Recipes
Caraway Kraut
Fermented food just continues to become more popular every year. We were glad to find this local cookbook, Fresh & Fermented: 85 Delicious Ways to Make Fermented Carrots, Kraut, and Kimchi Part of Every Meal by Julie O’Brien and Richard Climenhage. Here's a sneak peek at one of their recipes...From the Author: "We didn’t start making Caraway Kraut until our third year in business—we just weren’t sure if our customers would like the distinctive caraway flavor. When we started experimenting, however, it took just one test batch to convince us that Caraway Kraut belonged in Firefly’s lineup of fermented foods.Caraway Kraut contributes its pleasing earthy taste to some of the recipes in this book and also makes a great side dish for grilled meats or mashed potatoes. It’s the perfect addition to the classic Reuben (of course) and adds intrigue to potato salads and coleslaws too. Whirl it with fresh avocado for a simple sandwich spread or as a dip for chips and veggies. (The acid does double duty—it adds flavor and keeps the avocado from getting brown.)Caraway Kraut brine, which results from the fermentation process, is a delicious tonic on its own. For hundreds of years people have been drinking sauerkraut brine to heal ulcers or temper hangovers—it’s a well-known Russian remedy—and that inspired us to start bottling and selling the extra brine as our first Tummy Tonic."
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Ras el Hanout Kaleidoscope Salad
This colorful salad is a delicious fall favorite. First off, Ras El Hanout and butternut squash or pumpkin is a match made in heaven. Often containing up to 20 ingredients, the complexity of Ras el Hanout is part of what makes it so versatile. Ours has a mild, savory base with peaks of exotic pepper and swirls of floral ether. Pair that with the dark leafy kale tenderized with vinegar and wilted by the warm squash, top it off with the pop of fresh pomegranate and a little nutty crunch and you have a kaleidoscope of texture, color and flavor.This is a great dish to keep on hand through the season for a healthy lunch, and it will look beautiful on your holiday table.
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Brussels Sprouts with Za'atar and Nigella
Brussels sprouts are a leftover food trauma from childhood that I've finally overcome. The limp, stinky-sulfur blobs (sorry, Mom) have been replaced with a crisp, roasted vegetable that is full of flavor and befitting a fall feast. Best of all, these are easy to make and a perfect vehicle for one of my favorite spice blends, Green Za'atar. The combination of herbs, sesame and sumac make this spice blend good enough to eat straight out of the jar, but it is even better on the brussels sprouts. A sprinkle of nigella seeds tops the dish off with an exotic garnish and a hint of nutty onion flavor.
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Pasilla Oaxaca Vegetable Soup
Sometimes it's hard to get enough of a good thing, and that is certainly true with Pasilla Oaxaca chiles. Every summer we run out of the small crop of these rare chiles, and celebrate when they are harvested again in the fall. They come only from the Oaxaca region of southern Mexico and combine a rich dose of smoky chile flavor with just the right level of heat - not too much. We are thrilled, because this years crop just arrived!Use Pasilla Oaxaca in your favorite recipe for chili or vegetable soup, or try this creative Afro-Latin fusion. We've used both our Harissa spice blend, traditional in North Africa, and the Pasilla Oaxaca chile to season a chunky melange of carrots, zucchini, okra and black eyed peas in this satisfying fall soup. Enjoy!Pasilla Oaxaca are traditional in molé sauces, rellenos and salsas but are also SUPER easy to use whole if you want fabulous flavor in your next hearty fall soup. Just drop one in and remove before serving...like a bay leaf!
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Coriander Roasted Beets
Roasting beets concentrates their flavor, and the complement of coriander is delicious. We like to roast a whole pan-full and serve them alone as a side dish or atop a dark leafy green salad of chard, kale and spinach. Choose beets of a similar size so they cook at about the same rate, and both the gold and red varieties can be used alone or in combination. The spice mix of coriander, sesame, marjoram and Urfa is bright and pleasing with just a hint of mild heat. Inspired by our love of Dukkah and Green Za'atar, this blend is a variation on those themes with coriander taking center stage.This spice mixture goes well with other roasted vegetables too - like carrots or parsnips and can be used as a crust on meat and seafood. You can vary the consistency to go with your dish - we like it medium-fine to sprinkle on vegetables and a more coarse to use as a crust. For another variation, grind the coriander seeds, but leave the sesame seeds whole for additional crunch. Out of the oven, these beets have heavenly, and healthy flavor. Enjoy.
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Rooster Grilled Artichokes with Spicy Garlic Mayonnaise
Seattle's local farmers have been showcasing artichokes for a few weeks now, so what better produce to highlight one of our favorite blends, Rooster Spice!! Inspired by everyone's favorite Vietnamese hot sauce, Rooster Spice packs a wallop of heat, but boasts a delicious complexity that will keep you coming back. It's the perfect accompaniment to these artichokes, or really anything else your market basket can throw at it.
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Harissa and Vegetable Couscous
This recipe has been a long time coming. Hardly anyone who comes in to the shop -- spice masters and novices alike -- can pass over the North African section without some long, lingering sniffs. The spices from that region are so exotic, in their perfect union of sweet-spicy-aromatic. "How do you use the Harissa?" is one of the most common questions following the exclamations of delight. And though my fellow merchants and I have written versions of this recipe on many a business card, envelope, and scratch paper, it's about time it took its place among our favorites here on the blog.The tender-crisp vegetables and fluffy couscous are a perfect vehicle for this sumptuous sauce, our version of the traditional Tunisian red pepper condiment that is so ubiquitous in Northern Africa. The cumin, coriander, and caraway add complexity and depth, with the guajillos lending just enough heat to be interesting without being overwhelming. You can also try the Harissa sauce on grilled meats or eggplant -- or even on halibut!
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Indian Coriander Energy Bars
Sometimes I get so busy doing things that I forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch. I know, I shouldn't do that, but I do. I've tried various power or energy bars, but I found them to be too sweet, lacking in flavor, or really just not very healthy. So I made my own.For this recipe, I set out to make an energy bar that tasted good, was high in all of the "good" stuff we're supposed to be eating every day, and was full of things that I loved, like Indian Coriander Seed. I'm also a huge fan of chia seeds, and using them eliminated the need to use oil or eggs in the bars. Chia seeds are full of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, calcium, iron, fiber, and are a source of natural extended energy. I will admit to sometimes putting chocolate chips in them, but chocolate is good for you, too, right?
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Cuban Black Bean Burger
There are many veggie burger recipes out there, but we have a fondness for this one. With protein-rich black beans and quinoa, this is a veggie burger with some substance. We added our savory Cuban Spice, zesty Voodoo and herbs to amp up the flavor even more. Top with lettuce, tomato, or any other burger fixings you love. This delicious and addictive veggie burger will become one that you will want to eat year round.
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