My Pantry Essentials

MY PANTRY ESSENTIALS

Ok, so admittedly this isn't your typical pantry! While there are definitely elements of what you need to cook great food - fat, salt, acid, spices - my essentials here are what I personally use to take my food to the next level. Some of these are basic building blocks (roasted garlic, cultured butter), others are my preferences to the traditional (harissa for chili paste, sherry vinegar rather than, say, balsamic) and then some are unique ingredients that have extreme versatility and use (pomegranate molasses, za'atar). So let me do a little explaining to share why when you come to my kitchen, you will always find these ingredients, and how they can add to your own culinary arsenal...

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

The word "molasses" always brings to mind the dark, sticky, by-product of the sugar process, but, in other parts of the world, the flavor of peak season fruit is captured as fruit molasses. Fruit molasses (pomegranates, figs, grapes, dates, etc) is made by cooking down fresh juice until it reduces to a syrup - I actually show how to make your own in my cookbook. Pomegranate is one of my favorites because it has that beautiful sweet flavor coupled with a nice tart bite. For me, a good pomegranate molasses is like a great balsamic vinegar - fantastic in vinaigrettes, a beautiful marinade and sauce for chicken or ribs, and just as delicious drizzled over berries or ice cream. I never run out of ways to use this stuff (pom martini anyone?) and always have a bottle or two on hand.

HARISSA

Harissa is my absolute, go-to chili paste, though I still have love for sriracha! I make a homemade version myself, and it has my ideal heat level (not scorching) and flavor. This North African sauce has gotten really popular, and you can pretty easily find a bottle at most specialty stores and gourmet grocers. The uses are endless - incredible as a roast chicken marinade, mixed with honey as a sweet and spicy salad dressing base, perfect for a spicy mayo, mixed with cheese and stuffed into olives, and any other way you usually use hot sauce. Each version of harissa has its own unique spice blend, so what's nice is it adds complexity to simple dishes (without much work).

ROASTED GARLIC

I'm like literally giving away all of my secrets. I roast garlic every week and use it wherever I would normally use raw garlic. It's just garlic, only waaaay better. Roasting garlic (which is as simple as cutting off the tops, slathering with oil and sprinkling with salt, wrapping in foil and roasting at 400° F for an hour) takes garlic to another level - another deeper, nuttier, less sharp, caramelized level. You could eat the cloves as they are, and they can be mashed right into a paste. So rub them onto a steak before grilling, make the best garlic bread of your life, give your soups or stews new depth, throw them into mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, rice, your morning eggs...you get it.

SHERRY VINEGAR

If I were to have a house vinegar, this would be it. I'm pretty sensitive to extremes of flavor - too salty, too sweet, and, in the case of vinegars, too acidic. Sherry vinegar has acidity, but it's not overbearing. It's balanced with a honeyed sweetness and complexity of flavor, so it adds more than face-puckering tartness. There are three types - vinagre de Jerez, vinagre de Jerez Reserva and vinagre de Jerez Gran Reserva (in order of how long the vinegar has been aged). The middle one is what I use day-to-day - to deglaze my pan-roasted brussels, drizzled on my spiced, butternut squash soup, for a crazy beurre blanc. The Gran Reserva is perfect to finish a piece of fish or for a cheese plate - it's a bit more expensive but you only need a few drops to add incredible flavor.

ALEPPO CHILI FLAKES

Aleppo chilies are my all-around favorite chili flake for cooking, and I've talked about them in depth in the past. Aleppo chilies come from Syria and are comparable in heat and flavor to ancho chilies - they're fruity, moderately hot, with smoky undertones that come from a process of being sundried. The heat is immediate, and it lingers a bit.

