Ras El Hanout - Fragrant & Exotic - chefshop.com/enews
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Fragrant and exotic
Ras el Hanout
Is the iconic Moroccan spice blend that brings complexity, depth, and beguiling flavor to your cooking.
In Moroccan, Ras el Hanout means “head of the shop.” (It’s actually pronounced “Ras ha’-newt,’” without the “el.”) Traditionally, the mix is a mélange of the best spices a merchant has to offer. And since Ras is a gentle, slightly sweet blend, it doesn’t contain edgier, more aggressive flavors like cayenne or cumin.
In Morocco, you never get exactly the same mixture twice. In the States, we also find many variations of Ras el Hanout, but far from top-of-the-line ingredients, these mixes tend to be bottom of the barrel. So when Mehdi—a native Moroccan, who now calls Seattle home—came to us and said he was bringing the flavor of Ras el Hanout from Morocco, we were thrilled! It’s taken him nearly two years to find the best purveyors and perfect his recipe (you’d think he’d traveled the original Spice Road in that amount of time), but it’s been well worth it!
To create the ultimate Ras el Hanout mixture, Mehdi went to his source: his mother, Fouzia. Together the two created the perfect combo: a mixture of familiar Moroccan spices, like grains of paradise,saffron, rose buds, and orris root.
Mehdi sources each individual ingredient (and there are 12) himself, visiting farms and suppliers to be sure he has the best quality spices that he can find (from around the world.) Even in Morocco, many of the merchants sell Indian and Chinese spices!
The secret is to begin with whole spices, lightly toasted to deepen their flavor and aroma. These spices are then passed through a secret, special burr grinder to ensure that they end up identically sized. If you run your fingers through it, it feels soft and granular, like a slightly grainy, fibrous powder. This method creates a feel much closer to hand ground.
Mehdi grinds his spices on demand, usually twice a week for his Chefs, and for us he will grind-to-order, so you can be certain your order is just-ground and always at its peak intensity and flavor.
Use Ras el Hanout in traditional Moroccan dishes like tagines and stews. Or introduce a Moroccan Nights exoticism to your cooking by incorporating Ras el Hanout into rich fall squash soups, braised lamb dishes, dusted on top of sugar cookies, and even brewed into coffee.
You can’t go wrong with this one! Delicate to the nose, it is not like the others!
Shop now for Ras el Hanout!
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Dark Muscovado
The "brown" sugar that has flavor with personality!
From the beginning of time (at least our's) this Dark Muscovado Sugar from India Tree has been an essential pantry item for us.
It has a flavor, a richness, that is not just a sweetener but acts like an ingredient. Add where you would brown sugar, like cookies and cakes. When you add it to oatmeal or to your pecan pie, it will change your world. Perhaps the best "secret" is to use Dark Muscovado Sugar in your marinade. Something about this sugar makes it eak into the pores (maybe) and really flavorize!
We were once told that in the process of "spinning" the sugar, the lighter sugar (to become white) rises to the top, while the darker sugar like Turbinado or Light Muscovado fall. Dark Muscovado is at the bottom, but at the top of the chain in sugar rich with flavor. (Like molasses but better, closer to a maple syrup)
Spice it up and Shop now for Dark Muscovado Sugar!
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Merwanjee Poonjiajee & Sons Private LTD
Established 1876
The Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder tin encases a recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation, maintaining the quality that the two founders, Merwanjee and Poonjiajee, created 136 years ago.
Madras Curry is like many spice mixtures, there are many variations of the ingredients and proportions. Madras, (or Madrasapattinam) India, now called Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, India, is on the Coromandel Coast and the second largest port in India. Sun Brand Madras Curry was one of the first curries to be exported.
We carry this brand because we have many curry lovers who tell us it is the best that you can find out there. You, of course, can make your own ... but we like the very fine powder and the ease of having it in our Essential Pantry. The tin is old school too and worth having always at hand.
Shop now for the flavor profile of good curry.
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Fabulous!
Gorgeous sardines! Carefully made, hand cleaned, one by one, they are then fried in olive oil.
Spelt!
The genetics of Lentz' Spelt (Triticum spelta) and Lentz Emmer Farro (Triticum dicoccum) were vital to agriculture long before wheat. Today these two ancestral hulled-grain varieties rank as superb, not only nutritionally, but also as gourmet alternatives to commodity wheat.
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| Cooking Class! |
Cooking Classes with Chef Erin - Spanish Table Cooking Class
It may be cold outside but there are plenty of culinary delights to celebrate in the warmth of the Spanish kitchen. Join Chef Erin for this delicious tour of the Spanish winter table. Dishes include: Piquillo Pepper and Walnut Salad, Spanish-style Sautéed Vegetables, hearty Chickpea Stew with Spanish-style Chorizo, Orange and Endive Salad, and Chocolate Cakes with a Chocolate Paprika Sauce.
Everyday is a friendly day at the shop. Stop in a have a cup of Italian roasted coffee.
New Stuff!
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DESIGN: JODI LUBY & COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK CITY, NY; EMAIL STRATEGY: CRM Group USA, SEATTLE, WA
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