Filé Powder

I am headed to New Orleans this weekend to do some serious Creole cooking, so I thought it would be appropriate to end this week with an ingredient that is key to NOLA cuisine – filé powder. This spice is made from the dried, young leaves of the American sassafras tree (NOT the root bark, where root beer flavor comes from).

Filé powder is a key ingredient in that most beloved of dishes, gumbo. The flavor is distinctive and to me tastes earthy or green. Some describe it as a combo between thyme and savory, but I find it really hard to pin down.

There seems to be an argument out there – when to include the spice, when not. Gumbo has long been a debatable food, with each cook having his or her own secrets. Many believe that when okra is included, filé shouldn’t. And vice versa. Both actually go beyond adding flavor to thicken gumbo and give it that signature texture.

A few things about filé powder…(1) It should be added to gumbo at the end and not to the entire pot! If filé is boiled, it becomes super stringy, so just stir it in off the heat or to individual bowls. (2) Filé loses flavor when stored for long periods of time, so buy in small quantities…

Mahlab

A few weeks ago, I made some yummy cherry clafoutis. The tradition is to leave the cherries whole in the dish, pits and all, because the pits impart this amazing, complex, nutty, almond flavor (though a complete annoyance to eat!). I used a bit of almond extract in my recipe to bring some of that flavor into play, but, if I had thought about it a bit more, I would have ground up mahlab and added it to the batter.

These adorable little guys are found within the pit of a certain wild black cherry that’s indigenous to parts of Europe and the Middle East. The kernels are dried and usually ground to a powder before being used in cooking. The flavor definitely has notes from the cherry as well as a bitter almond flavor. It’s not unlike marzipan with a touch of aftertaste and certainly has a floral quality to it.

Mahlab is more often used in baking than anything else – Greek, Armenian, Lebanese pastries all include ground mahlab (also called mahleb, mahlepi, mahalab). In Egypt, it’s used as part of a sweet dip for bread that includes honey, sesame seeds, and olive oil. Once cherry season hits, I will be baking up a storm with this stuff – I envision cherry and sweet cheese tarts with hints of this spice. I also think it would be incredible in ice cream or a luscious panna cotta.

Mahlab does not have a long shelf life and keeps better in its whole form. I like to buy the seeds and just grind a bit when I need some. Like mace, nutmeg or even cayenne, a little goes a long way, so use conservatively. It takes a bit of time for your palate and hand to become balanced with this one, so remember to taste constantly when adding.

Kewra (Pandan or Screw Pine Essence)

How do I even begin to describe this incredible extract? Heady. Floral. More of a scent than a flavor, disarming even…For me, the scent of kewra is indelible, reminding me of growing up, time spent with family and the amazing treat of drinking water or milk sweetened with rooh afza, a syrup infused with screw pine essence and rose. It brings a smile to my face, the pure definition of a taste memory.

Essences that are used in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking like orange blossom water or even rose flavoring are becoming more and more accessible, but this unique extract has yet to make the jump. Screw pine essence is also called kewra extract (a slightly milder version) or pandan extract and is distilled from the pandanus flowers. It’s used in Asian cooking in both sweet and savoury applications – drizzled over biryani, part of South Asian sweets, in Thai kaya (a coconut jam) or sweet rice.

Literally, a few drops over plain jasmine or basmati rice…it can transport a meal! It adds complexity and, again, it’s more of a scent, so it doesn’t interfere with all of the other spices. I LOVE it in desserts. It’s wonderful with cream or milk-based ones, but it’s also beautiful with fruit; I’ve been working on a lovely granita recipe as of late with seasonal rhubarb and kewra.

I advise looking for kewra or the transparent /light yellow liquid version of screw pine extract. It also comes in a green paste form, which I find to be a bit overpowering and which also colors your food green. You can pick screw pine up at most Asian grocers.

Heavenly Jaggery

This ingredient is like a secret weapon – it adds sweetness (but not too much), caramelized overtones and even a bit of nuttiness in my opinion. If you have never tasted jaggery, or gur in Hindi, it’s addictively delicious, and for the seasoned cook, will readily become a substitute for sugar in desserts or even for adding measured sweetness to savoury dishes.

Jaggery is unrefined, naturally processed sugar cane, date palm or even coconut palm sap. The sap is boiled down and formed into blocks, and the color varies from golden to a deeper brown. With less processing comes less depletion of vitamins and minerals, and jaggery is even used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat a host of health issues.

When I was in Goa, jaggery was used, not only because of its incredible taste, but because it’s much cheaper than refined sugar. A form of this unrefined, economical sugar is found in cuisines around the world from South Asian to East Asian to West Indian and Latin American. Chancaca, piloncillo, and rapadura are common Latin American names for it, where it is found in a similar block form, but I’ve even seen it here in Dean and Deluca broken up and labeled palm sugar.

What I love about jaggery is really its truly unique flavor – some crazy combination of molasses, brown sugar and butterscotch…but just not that sweet. It also has a low melting and high burning temperature, so it works well in everything from sauces to dry rubs. Its block form requires chopping it up or, better, crushing it with your fingers to use it (part of the joy of cooking…).

Online purveyors carry it and even Amazon, but you can find it at most ethnic grocers under one of the numerous names it goes by. As I mentioned, it varies in color – go for the darker version for the most complex and rich taste.

Tunisian Tabil

Quatre épices, berbere, dukkah, baharat, paanch phoron, ras el hanout, Chinese five spice, evencurry…distilling a host of spices into a mix that’s easy to use and embodies the true flavors of a cuisine. Tunisia’s version is called tabil, a word that loosely refers to “seasoning” in Arabic but has now come to mean this coriander-heavy spice blend.

