperature before adding next layer.
For middle layer: ½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) canned pure pumpkin purée
5 tbsp (75 mL) vanilla pudding powder
2/3 cup (160 mL) icing sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) ground nutmeg
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
½ tsp (2 mL) ground cloves
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, pumpkin purée, pudding powder and sugar until smooth and there are no clumps of butter. Add spices and mix until well-incorporated. Spread mixture evenly on top of graham cracker layer and refrigerate for at least two hours or until firm before adding next layer.
For the top layer:
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
½ tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground cloves
Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler over low heat, careful not to get any water or steam into chocolate mixture or else chocolate will seize and turn lumpy. Whisk in spices until smooth. Pour over chilled pumpkin layer and smooth out with spatula. Refrigerate until firm enough to cut into squares, about 30 minutes.
Makes 16 squares.