Ancient Grains for Modern Meals - Maria Speck [53]
It didn’t take long for the countless spices of the Indian subcontinent to invade my kitchen in Germany. Many were not easy to find at the time. My spice obsession evolved parallel to my almost fanatical interest in whole grains. Soon, the many Indian spices I used in my experimental cooking ended up in my whole grain cooking as well. I started adding whole cinnamon bark and cloves to the cooking water of wheat berries, infusing them with an ever-so-slight hint of sweetness. I added a few black, white, and red peppercorns to spruce up millet for dinner. And to this day, just like in India, my brown rice is simmered with a few whole cumin seeds, cardamom pods, and cloves. All this was long before I owned a masala dabba to store them in.
Whole spices soon also made it into my freshly ground flour. I started to add them with whole grains to the funnel of my grain mill. Whole coriander, caraway, and fennel seeds are a must when I bake true German whole grain bread. A few cardamom seeds spice up pie crust dough; a dash of anise adds a spell to the white whole wheat I grind for biscotti. And chiles—so prevalent in Asian cooking, despite their roots in the Americas—have permeated almost every meal I cook, be it German, Indian, or Mediterranean.
My two spice boxes have made this obsession easier to manage. Mostly I use them to organize Indian spices, watching carefully that they are compatible. Once, in my excitement, I added ground ginger and ground cinnamon to my dabba. Soon both spices tasted like the ground cumin also stored in the box. Lesson learned. Since then, I have mostly filled my masala box with whole seeds and spices. Grinding them fresh, with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder, beats store-bought spice powder anyway. So if you have always dreamed of cleaning up your spice cupboard, think of adding at least one of these magic boxes to your kitchen.
Warm Pasta Salad with Spinach and Fresh Mint
For this simple rustic pasta salad I use whole bunches of spinach, and really fresh ones at that, not prewashed leaves in a bag or frozen spinach. For olive oil, reach for the best quality you have on hand to let the few ingredients shine. SERVES 4 TO 6
1 bunch fresh spinach with stems (about ¾ pound; see sidebar)
½ pound short-cut whole wheat or whole grain pasta such as penne
½ small red onion, cut into ¼-inch dice (about ½ cup)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for the pasta water
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pitted, chopped oil-cured black olives (about 15)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook, in two batches if necessary, until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and transfer to a sieve to drain. Return the water to a rolling boil, salt to taste, and add the pasta. Return to a boil. Cook, uncovered and stirring a few times, until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and briefly rinse under cold water.
2 While the pasta is cooking, combine the onion, garlic, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper for the dressing in a small bowl and set aside (this will take the sting from the onion).
3 When the spinach is cool enough to handle, coarsely chop the leaves and stems (you should have about 2 scant cups). Place the spinach, olives, and ¼ cup of the mint in a large serving bowl. Add the drained pasta.
4 To finish, slowly pour the olive oil into the center of the bowl with the dressing while beating vigorously with a fork to emulsify (don’t let the onion bother you). Drizzle the dressing over the pasta salad and toss to combine. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons mint and serve warm or at room temperature.