Recipes

Easy El Greco Spaghetti

5 min

This is a gloriously simple pasta dish that's a true testament to the fact that delicious meals need not be complicated or time-consuming. It's a dish that's sure to transport you straight to the heart of the Mediterranean, with its simple yet sublime flavors. To begin with, we start by coating our pasta with a luscious layer of oil, which serves as the perfect canvas for our Mediterranean-inspired ingredients. We add some plump cherry tomatoes to the mix, and then we turn to our secret weapon – the El Greco spice blend. It's a fusion of earthy Turkish Oregano, citrusy Sumac, and floral Basil, just to name a few of its star players. It's this blend that brings the taste of the Mediterranean to your plate, infusing our pasta dish with a subtle yet complex herbiness that will have you begging for more, and makes this meal an absolute crowd-pleaser.Add a little grated parmesan to complete the meal, and add your favorite protein if you'd prefer a meatier dish.

Seattle Honey Mustard Chicken

Back in the day, when we first created our Seattle Salmon Rub, it was a time when most folks were hard pressed to think beyond lemon & dill for Salmon. Yes, we're talking 20+ years ago. We wanted the King of Fish to have a blend worthy of its name and created this incredible pan-Asian power house of flavor to compliment it. Ironically, that pigeonholed this versatile blend! As soon as it was on the table we realized that it was equally good on pork and, of course, chicken - but "Seattle Salmon Rub that is Equally Good on Pork and Chicken" is really too long a name... but in all honesty, it's true. (It's also delicious on sweet potatoes, too!)We call this recipe Seattle Honey Mustard Chicken because we've combined the Salmon Rub and all its toasty goodness with our favorite mustard and sweet local honey. All three flavors come together beautifully. The toasted Tellicherry black pepper, cumin, coriander and fennel in the spice blend are accented with orange peel, star anise and a little brown sugar for a sweet counterpoint. Using stone-ground deli mustard has a fresh, true flavor and a great bite, and the cracked mustard seeds add texture to the chicken thighs as they roast. The chicken comes out sticky and delicious coated with sweet sauce. (To add a hint of smokiness, use our Upper Left Madrona Smoked Honey in the sauce.)Because this sauce is SO good, reserve half for future dipping, or chop the chicken and add it to your favorite greens on a bed of rice for a complete meal. As always, add extra heat if it suits your palate. We sprinkled on a little India Red Chile Flake for the finish.

Tadka Carrot and Cauliflower Salad

Sometimes we crave something hearty and filling, yet light enough to be healthy. This flavorful salad is able to achieve both! Tadka is a South Asian technique, also known as tempering, that uses hot oil or ghee to extract the essential oils out of spices. The result is a rich, flavorful, and aromatic oil — perfect to use as a dressing. For ours we use a base of Brown Mustard Seed, Yellow Mustard Seed, Cumin Seed, Turmeric, India Red Chile Flake and Asafoetida. These spices get lightly sautéed in oil, then a squeeze of lime juice and salt is added. The sauce melds together to coat the salad beautifully. The crunch from the mustard seeds and the umami from the asafoetida really makes this recipe stand out. Making this salad is quick, easy, and the ingredients are completely versatile. Beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale — any shreddable veggie would be delicious in this salad!Asafoetida is a great spice to use, especially if following a low-FODMAP diet. The flavor is nearly identical to that of onion and garlic, but it actually comes from the dried giant fennel resin. There is truly no spice like it!

World Spice Chili Crunch

World Spice Chili Crunch is a staff favorite soon to be a fan favorite. The wave of chili crunch obsession spread through the World Spice team like wildfire thanks to the genius who gifted each and every one of us a jar. This incredible condiment satisfies on every level. The store bought version is a powerhouse with medium heat and maximum flavor. It is both chewy AND crunchy with a deep umami base. It's good on everything! So...the journey to our version of this recipe began. The motivation was partly for fun to play with chili flavors and partly practical to turn out a version without MSG or preservatives. We hit the kitchen and it took a few tries! In the end this closely timed process turned out the best result. What we discovered was a temperature sweet spot while frying the chilies. Too low and they won't stay crisp and too high and you'll burn them. Our version requires minimal chopping and is also nut free because everyone needs chili crunch. We bumped up the heat with 3 different types of chilis so expect more fire from this version. We added the zing of Sichuan peppers and bumped up the umami with Cascade Mushroom Mix.Try your own version of chili crunch with any combination of dried chilies! This recipe makes a generous quart of crunch, plenty for any chili-head and enough to gift and share.

Flour Tortillas

It's no secret that flour tortillas are champions of versatility! You can top them with anything, fill them with anything, and they work great for snacks or for meals. What's less well known, however, is that they're also incredibly easy to make! Really! And nothing beats a fresh, warm tortilla.When making tortillas at home, use the opportunity to be creative! By using different spices or flours, you can inject a little flair into your recipe, and make your tortillas truly unique! In this recipe, we use Saffron and Butterfly Pea Flower to give our tortillas unique and distinctive colors. You can substitute a portion of the all-purpose flour for other flours, too, for more flavor and texture variety.Recipes such as this one traditionally use lard, but we've found that vegetable oil makes a perfectly suitable substitution. It's easy to double or triple this recipe, and they'll keep in your refrigerator in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. Homemade tortillas are best when fresh, though, and we don't think you'll have any problem finding ways to use them!

