Today's spice: Powdered Angelica
Maybe, like me, you haven't heard of angelica before. I bought this last spring for a dish I was making for Persian New Year. It's really amazing stuff. It's got a pretty intense and distinctive flavor, just a little sweet but also quite robust. Apparently it also has many medicinal uses.
I found this Eggplant with Pomegranate Dip that called for some angelica powder, and decided it looked appealing.Here's my quick review if you are in a hurry:
awesomesauce!
awesomesauce!
angelica!
roasted eggplant!
caramelized onions!
tomatoes!
pomegranate paste!
umami!
Full review in complete sentences & with fewer exclamation points:
Wow, what an interesting recipe. We both really loved it. The dish starts off with some slow-cooked onions, then adds in the angelica, some dried mint and some pomegranate paste, then some tomatoes, and then the cubes of roasted eggplant. Then, all this cooks down for another long while.
The end result is absolutely amazing. Sweet, rich, and complex. So many of these ingredients are recognized as bringing depth and umami (best word ever) to a dish, and the combination of them is fabulous. You can taste the sweet, sour pomegranate, the sweetness of the caramelized onions, the clearing of the mint, the complexity of the angelica... really a neat dish. We just had it spread on some leftover homemade naan, but I think it would be really great on some pressed panini, or even on a pizza with other veggies on top. There's plenty left over, so I'll do some lunchtime experiments!
Angelica! The only place I've ever had angelica is in gin, and I couldn't pick it out because there are a lot of herbs in good gin.
ReplyDeleteNothing could be bad with eggplant and pomegranate though... mmmm.
Never heard of it before but it sounds intriguing! How can you go wrong with eggplant dip...?
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard of Angelica was during my vacation in Iceland last month. And it was in tea.
ReplyDeleteBut now, after this, I have GOT to find it here. No clue where it will be, though...
Because this dip looks amazing!
I've never heard of Angelica. I might have to try to find it now.
ReplyDeleteEggplant!
ReplyDeletePomegranate!
OMG!
Need to eat that now!
I need to find some angelica so I can try this recipe - it looks and sounds so good! I am loving your spice series for MOFO.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Angelia but now I want to track some down and make this delicious dip, anything with caramelised onions has to be awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds so interesting! I, too, have never heard of it but I will be on the lookout. Persian food is so unique. I don't eat enough of it. I am really enjoying your theme by the way!
ReplyDeleteDo want! I have to go hunt this down now.
ReplyDeletei love the name - it's so pretty! your roasted eggplant dip looks ever-so lovely!
ReplyDeleteoh yeah - i wanted to let ya know...dan and i made your white bean & basil spread a few days ago. it was amazing! so basil-y and so super delicious! it's good on everything, especially xgfx bagels 'n bean balls. mmmmm!
I simply adore your spices theme as it's so fun to go through your blog and learn about a new spice each post.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of angelica before and, because of you, I now have. What did we do before the internet?!