One of the fun things about learning how to cook from scratch is getting to experiment with different seasonings. It’s easy once you know how. Here are 4 fast and easy recipes using common spices to get you started!
Start with a Great Recipe
If you’re new to cooking with spices, start with a reliable recipe from a cookbook or an online site. Online is great because they often include star ratings for the recipe. Pick the one with the highest rating! Also, look at the comments for the recipe. These often contain feedback from people who cook regularly and can offer helpful hints and tips about variations, whether the recipe needs more seasoning or not, and so on.
For cookbooks, you may want to avoid recipes with a lot of spices you don’t normally stock and that you would only use very rarely. For example, Indian cooking is fun, but fenugreek and asafoetida are far too pungent to be versatile for most home cooks. You’ll probably also want to avoid recipes with a lot of steps, or hours of cooking time.
Keep It Simple
Here are some quick and easy recipes that anyone can make, and make well. What I love about them is that they’re super healthy, contain “good” fat in the form of olive oil, and can really jack up the flavor in any dish. And, the Pesto, Dhal and Chimichurri could all be served as a delicious appetizer with some toasted baguette, or pita or naan triangles.
Italian Pesto Sauce
For this bright green pasta sauce and spread, it’s easiest to use a food processor. Pesto super healthy way to add a ton of flavor to a dish. When tossed on hot pasta, it makes a beautiful but light sauce. It also makes a great marinade for chicken and fish!
Start with 2 cups of fresh basil leaves. 3 cloves of garlic, peeled; 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (toasting them is best); 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; a dash each of salt and pepper. Place everything in a food processor and run on low to break everything up. Then, slowly drizzle in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil into the feed hold of your processor. Watch carefully how much you add so it doesn’t end up like soup! The consistency should be somewhat like a chutney, a bit thick yet spreadable.
Indian Dhal
Indian Dhal is delicous as a main, meatless meal or as a side dish. I love Dhal with a bit of rice blend (I love Rice Select Royal Blend) as a full meal.
Use 1 cup of dried lentils, 2 cups of water, 1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric. Over a high flame, bring the lentils and water to a full rolling boil, then add the other ingredients. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils start to soften. Add 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of black mustard seed, and 2 small chopped Roma/plum tomatoes. Cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes until it thickens a bit. Crush the lentils and tomato against the side of the pot if you want a thicker lentil curry.
Grilled Lime and Cumin Chicken Breasts
There’s just something about lime and cumin together that makes a terrific flavor combo. I use this same recipe with shrimp. Either way, you can grill, use a grill pan on your stove-top, or saute’ on the stove-top.
Marinade: Mix together 5 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of 4 fresh limes in a plastic food storage bag.
For chicken, add 1 pound of chicken breasts and close the bag. Shake and massage well to coat. Marinate the chicken for 2 hours, or all day. When you are ready to cook, mix together a dash of salt and black pepper and 1 tablespoon of cumin. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade and the plastic bag (be careful of chicken cross-contamination!). Place the chicken on your grill pan. Rub with the cumin mixture on both sides. Grill on each side for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the juices run clear when pricked with a fork.
For shrimp, marinate 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp, but only for about 15 minutes. If you marinate too long, the acid from the lime juice will start to “cook” the shrimp!remove the shrimp from the marinade and discard the marinade and plastic bag. Toss the shrimp in 2 teaspoons of cumin, then place on your grill or in your saute’ pan. Cook only until shrimp turns pink. Be careful not to overcook shrimp or it’ll be like eating rubberbands!
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is a popular Argentinian sauce that uses fresh herbs and spices. It’s terrific on steak, chicken or fish, and really brightens even the most basic of foods. I particularly love chimichurri with a grilled flank steak. It’s also great drizzled into steak tacos.
In a food processor, combine 3 cloves of garlic, peeled; 2 tablespoons red onion; 2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; dash dried coriander; dash red pepper flakes; dash salt; the juice of 1 lime; 2 tablespoons of vinegar (I prefer red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar). Pulse a few times to break down the ingredients, then slowly drizzle 1/2 cup olive oil into the feed hole of your processor. Blend until smooth and pour over the hot food, or place on the side of the plate.
Give these easy, flavor-packed recipes a try. I guarantee you’ll turn up the volume on your meals! Let me know how you like them…comment below!
