Recipes

Vadouvan Curry Burger

1 hr

Not many would describe a cheeseburger as a culinary masterpiece, but that's what you're getting with this dish. With luscious provolone and onions that are caramelized to perfection, you're off to a good start. The whole thing is topped with an original aioli infused with the French-inspired Vadouvan Curry, which is both mellow and light. And that's the key—hints of Fenugreek Seed, Brown Mustard, Cardamom, Turmeric, and Nutmeg in the Vadouvan Curry blend bringing it all together. In fact, be sure to make enough of the aioli because it's so versatile, you may find you want to use it on everything from now on. I can confirm it's a stunning French fry dip, it brightens up a good piece of salmon, and pairs beautifully with a crisp Prosecco. Keep in mind: Caramelizing onions takes a long time, so your prep time will be at least an hour if you plan to make them at home. You can speed up the process if you purchase them already caramelized from the store!

Spiced Kofte Beef Skewers

15 min

Enjoy the succulent, spiced beef Kofte skewers alongside the refreshing tang of the cucumber yogurt sauce. Perfect for grilling outdoors or on a stovetop grill pan, this Middle Eastern-inspired dish is savory and aromatic, and it is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Orange-Rhubarb Glaze

Give boneless leg of lamb the royal treatment with Ras El Hanout and Moroccan Meyer Lemon Paste. Ras el Hanout is the spice merchants showcase of their finest flavors, and ours is a blend of 24 spices with sweet and savory, piquant and floral notes blended to perfection. Combined with Moroccan Meyer Lemon Paste, and marinated overnight, it is an easy prep for this slow roasted leg of lamb. For a stunning sauce to finish the dish, we made a jammy glaze with rhubarb and honey, orange and mint to elevate the flavors with fresh seasonal ingredients. (To add a little smokiness to the glaze, try our Upper Left Madrona Smoked Honey.) Serve this delicacy with rice or roasted potatoes alongside your favorite spring greens.

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.

Melange Classique

This fanciful French blend combines nutmeg and pepper with a healthy harvest from the herb garden, to satisfy all your taste buds. Melange Classique is an all purpose seasoning for stews and roasts, pate, stuffing and bean dishes. Melange Classique will work well as a rub on any meat, particularly lamb, duck and pork.

Poudre Forte

Poudre Forte is a wonderful spice mix that was used throughout medieval Europe and is still used today by culinary recreationists. The actual components may vary, but Poudre Forte, or "strong powder," is commonly based on cinnamon, clove and black pepper, some of the most important tender of the early spice trade. We've added grains of paradise to enhance the flavor. A sweetly aromatic blend with a good bite, it can be used liberally in both sweet and savory dishes.

Meatballs with Pumpkin & Spice Butter

With its location between the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia, Turkey has an amazingly rich and varied cuisine. For most of the past twenty years, Journalist Robyn Eckhardt and her photographer husband, David Hagerman, have traveled around Turkey tasting all of the country's most delicious dishes. Now they're sharing them with us in their wonderful cookbook,  Istanbul and Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey. They first start in Istanbul, which is home to one of the world's great fusion cuisines. Then they travel to some of the lesser-known provinces, which feature cuisines influenced by neighboring Georgia, Syria, Armenia and Iran. These authentic and easy to follow recipes all come from local bakers, village home cooks, farmers, fishermen and café chefs. This Meatballs with Pumpkin & Spice Butter is an example of one of the many colorful and flavorful dishes found in this cookbook. We're sure that you'll fall in love with this cookbook just as much as we have.From the author: "For this warming dish from Hakkâri, delicate lamb of beef meatballs studded with ground rice are laid atop a bed of pumpkin chunks and then steam-simmered in a light tomato sauce. Before serving, the dish is drizzled with sizzling tomato butter seasoned with purple basil and red pepper flakes, which play off the richness of the meat and the sweetness of the pumpkin. I ate this dish at the home of Sehmur and Baran Kurt, in Hakkâri.A good meatball is light and tender, attributes achieved in Turkey by hand-chopping the meat, something even I am unwilling to undertake on a regular basis. But you can achieve a similar texture by spreading ground meat on a cutting board, sprinkling the seasonings over it, and cutting everything together with a knife. (This keeps the meat from turning into a paste, as it would if you mixed the ingredients in a food processor or by squeezing and kneading with your hands.) The process takes only about 5 minutes. Combine this technique with very light handling when you form the meatballs, and they'll end up tender.You must soak the rice for 1-1/2 hours before proceeding with the rest of the recipe, during which time you can peel, see, and slice the pumpkin and complete other prep work. The meatball mixture can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. Serve the dish with a simple cooked vegetable like spinach and plain Strained Yogurt. For a dinner party, give your guests an appetite-rousing preview by placing the pot in the middle of the table before pouring over the sizzling spice butter."

Kofte Meatballs with Marash Yogurt Sauce

These lamb meatballs made with our Kofte Spice are a crowd pleaser, and are even more marvelous with Marash Chile Flakes and warm yogurt sauce. Sound exotic? It is! But they are easy to make and the seasonings have wide appeal. Serve them over your favorite grain pilaf or roll them out at your next cocktail party for a new take on everyones favorite hors d'oeurve.

Khingal

We are so excited to feature another recipe from Olia Hercules' wonderful Georgian cookbook, Kaukasis: A Culinary Journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Beyond! Full of stunning photographs evocative of the region, this book is a celebration, weaving personal narratives and recipes for a little known cuisine that combines European and Middle Eastern ingredients in ways that are fresh, new, and totally unexpected. Olia Hercules will take you on a culinary journey unlike any other. If you liked her Ukranian cookbook Mamushka, you will love this book.From the author: "We often perceive comfort food as something lovely yet also a little bland, unassuming. It may not blow our minds with flavour, but it gives us that feeling of safe satiety. When I tried khingal in the Azerbaijan capital Baku, it was a complete revelation to me. It did all those things that comfort food does, except it also made my eyes widen as my mouth was filled with firm pasta, crispy aromatic lamb and milky, but also oh so fresh, sauce. And then there is the butter. Pasta, spice, butter, crispy meat bits, yogurt, herbs – this dish has every single component that makes me feel safe and yet also titillates my senses, what I imagine a perfect marriage may be like."