I was making a jar of one of my staples — Berbere Spice — so I thought that codifying the “recipe” would be good. What is Berbere Spice? It is an Ethiopian spice mixture, a mix of sweet and savory spices. I’ve seen a number of different configurations of the spice, but the main components involve some heat (chiles, pepper cayenne) and some sweet flavors (cinnamon, clove, cardamom and nutmeg). Toss it with vegetables before roasting, use it as a dry rub on pork or poultry before grilling. You can even add it to fruit or yogurt with a touch of honey; maybe pie? [grin]
Oh, and you’ll be surprised at how “every day” the ingredients are … you might actually have a vast majority of them in the pantry. Having the whole spices and toasting/grinding them yourself is preferable, but if you just have ground (and no spice mill) just mix together the ground that you have.
Ingredients
1 5-inch cinnamon stick
12 whole cloves
5 dried red chilies, seeded, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon finely crushed dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Directions
Break the cinnamon stick into pieces so that it will fit into your spice grinder. I did this by putting it into a small ziplock bag and bashing it with my meat mallet. Tear open the dried chilies and shake out all the seeds. Discard seeds.*
In a medium dry skillet (do not add any oil!) over medium heat, toast cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice berries until fragrant, about two minutes, tossing or stirring the whole time as not to have them burn. Add the dried red chilies and toast for another 90 seconds. Finally add red peppercorns, coriander seeds, the seeds from the cardamom pods and cumin seeds and toast, tossing, until cumin begins to brown, one additional minute. Transfer spices to a small bowl and let cool completely.
Grind spices in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. Add paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger, oregano, and nutmeg and pulse until combined and no clumps remain.
This spice mixture can be made 3 months ahead; store in an airtight container. Use on meats, fish, potatoes, veggies or eggs.
*If you like the heat, you can keep a few of the chili seeds in the mix.
