Spice of life
Love is like a spice. It can sweeten your life — however, it can spoil it too. So said Confucius. Using spices in cooking is a balancing act. Too little can be too vague, too much can dominate.
Chinese five-spice is a pungent combination of ground cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns. It enhances pork, beef, poultry and seafood and should be used in moderation. Add just a little at the beginning of cooking as it can always be spiced up at the end or just sprinkled over the finished dish. It’s also great in biscuits and cakes as a cinnamon substitute.
Sumac — popular in the Middle East, North Africa, India and Asia — is prepared from a reddish-purple berry with a slightly astringent, lemon flavour. The seeds are dried and finely crushed.
Juniper berries are purple-black with a distinctive aromatic tart flavour and are best known for flavouring gin. Crushed berries can be added to marinades, stuffings, terrines and sauerkraut.
Cardamom has a strong, pungently sweet flavour with hints of lemon and mint and is excellent in both sweet and savoury dishes. It is popular in Sweden where it flavours everything from baked goods to hamburgers. Indian garam masala is a mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It’s one of the more expensive spices.
VIETNAMESE FIVE-SPICE PRAWNS Ingredients
1 small shallot, diced
■ 3 cloves garlic, crushed
■ 3cm piece root ginger, grated
■ 2 tsp five-spice powder
■ 3 Tbsp each: fish sauce, soy sauce
■ 1 Tbsp each: sugar, canola oil
■ 32 large raw prawns, shelled
Method
Combine all the ingredients — except the prawns — in a bowl. Whisk well to combine. Add the prawns mixing well to coat evenly. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Thread medium-sized wooden skewers with four prawns each. Either grill or cook in a ridged frying pan for two minutes each side or until cooked. Great served on a bed of crisp lettuce, sliced cucumber, Vietnamese mint leaves and fresh pineapple cubes. Serves four as a main.
SUMAC KEBABS Ingredients
Kebabs:
■ 500g minced lamb
■ pinch dried chilli flakes
■ 4 tsp sumac
■ 2 tsp ground cumin
■ 4 cloves garlic, crushed
■ 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley Sumac-spiced salad:
■ 2 medium onions, finely sliced
■ 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
■ 1 Tbsp sumac
Method
Combine all the kebab ingredients well. Form the mixture into 16 logs. Thread onto medium skewers — two to a skewer. Pat the mixture again into firm log shapes. Chill for 15 minutes.
Soak the onions in icy water for 15 minutes. Drain and combine with the parsley. Sprinkle with the sumac.
Pan-fry or grill the kebabs for about eight minutes turning often.
Great served on a bed of hummus together with the salad. Serves four.
PORK WITH JUNIPER BERRY ORANGE SAUCE Ingredients
■ 1 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic, crushe ■ d
■ 3 Tbsp brown sugar
■ 2 Tbsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
■ 2 bay leaves
■ 4 mid-loin boneless pork steaks, about 2cm thick
■ 2 Tbsp butter or table spread
Method
Combine the orange juice, garlic and brown sugar in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then add the juniper berries and bay leaves.
Place in a shallow dish and arrange the pork on top. Cover and marinate for at least one hour, turning often. Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a lipped baking tray with baking paper. Heat the butter or spread in a frying pan. Pat the steaks dry and brown on both sides for about one minute. Transfer to the baking tray and cook for eight minutes. Rest for two minutes. Boil the marinade until slightly reduced and serve over the steaks. Serves four.
CARDAMOM SPICED RICE PUDDING
This pudding is made in the microwave. It can also be cooked in a heavy saucepan over very low heat for about 45 minutes.
Ingredients
■ 2 1/2 cups milk
■ 1/2 cup medium-grain white rice
■ 1/4 cup sugar
■ 1/2 tsp each: ground cardamom, cinnamon
■ 1/4 tsp ground allspice
■ whipped cream
Method
Stir the milk, rice and sugar in a very large microwave-proof bowl. Microwave on high (100 per cent) power for three minutes. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Continue cooking for three minutes on high then stir again.
Reduce the power to medium (50 per cent) power and cook for 15-16 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. (Ensure the mixture does not boil over the top.) Stir in the spices and pour into four serving dishes. Excellent served warm or chilled with lashings of (unsweetened) whipped cream. Serves four.