SPICES UNITE COOKS FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE, AND THAT IS HALF THE FUN OF COOKING. Spices and herbs make food taste better. And soup is one of the best ways to use these two ingredients. Let’s be serious, soup is one of my favorite things to make and eat (period!), any time of year, and it usually improves with flavor over several days. It is the one leftover I don’t mind having in my fridge.
I grew up eating Mexican Food, in SE Colorado, so pozole, tacos, enchiladas, and tamales were almost as common on our table as typical hamburgers, fried or baked chicken, beef, pork (and venison). Plus whatever vegetables were ready in the garden, or had been preserved by canning. It is important to mention one of my mom’s favorite meals to make and eat, pinto beans with ham hocks and raw chopped onions, served with cornbread. This was our weekly “clothes washing day” meal; put it on early and forget it.
So, when I got to know an Iraqi neighbor, she asked me to teach her how to cook American food. It was both funny and confusing to her when I answered that, for me, it would be Mexican. But that was okay with her, though I also included more traditional food in our recipe exchanges. In turn, she taught me about mid-eastern food and spices. Her Biryani is delicious. She also showed me how to make beef in tomatoes, with okra. I grew okra in my garden at the farm and love eating it, so this dish was a surprise combination of flavors for me. She is also a great baker. I was often the recipient of her fruit pastries. We had a lot of fun sitting around the table, enjoying each other’s food, trying to communicate in our diverse languages. The IPad was often our interpreter. Her laugh is infectious and the language of food needs no intrepretation.
Herbs are something I enjoy growing in my greenhouse, drying the excess to use in recipes year around. I also have100 spice jars lined up in a tidy free-standing spice crate. A few years ago, I got a sample tin of exotic spices, including Ras El Hanout, a spice blend typically associated with Moracco. I opened the jar several times, not knowing when or how to use it.
Then I made a throw-together kind of soup this week that needed something to brighten the flavor. I bravely took Ras El Hanout out of the spice rack. First, I just put in a nervous pinch, which was surprisingly good. But as the soup making process developed, at least ¼ teaspoon end up in the mix. It lifted that soup in a way I never saw coming. I also sprinkled a small pinch over the steaming bowl I took to the table. This was accompanied by an olive oil soaked focaccia I made from my beloved sourdough starter.
The following Ras El Hanout recipe, from the internet, solved the mystery of all the spices it contains and led me to making a batch, since I already have every one of the ingredients in my spice rack! Now that I have replenished the Ras El Hanout spice jar, I need to find other ways to use it.
From the SpruceEats blog
(I made half a batch)
Blend Ingredients in a bowl. Store in a tightly sealed jar)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons ground mace
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (grated my own)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed (had to use mortar and pestle to make a powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Several of my soups start out with the basic ingredients of broth, onions, and garlic:
32 oz chicken broth (add water as needed to keep it “soupy”)
1 chopped onion (also chopped some green onions that needed used)
2-3 nice sized cloves of garlic, minced, sprinkling with salt & smeared to a paste with the edge of a knife.
(Note: I seldom soften onions and garlic in oil or butter for soup because I don’t like the greasiness)
1 – 14.5 oz can diced salsa style tomatoes (or fire roasted), with juices (this usually breaks completely down during cooking)
4 – 5 stalks of celery sliced thin, with leaves, if possible
Simmer until vegetables are softened.
¼ teaspoon Ras El Hanout, or more, to taste
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch chunks
When the potatoes are almost cooked (don’t overcook):
Crumble in one pound of uncooked ground turkey (dark and white meat together), keeping it somewhat chunky.
Add at the same time:
1 pound of frozen vegetable mix (easy to thaw in the bag), carrots, corn, green beans, and peas. Fresh vegetables could be used but I keep this mix on hand because I like its variety and ease of grabbing it out of the freezer. It isn’t always possible to have that many kinds of fresh vegetables on hand. During gardening season, it would be nice to vary the fresh vegetables.
At the end, add:
½ cups whipping cream.
Salt and pepper to taste.
