{"id":427,"date":"2009-05-11T21:42:45","date_gmt":"2009-05-11T21:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/?p=427"},"modified":"2009-05-11T21:42:45","modified_gmt":"2009-05-11T21:42:45","slug":"using-herbs-and-spices-more-on-flavor-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/using-herbs-and-spices-more-on-flavor-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Herbs and Spices:  More on Flavor Families"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This <a href=\"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/09\/using-herbs-and-spices-outside-the-comfort-zone\/\" target=\"_blank\">multiple-entry post on herbs and spices was sparked<\/a> by Julee Rosso\u2019s recipe for Beef Stew with Eggplant (Great Good Food, p. 487).\u00a0 Its unusual combination of spices ignited an entire exploration into using herbs and spices more often and more creatively.<\/p>\n<p>On the subject of creativity, an earlier post talked about \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/15\/using-herbs-and-spices-continue-the-adventure\/\" target=\"_blank\">flavor families<\/a>\u201dand how paying attention to them paves the way to more creative use of herbs and spices.\u00a0 Rosso&#8217;s stew recipe provides a good example, with its flavor family of coriander, paprika, cinnamon, allspice and cayenne pepper. It took a little courage to step out on a limb and try that unusual combo (if you\u2019re having trouble with that step, <a href=\"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/09\/using-herbs-and-spices-outside-the-comfort-zone\/\" target=\"_blank\">see the first post<\/a>), but once past that barrier the door swung wide open to some cooking fun.\u00a0 Turns out that this flavor family was fantastic.\u00a0 Now, how else could it be used?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the great thing about flavor families.\u00a0 Find one you like and you\u2019ve got an easy springboard to creative fun:\u00a0 In the case of Julee\u2019s coriander combo, after tasting it in a beef stew, it was a no-brainer to imagine how nicely it would complement a vegetarian stew with eggplant, green peppers and garbanzo beans, and then what a nice bite it would add to a peach chutney.\u00a0 I tried both variations with excellent results.\u00a0 The vegetarian stew follows.<\/p>\n<p>Give it a try, check out the coriander combo, then have some fun trying it with other things\u2014and be sure to share your ideas.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><strong>Eggplant and Garbanzo Stew with Spicy Coriander Flavors<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Serves 4-6<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2-3 cups cooked brown rice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Be sure to have some leftover brown rice or put it on to cook before starting the rest of recipe.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided<\/li>\n<li>1 large onion, diced to about \u00bd\u201d<\/li>\n<li>1 large or 2 medium green peppers, diced to about \u00bd\u201d<\/li>\n<li>1 lb. eggplant cut into roughly 3\/4\u201d cubes*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a large saut\u00e9 pan, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking.\u00a0 Add onions and green peppers and saut\u00e9 about 4-5 minutes.\u00a0 Push to sides of pan, add second Tbsp. oil, heat a minute or two, then add eggplant and saut\u00e9, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>6-8 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li>2 tsp. ground coriander<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp. paprika<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp ground cinnamon<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp. ground allspice<\/li>\n<li>3 dashes to \u00bd tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste\u00a0 [[LINK]]<\/li>\n<li>2 bay leaves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Reduce heat to medium, stir spices into vegetables and cook another 2-3 minutes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 lbs. tomatoes (about 5-6 med.) tomatoes, cut roughly in \u00be&#8221; pieces (or 1 lrg. can diced tomatoes)<\/li>\n<li>15-oz. can garbanzo beans, with juices<\/li>\n<li>Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stir tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper into onion mixture and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or so, stirring every few minutes.\u00a0 Once tomatoes have softened and eggplant is soft and tender, add:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00bd cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc cup chopped fresh mint (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cook just 1-2 minutes more, then serve over cooked brown rice\u2014basmati is especially nice.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\">Notes: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 On the Side:\u00a0 This one dish meal doesn&#8217;t need any side dishes if you&#8217;re short on time, but if you have a few extra minutes, a simple salad with winter pears and toasted cashews is a nice compliment.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0 About the Eggplant:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 lb. is roughly equivalent to 2 slender Japanese eggplants or 1 medium standard eggplant.<\/li>\n<li>Use very fresh, small to medium eggplants, since they are the youngest and tenderest.\u00a0 Larger or older eggplant can be used, but can be bitter.\u00a0 If that is all you can find at the store, follow this procedure for salting, which works to draw out the bitterness:\u00a0 Begin the recipe by cutting eggplant as directed and sprinkling generously with salt.\u00a0 Place in a nonreactive colander to drain while preparing the onions and peppers.\u00a0 Before cooking,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s the great thing about herb and spice flavor families.  Find one you like and you\u2019ve got an easy springboard to creative fun, as in this recipe for Eggplant and Garbanzo Stew with Spicy Coriander Flavors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12,14],"tags":[118,146,181,182,183,207,208,229,240,294,388,437],"class_list":["post-427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","category-herbs-spices","category-new-ingredients","tag-cilantro","tag-coriander","tag-eggplant-and-garbanzo-stew-with-spicy-coriander-flavors-recipe","tag-eggplant-recipes","tag-eggplant-selection","tag-flavor-families","tag-flavor-family","tag-fresh-herbs","tag-garbanzo-beans","tag-herbs-and-spices","tag-mint","tag-peach-chutney","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}