Tabil includes a fragrant blend of (at its most) coriander, caraway, anise, fennel, garlic, red pepper, black pepper, cumin, clove and turmeric, and (oftentimes) some subjective subset of those spices. To mimic the Tunisian sun, homemade versions rely on dry roasting the spices before combining. The blend is used in stews, to flavor meat, poultry, stuffings, soups and vegetables and, besides harissa, is a foundational ingredient in Tunisian cooking.

The first time I tasted tabil, I went straight to the kitchen and made pork meatballs heavily seasoned with it. Amazing. The licorice-y fennel and anise bring out all that’s best in the pork. I also love it with winter or summer squash, sweet root veggies, and to enhance your basic oven-roasted potatoes. On the lighter end, a beautiful mixed green salad with toasted pistachios or pinenuts and citrus work beautifully with a salad dressing using tabil as the base.

There are so many imaginative ways to work in this spice, and although you can grind it to powder form, I’m a fan of leaving it a bit coarsely ground. I love when a red pepper flake or bit of caraway lingers a touch longer after a bite.

Amarena Cherries

Last Sunday, I was perusing Brooklyn Larder (an amazing store in Park Slope focused on cheese, handmade prepared food, and specialty grocery) with friends when I came across these Amarena cherries. I happened to read about them just the week before, so I was giddy that fate intervened and there they were right before me. The thrill of food discovery on a random afternoon at my fingertips, I nabbed a bottle, cracked it open in the store (after paying of course…) and plastic spooned a few of them into my mouth. HEAVEN.

Amarena cherries are small, dark, sour cherries from the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. They are preserved in a tart, sugar syrup, and this particular brand includes ingredients like clove, cinnamon, lemon peel and sweet almond oil, a truly spectacular combination. There is another brand that is a bit more popular, Fabbri, with a nearly hundred-year-old tradition, a cool porcelain bottle and (of course!) a secret syrup recipe…

In my opinion, these cherries are everything a cherry should be – sweet, a bit tart, soft but still toothsome, with a robust cherry flavor. My mind has been racing with ways to use these in cooking; I feel like I have to really highlight their taste, so look out for recipes in the coming weeks. Otherwise, these make an incredible topping for ice cream or panna cotta. I envision them in a simple champagne cocktail or spooned over a sponge cake with whipped cream for a cherry shortcake of sorts. It’s completely legal as a breakfast food, so I can only imagine how incredible these would be on top of hot, cinnamon waffles.

Unfortunately, these luscious cherries are not cheap because they are imported from Italy and a high quality product. BUT they are completely splurge-worthy! and I’m sure they go a long way if you are not opening up the fridge, cracking off the top and spoon feeding yourself at intervals like I am…

Verjus

Although this ingredient has been used in restaurants for years, it hasn’t somehow caught on for homecooking, which is a pity. Verjus literally translates to “green juice” and is the pressed juice of unripened grapes (red, white or a mix). It is often a biproduct of the wine-making process, made from the higher acid grapes that winemakers remove from the vines before the ripening process.

Unlike wine, however, the grapes are not fermented and so aren’t alcoholic. Verjus became popular in the Middle Ages in Europe and can be found in many a French sauce. However, verjus or verjuice has long been used in the Middle East, namely Syria and Lebanon where it is calledhusroum and in Iran where it’s known as abghooreh.

The flavor of verjus is acidic, but gentle, and a bit sweet. It’s somewhere on the scale between wine and vinegar with white having a slightly sharper character and red one more earthy and round. A good rule of thumb is that you can basically use it anywhere that calls for lemon juice. It is great in salad dressings when you don’t want that over-the-top-mouth-puckering vinegar flavor. It’s also delicious to poach fruit, and I love it for marinades, to deglaze a pan, or add a little complexity to a sauce, particularly sauces that have a sweeter edge to them like barbeque.

You can find verjus at most gourmet stores these days. Once opened, a bottle will keep in the fridge for about 2 months or so.

Yuzu Kosho

I am on a citrus kick these days with it being in season. I talked a little bit about lovely Southeast Asian kaffir limes last week. This week it’s all about a Japanese citrus, yuzu. Yuzu is one of those crossover fruits that has popped up on menus and cocktail lists all over (the juice is such a great add to drinks…). It’s flavor is so distinctive – some notes of lime, grapefruit and mandarin, a Meyer lemon-like sweetness, acidity, and, at the same time, it has a signature, aromatic, floral muskiness that I personally find irresistible.

The rind of the yuzu is actually equally prized as the juice in Japanese cookery, and that brings me to this delicious condiment. Yuzu kosho is a coarse paste made from ground yuzu rind, chilies, and salt. It’s a specialty of a region in Southern Japan called Kyushu, and I’ve recently seen it pop up on non-Japanese restaurant menus around the city. It made me think a bit deeper about how to use this stuff in non-traditional ways.

There are two types: red and green. The red version is milder and sweeter, a combination of ripe yuzu and red chilies. The green version has more of a bite as it’s made from the unripe fruit and green chilies. Both are spicy, salty, sour and piquant. It’s the perfect ingredient for vinaigrette and sauces. It’s lovely in fish, chicken, and beef marinades – I like to add a sweet element like sugar or soy for the beef. Perfect for grilling. I also love that it gives such body to a brothy soup, and, lately, I’ve been dreaming about its kick in a creamy, sweet potato mash…

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