Garam Masala Meatballs with Mango Chutney

These meatballs are sweet, spicy, fruity and tangy. We seasoned our meatballs with an all purpose blend, Indian Garam Masala. For the chutney, we used some over-ripened mangoes and chopped dried tart cherries, although dried cranberries would be delicious, too. Making it the perfect sauce adding warmth and bite from nigella seeds and cayenne. Chutney has a lot of uses and is normally used to add sweet and sour tang to Indian dishes. Next we strewed the meatballs in the chutney. After 45 minutes of simmering these meatballs melt in your mouth! We used beef here, but lamb would be delicious, too! Add a toothpick to them for an easy appetizer or serve over basmati rice.

Smoky Sunset

This bold cocktail dances in the grey area between sweet and savory. Starting from tequila as the base, we spiced this drink up with chipotle to complement the spirit's slightly earthy sweetness. Next, we added lime and grapefruit as an acidic counterpoint to the smoky heat. As a last touch, we finished the drink in style with a salty rim made of chipotle flake and alderwood smoked salt.All that's missing is a name. Perfect for a slow sip at dusk after a hot summer day, the cocktail tastes exactly like what we decided to call it: a smoky sunset.

Chow Fun - lemongrass sausage, pea vines, mint

Created by James Beard Best Chef-nominee Rachel Yang, who with her husband, Seif Chirchi, owns three restaurants in Seattle (Joule, Trove, and Revel) and one in Portland (Revelry). My Rice Bowl - Korean cooking outside the lines is a cookbook with recipes taken from her Korean upbringing, but then influenced by various cultures and cuisines that she's been exposed to from around the world. She has taken the food memories from her childhood in Korea and added the global flavors she loves, as well as the culinary influence from her previous restaurant work (Per Se, Alain Ducasse). This has resulted in a unique and authentic fusion of food. In My Rice Bowl, she thoughtfully combines different flavors together and results in making Korean flavors more accessible to everyone: “It’s all about how I kind of take my traditional Korean palate and knowledge and then how I make it my own here in America…We like to think of it as unexpected and delicious first, and Korean second (or maybe even further down the line).” In the cookbook you’ll find favorites like the restaurants’ kimchi recipe but, also dishes such as seaweed noodles with crab and crème fraîche, tahini-garlic grilled pork belly, fried cauliflower with miso bagna cauda, chipotle-spiked pad thai, Korean-taco pickles, and the ultimate Korean fried chicken (served with peanut brittle shards for extra crunch). This book exemplifies cross-cultural cooking at its most gratifying, such as this take on Chow Fun. From the lemongrass sausage to the pea vines to the fresh mint. It's sure to satisfy your stomach and dazzle your taste buds.From the author: "With their light texture, rice-based chow fun noodles (sometimes spelled shao fen) are a natural match for the springy, green flavor of home made lemongrass sausage. Tossed with a loose mint and cilantro pesto, baby peas, and pea vines, this Trove favorite is the antithesis of a heavy noodle dish. We top it with our version of togarashi, the traditionally Japanese spice mixture that we blend with dried orange zest, to add just a hint of heat.Look for the wide, flat chow fun noodles in the produce section or the refrigerated section of a large Asian grocery store. Although they're sometimes sold already cut into half-inch strips, look for the kind that are packaged uncut, so you can cut them yourself into slightly wider strips, if possible. (They're impossible to tear apart when cold. If you purchase them refrigerated, reheat them in the microwave for about ten seconds at a time, until the noodles are soft and pliable.)If you'd like to break up the work for this recipe, make the sausage, pesto, and togarashi up to a day before serving, and refrigerate the first two, covered, until ready to use. We always assemble each serving individually at the restaurant, but at home, it's easier to do in two big batches in a large wok, using half the serving ingredients for each batch."

Chocolate Chili Chess Pie with Liquored Pie Dough

When Heather Earnhardt opened her cafe, The Wandering Goose, in Seattle, she added a little bit of Southern charm and comfort to the city. From her childhood in the South with her close-knit family comes this collection of traditional Southern favorites that makes use of all of the delicious food ingredients available here in the Pacific Northwest. Her specialty is her biscuits - both sweet and savory - as well as traditional Southern fare such as pickles, fried chicken, grits, cakes and this luscious Chocolate Chili Chess Pie with Liquored Pie Dough. This delicious recipe comes from Heather L. Earnhardt's Big Food Big Love: Down Home Southern Cooking Full of Heart of Seattle's Wandering Goose. From the Author: "Chocolate Pecan Pie is one of my favorites, but I wanted a spicy version without nuts. I love the balance of sweet and spicy heat. After your first bite, the chili spice lingers a few moments but is not too overpowering, and the hint of cinnamon adds a nice warmth. Serve this with a big dollop of Whipped Cream. This pie dough will most likely make more than you need, but keep it in the freezer so you can pop it out to defrost and within a few minutes have a homemade crust ready for a sweet or savory pie. You can use a food processor or a stand mixer. If using a stand mixer, just be sure not to over-mix the dough once you add the water or vodka. Use ice water if you don't have vodka, or half vodka and half water if you don't have a lot of vodka."