Spice (10 page)

G
İNGER

Ginger is the bulb or rhizome of a very leafy, tropical plant. When used in fresh form, its flavor is lemony, sweet, and spicy. In powdered form, ginger tastes similar, but lacks the lemony tones. Ginger can range in spiciness, so it’s best to smell or even taste a little before using it. If it’s particularly strong, use a little less in your recipe.

Although it’s most famous for flavoring Asian food, ginger is also found in Arabic cooking, particularly in North Africa, where it’s often combined with spices like saffron, vanilla, coriander, and turmeric. These spice mixtures give a sweet-savory or sweet-sour quality to a dish.

Fresh ginger is particularly good with fish; because of its lemony quality, ginger softens the salty sea flavors. Dried ginger works well in sweet desserts and with squashes, and it also brightens the flavors of slow-cooked stews.

Ginger is cultivated in Africa, India, Australia, and Jamaica. Jamaican ginger has the most delicate flavor and aroma.

V
ANİLLA

Vanilla, like saffron, is harvested from flowers. It comes from a particular kind of tropical orchid that grows in Mexico, Madagascar, Central America, Africa, and Hawaii. This orchid produces clusters of pods or beans, as well as flowers. A fresh vanilla bean is dark brown in color, moist to the touch, as pliable as a piece of licorice, and extremely fragrant. Vanilla smells sweet and has a slightly smoky, caramel taste.

I store vanilla beans in the refrigerator or freezer to keep them from drying out. Inside the pods are thousands of tiny, black, oily seeds, which you can remove by splitting the bean in half lengthwise and scraping the seeds out with the back of a small paring knife. You can then use the seeds for cooking or baking. The outer pod still has great fragrance. You can dry the pods by leaving them out in a cool, dry place for a day or in a gas oven overnight, with just the pilot light on. Then you can store the dried pods in a jar with sugar for at least a week to make vanilla sugar, or you can steep them for a month or so in alcohol—bourbon works particularly well—to make homemade vanilla extract.

Even though vanilla is widely known as a flavoring for sweets, cakes, and ice creams, its smoky, caramel quality also enhances shellfish. It works well with saffron, and it lends sweetness to the typical Arabic combination of savory flavors like cilantro and nuts. Vanilla gives a rich, caramel flavor to spiced broths; see the recipe for Spicy Fideos on page 47.

Avoid imitation vanilla, which is often made from chemicals and clove oil.

RECIPES WITH SAFFRON, GINGER, AND VANILLA

S
WEET
P
OTATO
B
İSTEEYA

G
RİLLED
M
USHROOM
B
ANDERİLLA

S
PİCY
F
İDEOS WİTH
C
HİCKPEAS
, V
ANİLLA, AND
S
AFFRON

E
GG
-L
EMON
S
OUP WİTH
S
AFFRON AND
C
RAB

M
ONKFİSH WİTH
G
İNGER
, C
RÈME
F
RAÎCHE, AND
S
EARED
G
REENS

P
ERSİAN
F
RİED
C
HİCKEN

M
AZY’S
J
EWELED
R
İCE

P
ERSİAN
S
PİCE
M
İX

S
EARED
S
EA
S
CALLOPS WİTH
O
RANGE
-S
AFFRON
B
UTTER AND
R
İCE
C
AKES

B
RAİSED
B
EEF
S
HORT
R
İBS WİTH
V
ANİLLA
-G
LAZED
C
ARROTS

P
ANFORTE

Sweet Potato Bisteeya

This is my version of
bisteeya
, inspired by the classic sweet/savory Moroccan pie made with chicken or squab, saffron, cinnamon, sugar, and nuts. Traditionally, bisteeya is made with
brik
pastry, which is a paper-thin crepe. Brik pastry is hard to find, so I substitute phyllo dough in its place. If you have access to Middle Eastern or eastern Mediterranean shops, look for “country-style” phyllo dough that is a little thicker than the regular brands. It’s easier to handle and is just as flaky. If you do have access to
feuilles de brik
or brik pastry, you will need about 6 sheets.

This spiced-up sweet potato pie is perfect for the fall and winter and is delicious on its own with an arugula, watercress, or spinach salad. It also makes a good accompaniment to chicken, beef, or venison.

M
AKES ONE
10-
İNCH PİE TO SERVE
6
TO
8

2 pounds (about 4) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, finely minced (about 2 cups)

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch of saffron (about 12 threads)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Salt to taste

¾ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or black pepper)

4 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ lemon)

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (about ½ bunch)

¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 small bunch)

¾ cup pine nuts

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar plus 1 tablespoon for dusting

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound phyllo dough (you will need only 9 sheets)

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

3.
Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt and brown the butter. Stir in the onion, turmeric, and saffron. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft but not brown. Stir in the ginger and set aside.

4.
Drain the potatoes, reserving ½ to ¾ cup of the cooking liquid.

5.
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, purée the potatoes until they are creamy and soft, adding the reserved cooking liquid. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to purée them in two batches. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and herbs and blend again until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large mixing bowl, stir in the onion mixture, and season with a little more salt to taste. Set aside.

6.
Place the pine nuts on a heavy baking sheet and toast them for 8 to 10 minutes in the oven, until golden brown. Cool.

7.
Coarsely chop the pine nuts by hand or in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Place in a small mixing bowl and stir in ¼ cup of confectioners’ sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.

8.
Begin to assemble the bisteeya by brushing the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan with olive oil. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on the counter and brush generously with oil. Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of the pine nut mixture. Top with another sheet of phyllo dough and brush generously with oil. Add a third sheet and brush with oil.

9.
Place these layers in the pie pan, allowing the edges of pastry to hang over the sides. Repeat the same process with another three layers of phyllo dough (one with nuts and two with oil only) and place over the other sheets in the opposite direction, so that the edges of the pan are completely covered and you have 4 equal flaps to eventually fold over.