Three spice blends to always have on hand

I love to cook, but since having kiddos I don’t have as much time to make complicated – albeit tasty – dinners. I started keeping these three spice blends on hand at all times, because I can add them to anything and it turns it into something a little more special. (My kids like a little spice, probably because I’ve been putting things like curry and cumin in their food since they were old enough to try solids). I can’t take credit for any of these recipes, but I am immensely grateful to the people who created them for jazzing up my spice cabinet!

Ubiquitous spice

The credit for this blend goes to my stepfather, who has traveled the entire world and brought back incredible stories, experience, and yes – recipes. He calls this an American garam masala, and it was inspired by his food adventures in India decades ago. It’s so tasty that Wild Oats, the store where my mom works (and I worked growing up) has been making and selling it for over 20 years.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons garlic salt

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons white pepper

I use it on salmon, chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber-tomato salad, deviled eggs… I haven’t yet found something it doesn’t go well with.

Cuban sazón

When we traveled to Cuba pre-kids, my goal was to learn about traditional Cuban cooking. That didn’t really happen until we got all the way east to Baracoa, where I worked alongside a girl in the kitchen of one of the best restaurants in the small port city. They made a spice blend that they would mix with coconut milk for an incredibly delicious fish dish. You can buy pre-mixed sazón in stores in the US, but most of the ones I’ve seen have MSG and so I would prefer to make my own.

 Ingredients:

4 tablespoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground achiote (you can find it in the latin section of supermarkets) or if you can’t find it, ground turmeric

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 ½ tablespoons salt 

If you google sazón recipes, many call for oregano and paprika. The kitchen in Baracoa didn’t use these but feel free to add them if you’d like – it’s your spice blend! This goes well with just about anything – beef, chicken, fish, in guacamole, sprinkled in quesadillas, with sautéed veggies – super versatile.

North African tagine blend (from Daniel Boulud)

I stumbled on this years ago in a chicken tagine recipe, and it’s been a staple ever since. It’s rich, taste, and has a very different flavor profile than the other two spice blends.  The cinnamon and ginger give it almost a sweet flavor, but it’s contrasted by the allspice and garlic.

Ingredients:

3 ½ tablespoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ginger powder

½ tablespoon ground cardamom

2 ½ teaspoons ground allspice

I don’t think it goes as well with green veggies as the other two spice blends, but I use this on chicken, chickpeas, cauliflower… anything that has a mild (and not bitter) flavor, this can bump it up a notch. This blend doesn’t call for salt whereas the other two do, so just keep that in mind when you’re seasoning!