CULTURED BUTTER

What IS the deal with cultured butter you may be asking? What you generally find in the refrigerator aisle of the grocery is basic butter, cream that has been churned into a solid, sometimes with the addition of salt. But back in the day, that cream used to sit a bit, ferment, grow a bit of bacteria before being churned, and the result was slightly tangy, nutty, rich cultured butter. Some small companies are now producing this old-school butter (sometimes called "European-style"), and it's just, frankly, better butter. The flavor is amazing (kind of like that ideal, butter taste), but also, it's a bit higher in fat, which is what you want for baking to produce tender, fluffy cakes and biscuits.

ZA'ATAR

Za'atar is my stuck-on-a-desert-island-and-can-only-bring-one-spice-blend choice. To me, it's like a more interesting Herbes de Provence - the basic blend has dried za'atar (or thyme), sesame seeds, and sumac, and because of these, it is at once herbaceous, nutty and tart. I make my own blend, the simplest version (the one in this compound butter), because it allows me to layer in other flavors as I see fit, but the store-bought stuff is still amazing. Again, you will always see a jar of this in my pantry because I go through it - for my weekly roast chicken, on my garlic bread, sprinkled on a salad or roasted veggies, mixed with a bit of oil as a dip for flatbread, in my aioli. Once you start using za'atar, you kind of start to wonder how you seasoned food before you had it. It's that good.

TAMARI

Tamari is your upgrade to soy sauce. Both are made from fermented soy beans, but soy sauce generally comes from a mixture of soy beans and roasted wheat. Tamari, on the other hand, is the by-product of miso and little to no wheat is used in the process (making it a great, gluten-free option). The main differences are in texture and taste, with tamari being a bit thicker, richer, smooth and less salty. This is an easy switch.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE

Yet another ingredient I keep in my pantry is Mexican chocolate - thick, sugary-cinnamon tablets of sweet dark chocolate. That should be reason enough for why this chocolate is included on my list because it is sooo easy to snack on this stuff like it's going out of style. But beyond straight consumption, I also love cooking with it - for killer hot chocolate or a mocha, in a simple pot de crème or chocolate sauce, for a chocolate bread pudding, shaved on top of ice cream, baked into a cake. It's a bit drier than traditional chocolate, so it works well when combined with a liquid like cream, and when baking, make sure to up the moisture factor with sour cream, buttermilk of crème fraiche.

TRUFFLE SALT

There are not too many things that rival the flavor of truffles. When my husband and I first met and we went grocery shopping, he nearly fell over when he saw what truffle oil costed. But after one truffled meal, I caught him on his own truffling take-out!! I certainly don't advise that, but I will say that as of late my taste buds have been preferring truffled salt over the other methods. It's expensive, but a little goes a long way here. It's great to finish a piece of steak or fish and adds that truffled flavor without the synthetic flavors you can often find in the oils and butters. When my girlfriends come over, I put this to great use and make a homemade, truffle-honey butter popcorn...

MAPLE SUGAR

Lately, my cooking sugar of choice has been maple sugar. It's a sugar from the maple tree that tastes a lot like the syrup; it's also unrefined, full of antioxidants and minerals and has a lower glycemic impact. I use a bit less than white or brown sugar when I'm baking, and I think the flavor is out of this world.

PIMENTÓN DE LA VERA (SMOKED SPANISH PAPRIKA)

Cooking requires a skillful layering of flavors, and this spice gives heat, smoke and a bit of bitterness. Peppers from the La Vera region in Spain are oakwood-smoked and dried before being milled, and the spice comes in three heat levels so you can choose what works for your palate. When I want to add smokiness without going through the effort of physically smoking something, this ingredient gets thrown in - to almost all of my dry rubs, to amp up a gratin, my shakshouka, and even pasta (bacon-less carbonara!).

Hope you guys enjoy this exotic pantry - would love to hear from you what makes your list!

Harissa-Cheese Stuffed Fried Olives

When I opened up the menu at Balaboosta a few weeks back, the words Fried Olives jumped off the page and into my imagination. I tasted them mentally before they even got to the table, and then when they did…let’s just say it only reinforced the fact that I’m trying these goodies way too late in life. Why are they NOT more popular? The world (or at least you lovely readers) should know about this delicacy…

I did a bit more research, and it seems like fried olives may have originated in the Le Marche region of eastern Italy. There, they take pancetta, ground meats, cheese, herbs and spices and stuff large green olives, breading them and then deep-frying them to a golden crisp. Olive all’Ascolana is the name of the dish.

