Spices and Seasoning

The most basic of ingredients can be made to taste more interesting with the careful and measured addition of spices and seasoning. Although they are often over-looked in terms of student cooking, as they are rather an expensive investment, I believe they are vital for success in frugal cookery.

In Brighton there is a beautiful spice shop called; ‘The Spice Shop’, It smells incredible - like a bend of every exotic culture. The shelves are lined form floor to ceiling with little yellow and red tins filled with every kind of herb and spice you can think of. I found this lovely little shop, which I believe originated in London on Portobello Road, in my first week at uni. So, before I even owned salt and pepper, I brought a small tin of their ‘Herbed Pepper’ and have used it almost every day for the five weeks I’ve been here.

I use it with everything from tomato sauces, to a chicken coating, to enhancing some cheese on toast. Obviously not everyone is as lucky to have access to such a wonderful shop, but it is so easy to create your own multi-purpose spice. My little tin has a blend of dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, chives and peppercorns. Create and adjust your own for uni with a little help from your mum’s spice rack..

A little step up from the herbed pepper is a wonderful thing called dukkah. It’s an Egyptian spice used in many middle-eastern recipes but I sprinkle it on everything. Again, you may need a little help from the your family's kitchen back home, as most students’ spice racks tend not to be the most bountiful store of ingredients - especially not in your first year. However, perhaps you and a few friends all have a little something to offer and you could get together, mix what you’ve got, and share out the result.

You can literally use anything for this recipe; any nut, seed or spice you can get your hands on. This is mine at the moment: (but use it just a as a guide, elaborate on and embellish it freely)

Dukkah

5tsp - Cumin seeds
5tsp - Sesame seeds
3tsp - Caraway seeds
3tsp - Mustard seeds
50g - Flaked almonds
50g - Pistachios
25g - Cashews
25g - Dry-roasted peanuts
25g - Whole peppercorns
Sea-salt - to taste

1. Firstly, toast all the seeds in a dry frying-pan. You need to do this for about 3-5 mins, just until you can start to smell the spices’ aroma rising from the pan. I took mine off the heat just as the mustard seeds started popping.
2. Remove all the spices from the pan, (don’t leave one or two seeds in there to burn and make your whole dukkah mix taste bitter) then toast the nuts and peppercorns in batches so that the pan always has one, even layer.
3. Whiz everything together in a blender or crush it all in a pestle and mortar if you can be bothered. When the mix has been crushed to your desired consistency, lick a finger, dip it in, have a taste and check for seasoning! 
4. Add some sea-salt and more of anything else you fancy.
5. Store in an air-tight tin, jar or small tupperware and it’ll keep for a good few months in your cupboard.

 *Dukkah is lovely sprinkled over salads, with bread and olive oil, to coat fish and chicken, with eggs of any kind or to add interest to any simply boiled or steamed vegetable. Here it is in my current favourite form; with poached eggs and fried tomatoes on hot, buttered toast.