A. Saltverk salts
Chefs will tell you that
great cooking starts with
great salt. Harvested in
Iceland and infused with
the flavors of arctic
thyme, birch smoke,
licorice, and seaweed,
Saltverk salts will deliver
that mineral magic.
B. Burlap &
Barrel spices
These days it’s not uncom-
mon to hear serious gas-
tronomes swooning over
the latest fragrant batch
from Burlap & Barrel:
“Ohhh, that wild mountain
cumin from Afghanistan!
The black Urfa chiles from62 October 2019_Esquire
Build a Power
PANTRY
THESE ARE THE SECRET INGREDIENTS TO MAKE LAST-MINUTE
DISHES AND OLD STANDBYS FEEL SPECIAL- • • The food you cook for friends is only going to be as good
as the flavor you have at your fingertips. Pour out the stale
grocery-store powders that have been gathering dust at the
back of your pantry since you graduated from college and up-
grade to these first-rate spices and sauces. When the quality
is primo, even a pinch packs a punch. —J. G.
Turkey!” Their foodie effu-
sions sound excessive un-
til you get your first taste.
Once that happens, you’ll
never go back.
C. Fly by Jing
mala spice mix
Give your steak a Sichuan-
style dry rub, because
nothing says “party time”
like numbed lips.
D. Basbaas sauces
Hawa Hassan’s tamarind-
date sauce (the sweeter
one) and coconut-cilantro
chutney (the hotter one)
have a way of delighting
your guests with surprise.
With roots in Somalia, theirresistible sauces manage
to play well with every sort
of dish, even for those eat-
ers whose experience with
East African cuisine has
been heretofore limited.
E. El Naranjo
salsa macha
Salsa macha (which has
nothing to do with matcha)
is a dense, chewy smear of
chiles and peanuts that
have been cooked down to
a reddish-black paste.
This version, from the
acclaimed restaurant
El Naranjo in Austin, lends
itself to absolutely any ap-
plication, from scrambled
eggs to seafood.ABCED