I felt a slightly North African take on this tradition would be delicious. I stuffed them with a spicy, harissa cream cheese before rolling them in breadcrumbs laced with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. A bit of tang from the cream cheese, some fiery heat from harissa, a touch of sweetness from honey – the briny olives become even more complex and with a deeply satisfying, deep-fried crunch. If you have never tried fried olives, now is your chance. They are incredibly easy to make and work for everything from a movie night to an elegant hors d’oeuvres for a dinner party. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 50 fried olives

2 tbsps ricotta cheese, room temperature

2 tbsps cream cheese, room temperature

2 tbsps harissa*

2 tsps honey

50 large pitted green olives, rinsed and dried**

½ cup panko or plain breadcrumbs

¼ cup parmesan

¼ cup flour

1 egg, beaten

Oil for frying

fleur de sel (optional)

Procedure

In a bowl, mix together ricotta, cream cheese, harissa, and honey until uniform. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with the smallest pastry tip you have. You can also use a Ziploc bag to do this, and use scissors to cut off a small piece of the corner of the bag. Pipe filling into all of the olives.

Set up a dredging station. Mix together the breadcrumbs and parmesan in one bowl. Place the flour in another and the beaten egg in between. Roll the olives in the flour and dust off any excess. Dip into the egg and then roll in the parm-breadcrumb mixture until all are coated.

In a dutch oven or pot, heat 3 to 4 inches of oil to 360° F. Carefully, drop olives into the oil, working in batches depending on the size of your vessel. Fry until a deep golden brown and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. If the olives are not too salty, sprinkle with a little fleur de sel.

Let cool slightly before serving / eating.

* For harissa you can use my version here or use the store-bought kind. Feel free to adjust the amount to your heat tolerance depending on the type of harissa you end up using.

**For the olives, I like to use the ones that are oil-cured, rinsing them of any herbs and spices and then drying them thoroughly. Water and hot oil don’t do well together, so I would avoid using olives soaked in a water-based brine that may have absorbed some of the liquid.

Tunisian Bread Salad

I am completely in love with the concept of “bread salad”. It feels like cheating. Like you have this healthy bunch of vegetables and you just make them so much tastier by adding chunks of rustic bread that soak up all the lovely dressing. But you still feel healthy doing it because you call it a salad. I am famous for taking leftover cornbread and making a cornbread-bread salad with honey balsamic dressing. And sometimes I even throw in a few vegetables too.

Most people know about panzanella or Tuscan bread salad, which is made from crusty Italian bread mixed with tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers and basil. Delicious. But Tunisian bread salad or even Mediterranean bread salad (similar) is less well known and equally (if not slightly more…) tasty. You take beautiful seasonal vegetables – eggplant, peppers, tomatoes – and roast them off with some aromatics. Mix those in with olives, herbs, capers, fresh cheese, and chunks of stale bread and toss with a delicious, harissa dressing and you have a beautiful, alternative, light and flavorful, bread salad.

This is a fantastic way to use up old bread (or so we all tell ourselves…). But I’ve actually seen this as a roasted vegetable salad on its own, so if no bread is at hand or you want to be even healthier, you can leave it out and still have a delectable salad. Store-bought harissa is fine, but I would suggest making your own like I do in my homemade harissa recipe; it’s cheaper, fresher, and healthier without the preservatives.

