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Spicing Up Your Cooking: A Guide to Some Spices

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After dealing with some essential herbs in one of my previous posts (Herbology Part 1), I thought it would be helpful to take a look at spices. Spices come from all over the world and can be made from almost every part of a plant. In this post, I’ll be highlighting some common spices that are made from a plant’s seeds.

ANISE or ANISEED

This aromatic spice is most commonly used to sweeten things up in the kitchen. It has a distinctive flavor, reminiscent of licorice. Anise is sometimes used in Indian cuisine in their braised dishes and pilafs. It’s also used to give cookies and cakes that added sugary taste.

CARAWAY SEEDS

More popular in European cooking, caraway seeds have an interesting taste that you’d either love or hate. They are best used on pork and other fatty meats and are added to rye bread. You may also opt to sprinkle some over salads, cream cheese on breads, and coleslaw.

MUSTARD

Everyone knows mustard as the sauce but dry mustard can also be used to heat up soups, potato dishes, curries and chilies. Because of its hot and biting taste, brown mustard seeds are often used as flavoring in Indian food. Mustard seed can also be used to enhance meat, fowl and fish dishes as well as additives to sauces and dressings.

NUTMEG

  • Another sweet spice, nutmeg is often used in eggnog, pumpkin pies, custards and alike. But, it’s also versatile enough to be added to curry mixes. It is better when freshly grated though it is sold in its ground form. If you want a stronger flavor to your savoury meat dishes, substitute nutmeg for black pepper. Use nutmeg sparingly, though, as too much of the spice can cause nausea and stomach pains.

Soy Glazed Chicken Livers with Chinese Leaves

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This light dish is great as a Starter or as a Main course – if you add some Potatoes, Noodles or Rice to it.

If you don’t want to grill the Livers, you can fry them off, by heating a couple of tablespoons of Sunflower Oil in a pan, sealing the Livers over a high heat, and then add the Juices to the pan, before simmering for three minutes.

Soy Glazed Chicken Livers with Chinese Leaves

To Serve 4
2tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2tbsp Dry Sherry
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
1tsp Fresh Root Ginger, grated
1tsp Sesame Oil
1tsp Clear Honey
1/4tsp Chinese Five-Spice Powder
350g Chicken Livers, thawed
50g Watercress
125g Pak Choi, or Chinese Cabbage
1tbsp Coriander Leaves
1tbsp Sesame Seeds, roasted

1. Combine the Soy Sauce, Sherry, Crushed Garlic, Grated Ginger, Sesame Oil, Honey and Five Spice together, until well blended. Wash and dry the Chicken Liver, removing and discarding any discoloured parts, and toss the Liver in the Soy mixture, making sure it’s evenly covered. Transfer to a shallow dish, cover and leave to marinade for two hours.
2. After the two hours, transfer the Livers along with all the juices and remaining marinate to a foil lined pan, and grill as close to the heat for one to two minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through.
3. Place the Salad Leaves and Coriander, and toss in the Sesame Seeds and Juices from the Livers. Lay out on a plate, and place the Livers on top of the Leaves, and serve fresh from the pan.

Photo Courtesy of: FotoosVanRobin

Sesame Beef Salad

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This is a great dish to have prepared in the fridge for a day where you don’t have the time to cook a ‘proper’ dinner, as everything is easy and fast to cook, if you plan ahead.

Sesame Beef Salad

Using Rump steak gives more juices and flavours, which improves the flavours and tastes that are in the meal – it’s also very affordable and easier to find in shops, so easier to make the dish!

To Serve 6
2tbsp Soy Sauce
2tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2tbsp Soft Brown Sugar
2tsp Tomato Puree
1tsp Lemon Juice
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
4tsp Sesame Seeds
2tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled and Crushed
Salt and Pepper
700g Rump Steak
6 Sticks Celery
1 Bunch of Spring Onions
1 Small Cucumber

1. Mix the Soy Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Brown Sugar, Tomato Puree, Lemon Juice, White Wine Vinegar and Sesame Seeds into a large bowl, along with two tablespoons of Oil, the Garlic, and Salt and Pepper.
2. Slice the Steak into strips about half a centimetre across, and about five centimetres long, before stirring them into the marinade, covering and leaving to chill in a refrigerator for at least three hours
3. When you’re ready to cook, cut the Celery, Spring Onion and Cucumber into thin strips, discarding any seeds you find.
4. Heat a tablespoon of Oil in a large wok on non-stick pan until it begins to smoke slightly, and take the Steak strips out of the Marinade, and fry them in small batches until they are well browned, and place in a large warmed bowl.
5. Add the remainder of the marinade to the pan, and reduce it until it forms a syrup, and then pour over the cooked Steak.
6. Serve with the Vegetables either stirred in with the Steak, or on the side.

Photo Courtesy of: Tavalli

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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There’s a whole heap of food and drink you can make from anything left over from Pumpkins. One example of a very healthy snack are these seeds. They’re very good for you, tasty, very easy to eat and extremely easy and fast to make. You can also mix and match different flavours by using various sweet and savoury spices – I’ve usually got a pot of these seeds roasted with Cinnamon and Nutmeg.


All you need is the seeds from as many pumpkins as you have.

1.  Rinse the seeds under cold water, picking out the pulp and skins. To make this easier, try to do it as soon as possible – the longer you leave it, the drier the pulp and skins get, making it harder to separate.

2.  Put a teaspoon of Oil on a baking sheet, and place the seeds in a single layer on the sheet. Add in any herbs and spices you’d like at this stage. Make sure that all of the seeds are completely covered in oil.

3.  Bake at 150 C/ 300 F for 15 minutes. Take out, stir and put back in for a further 10 minutes.

4.   Take out of the oven, leave to cool and then store in an air tight container. Try mixed in with a variety of different nuts, seeds and fruits.

Photo Courtesy of WordRidden