q. Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices were probably used very early in cooking. Many traditional local dishes refer to locally available herbs or spices, selected over millennia for their culinary, antiseptic or medicinal properties, real or imagined.

One thing is sure: They regularly and faithfully contribute a mind-boggling number of aromatic molecules to our dishes. We could not do without them.

Herbs

Mediterranean people for example use thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, savory, sage and other mint cousins, many of them still growing in the wild, in the soil and at the altitudes they like. They also use tarragon, parsley, cilantro, chervil, chives or bay laurel.

My own garden displays all of these as well as a few indispensable exotic imports: Japanese shiso, green and red, Vietnamese coriander, lemon grass, and several types of Thai basil. This may be the most affordable luxury: getting your herbs for cooking at the last minute, so they impart their fresh fragrance to your meals and can let your inspiration, rather than a set recipe, guide you.

If you do not have a garden, narrow your week selection to a few items but do use fresh herbs. Bay leaf, rosemary and thyme are the only ones which can still contribute anything of value when they are ground and have spent time in a jar. (1)

Spices

Spices were the first globalized products. In Europe, they were imported very early from India and neighboring countries, making the fortune of Venice on their way, and setting off the 1490s explorations of Colombus and Vasco da Gama. They have since accompanied the development of every culinary tradition, adding a touch of subliminal exoticism to otherwise very local creations. This still goes on: Olivier Roellinger, one of my favorite French chefs, associates rare spices from the Far East with local northern Brittany sea riches to build a body of dazzling cuisine. 

Spices are often dried, ground and mostly available as powder in a jar, which is a problem because they lose their flavoring power in a matter of months, especially if they are exposed to light. Except for pepper, we are not ready to have a mill to grind every spice individually.

My list of compulsory spices includes:

×           black pepper

×           one or two curry mixes

×           turmeric

×           saffron

×           cumin (seeds or powder)

×           coriander (seeds or powder)

×           ginger (which is fortunately also available in fresh root form)

×           paprika

×           cayenne

×           chili flakes

×           nutmeg (whole nut of course, that you can grate at will with a sharp knife)

×           cloves

×           cinnamon

Mace is a flavorful alternative to nutmeg, available in powder form. It also can give color to your dishes. We also use the tongue-numbing Szechuan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, allspice, 5-spices and cardamom.

Although they do not officially qualify as spices, we also liberally use roasted white or black sesame seeds to flavor some of our dishes. 

Pepper

True pepper, black or white (setting aside the unripe green version for a moment), is the most endearing and common spice on Western tables. It provides more than a bite: a kind of olfactory citrus-like explosion most of us love, even if we can’t analyze it.

This leads me to a comment about its use in cooking. In most recipes, you will find that pepper is incorporated early with the purpose of giving it time to permeate the dish. This is a tradition that I discarded as soon as I noticed that the pepper aromas that I like disappear with cooking.

I always add pepper at the end, just before serving. For the same reason, I mostly use black pepper, which contains the aromatic outer layer of the fruit, and I always grind it with the pepper mill. (2)  

Ras-el-Hanout (My Secret Mix)

There is one spice mix I prepare myself, the Ras-el-Hanout (literally, the “head” of spices). This traditional combination can be readily found in the spice markets of the Maghreb but not so easily in the US. It is essential for flavoring many Moroccan dishes.

This is my own fragrant and powerful combination, which I grind and mix from time to time from the following ingredients:

×           1 tsp. of ground ginger

×           1 tsp. ground paprika

×           1 tsp. turmeric

×           2 tsp. ground cinnamon

×           ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

×           ½ tsp. grated nutmeg

×           1 tsp. white peppercorns

×           ¼ tsp. fennel (anise) seeds

×           Black seeds of 4 cardamom pods

×           5 allspice berries

×           2 cloves

I find this small ritual very rewarding in itself as I like the process and shamelessly anticipate the many future delights to come. Keep in a small air-tight jar. 

(1) Bay leaves can be abrasive for your digestive organs. Use entire leaves and take them out before serving.

(2) This is true for saffron also: always at the end.