Recipes
Pink Peppercorn and Ginger Poached Pears
Here's a show-stopping dessert from from My Two Souths and Chef Asha Gomez. this gorgeous Pink Peppercorn and Ginger Poached Pears recipe. on her love of pears here in the US, From the author: "Although India received pears from China many centuries ago, and they are grown and available most commonly in the northern provinces, they are still not nearly as beloved a fruit as the mango. In the southern US, pears struggle to compete with peaches, which are harvested regionally about the same time in the summer and into the fall. But when it comes to poaching - and I love poaching all types of fruit - the pear seems to be the best fruit, with its ability to retain its shape and its blossoming flavor. Because of importation and advanced agricultural practices, lovely ripe pears are available at the grocery store at almost any time of the year. However, for this recipe I chose a darling little pear called Seckel, also known as a sugar pear, because it is unrivaled in terms of sweetness. With a short, round, chubby appearance, sugar pears offer an off-white to pale yellow flesh that is slightly more dense and coarse than other varieties; they embody the phrase "good things come in small packages." Seckel pears - or many other varieties for that matter, such as Bosc, Anjou, or Bartlett - are perfect for this dessert since they readily absorb the flavors and fragrance of the ginger and sweet pink peppercorns. Serve these for a stunning fall dessert."
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Down South Goat Biryani
From My Two Souths and Chef Asha Gomez, we get this stunning recipe for Down South Goat Biryani. With her love of Deep-South cooking as well as her southern Indian roots, this recipe is sure to please all of those experimenting with biryani for the first or the tenth time. Don't worry if you can't find goat - Chef Asha says it's just as delicious with beef or chicken. If you're looking for a stand-out dish for fall entertaining, this dish is for you. From the author: "Biryani is a celebration dish. Weddings, birthdays, festivals, and other times of good cheer are the usual occasions when this iconic dish of rice with meat or vegetables graces our table, with almost the entire spice cabinet having been invited into the cooking vessel. Across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, countless renditions of this festive dinner abound, as do the many names by which it is known. I think the following recipe is my favorite version to make at home, though it is wonderful made with beef chuck roast or chicken thighs. I love the tender goat layered between saffron-spiced rice and baked, then dressed with roasted shallots, cashews, raisins, and a confetti of cilantro. As I fluff the flavored rice, I always remove the star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves - counting the fifteen spice hulls as I go - and set them aside to use as a garnish. Alternatively, you can tie all the spices except the saffron and cumin seeds in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni, which makes a quick job of removing the spice hulls. Or, if no muslin is available, but them in a tea ball and hang the ball over the side of the pot."
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Chicken Drumsticks with Spices and Coconut Milk
This lovely recipe comes from Béatrice Peltre's My French Family Table. This recipe is one of the author's favorite chicken "go to recipes" for when she needs a dose of delicious comfort food.From the Author: "When I'm thinking about comfort food that involves chicken, I like to imagine the sauce that will come with it, something wonderful to flavor a bowl of steaming grains such as brown rice, millet, or quinoa on the side. The sauce in this chicken dish is packed with many of my favorite aromas, from an array of fresh-scented herbs and spices - what's not to love about saffron? - to the flavors of lime juice and coconut milk. I always hope there will be leftovers for the next day so I can have a quiet lunch at home when Lulu is at school and Philip is at the office."
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Sheermal (semi-sweet saffron and cardamom-enriched bread)
Summers Under The Tamarind Tree: Recipes and memories from Pakistan showcases a full-flavored cuisine with Arabic and Far East Asian influences on many dishes. Author Sumayya Usmani uses this contemporary Pakistani cookbook to celebrate the flavors and traditions of Pakistan that she learned from spending time in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother when she was growing up. This gorgeous Sheermal, a semi-sweet and cardamom-enriched bread, would be a delicious addition to any brunch...or the afternoon cup of chai.From the Author: "This saffron-flavored semi-sweet leavened bread has its roots in Persian and North Indian cooking." They can be made in advance and they freeze very well - to defrost, simply toast."
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Mummy's Nutty Saffron Rice
If you're looking for a spectacular side dish, perfect for any dinner, look no further than this delicious Saffron Rice. It's easier to make than you might think...but you don't have to let anyone know that. We saw this dish in Summers Under The Tamarind Tree: Recipes and memories from Pakistan, and knew that we had to get permission from author Sumayya Usmani to share it with everyone.From the Author: " I was never fond of raisins and rice as a child, but as my taste buds matured, I realized that my mother's Persian-influenced recipe is a spectacular yet simple midweek rice dish, a good accompaniment...The saffron is infused in the water that cooks the rice, much like a pulao, and it gives the final dish a rather elegant biryani look."
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Saffron Apricots
We are always looking for cookbooks that show how you can still prepare healthy, nourishing vegetarian food, even if you have time constraints. Enter "a modern way to cook" by Anna Jones. It's a wonderful cookbook with recipes that are creative and bursting with flavor, and this Saffron Apricots recipe is truly a standout.From the Author: “The quickest, most exotic-tasting dessert I know, made mainly of things that sit happily in your pantry. I use orange blossom water here to add a heady fragrant taste, which I love. If you can't find it, it will work without. I serve these with a spoonful of coconut yogurt, and they are equally good on top of vanilla ice cream.”
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Chermoula
Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry is a mainstay vegan cookbook on our shelves at home. He researched traditional Southern cooking, going back to its roots in Africa and the Caribbean, but made the recipes vegan. The results are delicious! (Bonus: Every recipe has a song choice, too!) We especially love this recipe. Chermoula is a versatile marinade combining fresh herbs with dried spices, oils and citrus to create layers of flavor. It is used liberally in Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking to flavor fish, seafood, meats and vegetables.
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Chef Andrea's Cardamom and Olive Oil Cake
This delicious cake is complements of Pastry Chef Andrea, and was served at dearly departed Lecosho, one of our favorite after work restaurants.The Ranier cherries that she serves with it are at the end of their season now, but don't let that stop you from attempting this cake! Try a few slices of Northwest pear, poached in wine and sugar, or a few cubes of caramelized pumpkin, roasted until soft to garnish. This cake is heavenly with freshly ground cardamom, but is also a brilliant vehicle to feature any number of exotic spices- try pink peppercorns, saffron, fennel (or fennel pollen!) or anise seed, paired with a different flavors of gelato. A word on the recipe itself: "Real deal" bakers and pastry chefs weigh their ingredients, much like we weigh our spices here in the shop. Weighing provides far more consistent and accurate measurements, which is why we choose to sell our spices that way, too. I left Chef Andrea's original weights in the recipe in case you're in possession of a gram scale, but also translated them to the more commonly used volume measurements for the average home cook, too.
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Saffron Penne With Sausage and Arugula
Thanks to its luxurious ingredients, this Sicilian-inspired pasta is fancy and decadent enough for special occasions, but is simple enough to be thrown together quickly. Rather than an elaborate sauce, the pasta is dressed with cream flavored by all of the dishes' components. This makes for a rich-tasting effect that feels far lighter than a traditional cream sauce. It's worth noting that this is one of the few recipes in which I advocate not toasting the pine nuts, because it is my experience that the toasted flavor doesn't complement the Saffron and actually competes with it. You can use any shape of pasta, of course, but I find that penne rigate - the penne with the little ridges - holds the perfect amount of sauce. Each element in this pasta represents one of the tastes detectable by your palate, so the result is a beautifully balanced, crave-worthy dish.
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