The Science of Spice

Europe 77

The food of these eastern Mediterranean and former

communist states is far from spice heavy, and Greek

food in particular tends to favour herbal flavouring.

That said, Hungarian paprika (introduced by the Turks

in the 17th century), and Georgian blue fenugreek

represent two of Europe’s most distinctive flavours.

Chillies appear often in Balkan cooking, but rarely for

heat; what warmth there is tends to come from black

pepper. Caraway is often paired with cabbage in

Hungary and occasionally with fish in the Balkans,

and cinnamon is popular in Romania. The food of

Cyprus is often laced with coriander seeds and,

unusually, pine-like mastic.

LOCAL SPICE BLEND

Khmeli-suneli

Universally popular in Georgia, khmeli-suneli

is used as a meat rub or in hearty stews,

although it is highly palatable sprinkled

on almost anything.

Signature

Blue fenugreek, black pepper,

paprika

Blue fenugreek, almost

exclusively used in Georgian

cuisine, tastes a little like

hay and burnt sugar. Both

seeds and pods are ground

to a powder.

Supporting

Cinnamon, caraway, fennel, chilli

As well as providing the

warm spice notes of Greek

moussaka, cinnamon features

heavily in Romanian cookery,

which is otherwise spice light.

Caraway is sometimes added

to the Greek orange-flavoured

loukaniko sausage.

Supplementary

Dill, carob, vanilla, mastic

Dill seeds are often paired

with fish in Eastern Europe.

Carob is popular as an

alternative to chocolate,

and is used in Greek carob

cake; Hungarian creams

and cakes are often infused

with vanilla.

bl

ue

(^) fen
ugreek
Peverino is a
peppery biscuit from
Venice dating from
the city’s heyday as
the European centre
of the spice trade.
pa
prik
a
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves
1 tbsp blue
fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp blue fenugreek seeds
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp dried marigold
2 tbsp dried savory
2 tbsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp dried hyssop
Grind the whole spices and combine
with the rest of the ingredients.
SPICE
PALETTE
SOUTHEAST EUROPE
Unusual | Earthy | Generous
076-077_Italy_Eastern_Europe.indd 77 04/06/2018 15:47