Pepper
Cumin
gf make our• cover recipe
Cardamom
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
recipes GOOD FOOD TEAM photographs LIAM DESBOIS
Let’s set things straight here: salt is for seasoning, and pepper is a spice. Pepper universally works to bring mild heat to a dish – it has its own fragrance and flavour profile, and can be the star of a recipe. Black peppercorns are the young green berries of the pepper plant, which have been fermented and dried to intensify their flavour and extend shelf life. Though black pepper can be bought crushed or ground, like with all spices, it’s more aromatic to grind it fresh using a peppermill, or roughly crush using a pestle and mortar when needed. Black pepper comes alive when toasted, so if you’re making a dish like cacio e pepe, toast the pepper in the pan with the butter or olive oil rather than adding at the end.
Cumin seeds and powder are extensively used in Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern and North African cooking. They add a warm, earthy flavour to dishes and are a crucial component of spice blends like curry powder, ras el hanout and garam masala. Cumin is native to the eastern Mediterranean region and has been cultivated for thousands of years. Cumin also has several health benefits: it’s rich in antioxidants and possesses anti-inflammatory properties. It is said to aid digestion and relieve respiratory ailments.
Cardamom has a lovely flavour – it’s lightly citrussy, so it pairs perfectly with the zingy lime in this meatball dish. It’s often called the ‘queen of spices’, and is used in Sri Lanka and Scandinavia. It comes in black and green varieties, with black cardamom being smoke-dried after it is harvested. If you don’t think you’ll get through a jar of ground cardamom quickly, it’s worth purchasing the pods, as the flavour of ground cardamom can diminish quite quickly and its strength varies from brand to brand. Cardamom pods, when stored in a dark place in an airtight container, will keep their strength for around a year.
This seed can be ground or grated to use in cooking, and has a warming, nutty, slightly sweet flavour. From the nutmeg tree, the seed is found encased in mace (another spice) inside the nutmeg fruit, which is also edible. Due to its chemical makeup, nutmeg loses its aroma and flavour soon after being grated, so, if possible, always use whole nutmeg and grate it fresh. Though commonly used in rice pudding, it also goes well in dishes containing spinach and pumpkin.
Gentle, warming cinnamon is popular in many different cuisines across the world, in both sweet and savoury dishes. This beloved spice was even once traded as currency. Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree, and is dried in the sun, during which time it curls into the rolls we know as cinnamon sticks. Use them to slowly infuse flavour into curries, drinks and sauces. (They last for up to two years in an airtight container.) Ground cinnamon is best used in bakes and pastes, but use sparingly, as it can be quite potent in flavour. It loses strength the longer it’s kept, so the flavour may lessen after six months.
Black pepper chicken & lemon yogurt
We tend to think of pepper as seasoning rather than a spice, but this recipe proves just how much heat and flavour it can bring to a dish when you make it the star of the show. Here, we’ve spatchcocked the chicken for quick cooking and to give the marinade maximum coverage, but it can also be used on a standard whole chicken or budget-friendly chicken pieces.
SERVES 4
PREP 30 mins plus 1 hr marinating
COOK 45 mins EASY
1 tbsp black peppercorns
5 garlic cloves, grated, plus
1 whole garlic bulb
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 lemons,
1 juiced, plus extra wedges to serve
1.5g whole chicken, spatchcocked (see tip, right)