Supermarket Survey

by Tamara Kaye Sellman

It’s the dark days of winter that I become the most impatient with cooking. Those stews and roasts and root vegetables and bean dishes I craved back in the fall have given way to the blah that comes from a lack of green foods in the diet. By January I’m ready for spring eating: baby lettuces, asparagus, peas, and fresh herbs. Luckily, I’ve been able to find a few seasonings at the grocery store that can breathe new life into winter foods with their bright, savory flavors: achiote, yuzu and za’atar. These ingredients, typically found in the ethnic departments of grocery stores, add just enough zing and zip to day-to-day dinners to keep the table interesting and the palate satisfied until the fresh flavors of spring can officially bloom.

• Achiote.

You might find a bottle of this paste or sauce in the Hispanic section of your grocery story. Achiote refers to the seed from which a ground powder and natural food color, annatto, is derived. The flavor of annatto seed is slightly sweet and peppery with a hint of nutmeg in it. It might be compared to paprika. It’s commonly used to add flavoring and color to dishes prepared in the Mexican, South American and Jamaican culinary traditions. Achiote comes in the form of dried seeds, paste, or oil. It does have a permanent staining quality, like beets, so be careful while using it. Rarely, some people are sensitive to achiote; if you are using it for the first time, be wary of this fact.

Achiote pastes and oils can flavor a whole host of roasted meats during the dark months of winter, adding lots of zip and color. Pulled pork, shredded beef, and grilled fish are all enhanced with the addition of achiote. If you find it in a brick form, mash a little into a paste with some olive oil and cider vinegar before using. For marinades, combine it with fresh lime juice and garlic with a small amount of chopped cilantro, then apply to the meat you’d like to prepare. For cozy dishes like saffron rice, black beans, and hearty soups, just stir the paste itself right into the mixture, a little at a time, until you achieve the desired flavor. The Mexican dish, Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice) gets its nice saffrony color and flavor for achiote. Here’s an easy recipe I’d recommend using with roasted chicken.

Honey Achiote Glaze for Roasting

1 teaspoon achiote paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups honey
2 tablespoons water

Combine achiote paste with salt and honey. Thin down with water to achieve a glazing consistency. Use on any meat you’d like to slow roast (beef, ham, pork, chicken, turkey).

Makes enough to apply to any average roast serving a family of four

• Yuzu.

If you’re looking for something with a bright, acidic flavor to cut the richness and heaviness of winter foods, look no further. Yuzu is a sour citrus fruit from Japan that, while rare to find fresh and whole in the US, can be found as a bottled juice or paste, as an enhancement in rice vinegar, and as a powder at any grocery store with a good Asian food section. Often yuzu juice is most available when sold as ponzu in this section. Ponzu is a combination of wine, vinegar, bonito, seaweed and yuzu juice.

Why would you choose the flavor of yuzu? Yuzu captures a little bit of both the lemon and lime flavors and, because it has a lighter finish when compared to vinegar, yuzu adds a nice brightness to dishes. Yuzu is a frequent accompaniment salad dressings, marinades, soups, cold noodle salads, tempura and sushi. This easy side dish goes well with teriyaki meats.

Simple Japanese-style Coleslaw

2 tablespoons shredded daikon radish

Salt
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 small onion, minced

1 medium carrot, shredded

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 or more tablespoons Japanese ponzu sauce

Black sesame seeds, toasted

Place shredded daikon radish in a fine mesh colander; sprinkle with salt and set aside 15 minutes to draw out the radish’s bitter juices. Rinse and drain daikon, then combine with shredded and minced vegetables in medium bowl. Stir in mayonnaise and ponzu sauce, added ponzu a little at a time, until desired flavor is achieved. Garnish with toasted black sesame seeds.

• Za’atar seasoning.

It doesn’t happen often that I find a new seasoning mix that I really like, not when I’ve tried practically everything there is to try that can be found in the US. I came across za’atar while I was in New York a few years ago and am pleased to now find it making appearances in upscale grocery stores as well (and definitely at European grocers where Middle Eastern foods are sold). This spice blend combines some familiar flavors—thyme, oregano, salt, and sesame—with one flavor that isn’t so familiar to the American palate: sumac. Sumac is a common Middle Eastern (and North American) flowering bush which presents drupes that can be dried and ground and used as flavoring. The powder is reddish and it leaves a lemony and golden hue when used in cooking.

Traditionally, za’atar is mixed with oil and served with bread in Middle Eastern fashion. It can also be sprinkled onto bread before toasting the bread to infuse it with flavor. It’s also widely used to season meat mixtures and goes very well with roasted chicken. You can also stir it into Middle Eastern yogurt or hummus for a zippy flavor boost. I really love this flavor; it’s bright, mouthwatering, and earthy all at once.

Here’s a quick and easy traditional appetizer (even served at breakfast in the Middle East) that you might want to conjure to go with some hummus and pitas for the next social gathering.

Warm Spiced Olives

2 cups olives (avoid California black olives; go for kalamatas, the larger green olives with the pits, or even the tiny Nicoise—most any of the olives at your grocer’s olive bar will do, and you might even throw in a few peppers or garlic, if you like!)

½ cup good quality olive oil

3 tablespoons za’atar herb mix

Rinse the olives and pat them dry with a paper towel. Place them with the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the olive oil begins to simmer, cook the olives for 10 minutes. Stir in the za’atar and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve warm as an accompaniment to hummus and pita bread pieces.

Bio: Tamara Kaye Sellman is a creative writing coach and developmental editor living in Bainbridge Island, WA. She writes the blog, BuzzFood: Feed The Obsession (http://buzzfood.blogspot.com).

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