I love harissa in a salad dressing, and my dressing here has honey and harissa which, by the way, is a fantastic combination – I like to just slather the two on bread as a crostini or as an hors d’oeuvre to spruce up a weeknight dinner. In any case, this salad is bright, flavorful and beautiful – great for entertaining. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Salad:

1 eggplant, cut into a medium (bite-sized) dice

1 red bell pepper, cut into a medium (bite-sized) dice

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into a medium (bite-sized) dice

8 oz mini sweet or cherry tomatoes

3 small shallots, quartered

3 or 4 whole garlic cloves

Olive oil

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup niçoise olives, pitted

A generous handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

A generous handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 day-old round loaf of bread or whatever rustic bread you have on hand, cut into medium-sized cubes*

Garnish:

Fresh cheese (feta, goat or bocconcini will do), torn or crumbled into small pieces

2 tsps capers, rinsed and drained

1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Dressing:

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp harissa**

1 ½ tbsps honey

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a bowl, toss together eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, shallots and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat. On a baking sheet, arrange vegetables in a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes until lightly browned.

For the dressing, whisk together the rice vinegar, harissa and honey in a bowl. Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil, whisking to incorporate.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer roasted vegetables to a large bowl. Add olives, herbs, and bread and toss with dressing. Garnish with cheese, capers, and hard-boiled eggs.

*If you have fresh bread, just put the cubes of bread on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 350° F until lightly browned. You just want it to be crisp enough to stand up to the salad dressing and not turn to mush.

**For harissa you can use my version here or use the store-bought kind.

North African Harissa

A friend of mine was telling me about her favorite roast chicken dish, which requires slathering a whole chicken with harissa and olive oil before roasting. Sounds absolutely lovely – spicy, a bit tart and salty, with crispy skin. She mentioned that, to make it, she picked up pre-fab harissa from the grocery store, so I investigated. It’s upwards of $8 per bottle – exorbitant, I think. It’s too easy to do at home and can be done for a fraction of the cost, so I’m giving you a delicious, homemade version.

Harissa is a hot chili paste that is a staple in North African cuisines, especially in Tunisian and Algerian foods. Just like recipes in other cultures, harissa ingredients vary from household to household and region to region – some include cumin, others tomatoes, and even rose petals. Yes, “rose” harissa – how amazing does that sound. In Tunisia, harissa is served with every meal – as a condiment, rubbed on meats, incorporated into stews, mixed in with couscous…

Tunisians use Nabeul and Gabes peppers, which are hotter but similar in flavor to readily available Anaheim and Guajillo chilies here in the States. Dried chilies have more complex flavor than fresh, so dried are typically used. This recipe is for a milder harissa because I like to use it as a salad dressing base and mixed in with mayo on sandwiches; I tend to add fresh or pickled chilies to those, so I want to control my heat. But you can make this harissa as spicy as you want – I add urfa chilies for heat and a bit of smokiness, but chipotles would also be wonderful here, as would dried, hot Indian chilies if you want it even hotter. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields ½ cup

3 New Mexican / Anaheim medium-sized dried red chilies

4 Guajillo medium-sized chilies

2 tsps crushed red pepper or Urfa Biber chilies

1 tsp caraway seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds

Pinch of saffron (optional)

1 ½ tsps ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

2 sundried tomatoes (packed in oil or rehydrated)

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Procedure

Remove seeds and ribs from the dried chilies and place in a heat-safe bowl. I like to use kitchen scissors for this – it’s easy to just split them open and brush out the seeds / pull out the ribs. Pour boiling water over chilies and let them soak 15 – 20 minutes until softened.

You can do this in either a food processor or a blender. If you are doing this in the food processor, use a spice grinder to grind the crushed red peppers or urfa chilies, caraway seeds, fennel seeds and saffron first before adding those to the food processor. If working with a blender, add those ingredients first and blend until ground before moving on to the next step – it’s like one big spice grinder.

Add ground coriander, turmeric, salt, sundried tomatoes, and garlic cloves. Remove chilies from water and wring out any excess moisture. Add to the blender or food processor. Pulse adding olive oil, a tablespoon at a time, until a thick paste is achieved and all of the chilies have been ground up. Add lemon juice to taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Transfer to a jar and cover harissa with a layer of olive oil to preserve it. Keep refrigerated. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge.

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