Herbie's spices

I have always loved to cook with as many different herbs and spices as I can, and to experiment with different flavour combinations. So you can just imagine my excitement when Emma from Black Pearl Epicure called to invite me to attend their cooking class with Ian "Herbie" Hemphill from Herbie's Spices. Of course I didn't need to think for long before saying yes!

I was even more excited when I found out the theme was Moroccan Spice and that our meal would be cooked by Glen Barratt from the wonderful Restaurant II. Every meal I have eaten there has been an absolute standout, with the most special to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary in 2008.

But back to Herbie. I really don't think he stopped talking the whole evening (barely even to eat!), as he regaled us with stories of his life and passion. Interspersed with his stories was an outpouring of information on spices. And of course a gorgeous meal. He explained to us how there are five categories of spice, and that how we use them depends on their characteristics. The categories are:

1. sweet - such as cinnamon and vanilla
2. pungent - such as cardamom, cloves and star anise
3. tangy - such as tamarind and sumac
4. amalgamating - such as coriander and fennel seed
5. hot - such as pepper, chilli and mustard.

So when people say they don't like spicy food, they generally mean they don't like hot food. Think about it. How many people do you honestly know who don't like vanilla ice cream or cinnamon scented pastries?? 

The first food we sampled was beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic. Many readers will recall George using mastic in a couple of episodes of Masterchef. What interested me is that mastic used to be eaten as a chewing gum (in the pre-Wrigley's days of course!), and that after an hour of chewing you could still determine the flavour - something that certainly wasn't possible the last time I chewed a piece of gum! This dish used the mastic infused in olive oil so we weren't chewing, chewing, chewing!

Beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic

The Zahlouk interested me as it's English translation was eggplant salad, but it was cooked. Eggplant is one of my favourite veggies and I'm always after new ways too cook it and different flavours to add too it.

Zahlouk (eggplant salad)

Another favourite of mine are legumes in all shapes and sizes. This dish, white beans with tahini, was also absolutely gorgeous. I had to restrain myself from having thirds! I'll be making this for dinner tomorrow night and I suspect I won't show the same self-control!

White beans with tahini

Berbere chicken with spiced couscous was the main course, and smelling Glen cooking it made me very glad I didn't have thirds of the beans! We were all drooling at the mouthwatering aromas coming from the stove. I had never heard of the spice mix berbere before, and a quick read of the back of the spice packet when it came to our table showed it contains sea salt, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, Ajowan, fenugreek, allspice, ginger, chilli, nutmeg and clove.

The Herbie's website has a recipe for an African Berbere paste and I'll be making this in the not too distant future to coat a few chicken pieces for the barbie {mouth waters in anticipation}.

Berbere chicken with couscous

Now I'm really not a lover of oranges. Unless they are fresh, sweet and eaten dribbling over a sink. This dessert converted me. The orange slices were spiced up with a syrup of orange and lemon juices, honey and Ras el Hanout. And it was delicious. Luckily we were given a teaspoon to help with the leftover syrup, otherwise I may have had to lick the plate! The dollop of sour cream helped cut through the potentially cloying sweetness of the syrup.

Spiced orange slices

I think the best tips Herbie gave us were:

• trust your judgement when you are balancing flavours
• smell the spices every time you use them - this will help you notice the flavour profile and gain confidence so your understanding and feeling of the spice will become more subliminal over time
• roasting or heating spices will change the flavour, giving it a greater depth - just like the flavour of bread is changed when you toast it
• don't over-roast spices as you will make them bitter
• store your spices in a dark cupboard and in an airtight container
• don't let your spices come into contact with moisture - use a DRY spoon when scooping them out of the packet and don't just wave it over a steaming pot. 

After learning all this, I realised that I need to be more adventurous, and also find some room in my very overcrowded pantry so my spices can get off the kitchen bench!

My favourite spices are cumin, chilli and fennel seed. What are yours?