A few of my favourite things

One of the many and various food magazines that find their way into this house recently had an article where a selection of chefs and foodie people listed their favourite ingredient. That one thing they use regularly to turn a simple dish into something special. Some of them were quite straight forward, for example Jack Monroe listed sage and onion stuffing. Whereas some of them were much more left field, Monica Galetti picked charcoal and Alison Roman went for a Japanese fermented chilli paste called Yuzo Kosho.

The article got me to thinking about what some of my favourite ingredients are

Fennel Seeds

These are definitely my go to on the herb rack. A delicate hint of aniseed that I find works in both savoury and sweet dishes. I always add them when making a tomato sauce for pasta, but they are equally at home in any apple or fruit based cake. One of my favourite cake recipes is an apple loaf with flecks of chocolate and lemon that has half a tea spoon of fennel seeds added to the batter. If you do use fennel seeds I recommend lightly toasting them and then grinding in a pestle and mortar. It enhances the flavour and the scent released when you grind them is wonderful.

Spelt Flour

When I first started baking I just had plain and self raising in the pantry. Over time the flour shelf has expanded so that now there are regularly at least ten different packets to choose from. Of the new discoveries its Spelt that I use most and would recommend anyone to try. Spelt is a very old grain, apparently it’s use can be traced back to the middle ages. I like it because of the slightly sweet, slightly nutty taste that it brings to baking. Most bread recipes for Spelt mix it with at least one other flour type, but I make an 100% Spelt loaf that is probably the favourite bread in this house.

Dried Ancho Chillies

As a chilli lover who lives in a house where the others aren’t quite so keen there has long been a battle about how I introduce some heat and warmth into cooking. Dried Ancho Chillies seem to be the answer. Ancho are one of the milder chillies but they more than make up for that with their sweetness and depth of flavour. Breaking up one of the dried husks and putting it into casseroles or sauces right from the start of cooking means that they will flavour the dish and be fully rehydrated by the time you serve. If you want that extra bit of heat make sure that you leave the seeds in.

Dark Muscovado Sugar

I’ve been using this sugar more since I discovered Natural Baking by Carolin Strothe, one of my favourite cookbooks of the last 12 months. In all of Carolin’s recipes she uses Muscovado rather than Caster sugar. This is partly due to the fact that it is less processed but also for the caramel and treacle flavours in brings to cakes. It really is like as secret ingredient and well worth trying.

As with all lists like this nothing is set in stone and I’m sure I’ll revisit it with other recommendations. Maybe by then I’ll have managed to track down some Yuzo Kosho.

If you’ve got a favourite ingredient I’d love to hear about it.