SHARING THE LOVE AND PASSION FOR SPICES
Most people tend to associate spices with heat rather than flavour and aroma. Spices consist of oil, which is flavour enhancer and some spices do not go well with everything but if you stick to the basic four: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns they will blend well with most foods. In most homes, you always find the common black peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom and vanilla. To become masterful in your cooking with various combinations, keep whole cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and good dry red chillies. Whenever you do cooking with spices in your home, be adventurous and try foreign spices and create your own blends. You do not want to overdo it so for starters you can start by two, then three or more when you familiar with the spices because the idea is to maintain that special flavour. In my kitchen, often I use them random and I tell you the results are amazing and my favourite spice blend is cloves and cardamom.
CHICKEN SALAD WITH YOGHURT DRESSING
6 boneless chicken breast
Olive oil for brushing
Salt
Ground black pepper
300g watercress
500g artichoke hearts 2
0g packet chives 1
00g walnuts
120g leaf parsley
120g mint leaves
Two red onions
Two long red chillies
300g feta cheese
FOR THE YOGHURT DRESSING
300g plain yoghurt
One garlic clove
One teaspoon dried mint
Grated rind of 2 lemons and juice Four tablespoon oil
METHOD
Preheat a frying pan or griddle over high heat. Place the chicken breasts between two layers and flatten them out to an even thickness by pounding them with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Start pounding from the center of each breast and work outwards towards the edges. Brush each flattened chicken breast with olive oil and season on both sides with salt and black pepper. Griddle the chicken beast for approximately 6 minutes [depending on the thickness of the breast] on each side until they are cooked through. Remove the chicken breast from the heat and allow to rest. To make the dressing, combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl with salt and black pepper to taste and stir well until they are evenly blended Put watercress in a large mixing bowl along with artichoke halves, walnuts, herbs, onions, chillies and just a little sea salt and black pepper. Break the feta cheese roughly and mix all the ingredients together well. Slice the chicken breast thinly, almost shredding them, add to the salad and toss lightly until mixed through. Drizzle the dressing all over salad before serving. HINTS AND TIPS Create your own mixture of yoghurt dressings for variety and special light flavors. You do not have to have a million ingredients; sometimes you just need a handful of spices and a few helpful hints on what to do with them. ****If you want to know more about my spice blends in the market, or send me feedback, inbox my Facebook page Food Radio.
