Thursday, April 14, 2016

Three Cheers for Finding A Recipe for this Beloved Spice Blend: Ras El Hanout

Last fall while in London I wandered through the Borough Market.  If you have even one grain of "foodie" inside you and you find yourself in London, carve out some time on the weekend and spend some time here.  Open to the public on a limited basis it is truly a fantastic experience!  
One of my discoveries on this recent trip was a new (to me, anyway) spice blend:  Ras El Hanout.  Now I am obsessed!  I picked up several things at Spice Mountain, who I discovered is now able to ship internationally!  Here is what their website has to say about their particular mixture of this spice blend:  So the recipe below has a slightly different version of the blend.  
It’s all in the name!  Literally meaning ‘top of the shop’, this complex Moroccan blend of spices traditionally represents the best a spice merchant has to offer.  Amongst the 20+ spices included are saffron, rose petals and lavender.  This blend lends itself especially well to slow cooked dishes, as the individual flavour of each spice, from robust and spicy to sweet and floral, is perfectly balanced out as the dish cooks.
Ras El Hanout is also perfect for livening up such things as a simple lentil soup, a vegetable stew or to sprinkle on meat, chicken or fish before grilling
Ingredients: Cumin, Coriander, Cayenne, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves, Turmeric, Ginger, Rose Petals.

The following is a recipe for Ras El Hanout as found on the Epicurious website.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
    • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

PREPARATION

    1. In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients until combined well. Spice blend keeps in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 month.
  1. And that, my friends, is the beauty of cooking:  we can all have a variation of a food or spice recipe and it is o-kay!

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