FOOD & DRINK

Spice up eggplant with sesame seeds, honey

By Michele Kayal
FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Michal Haines' "The Spice Kitchen" (Interlink Books, $29.95) aims to make a spatula traveler out of any cook willing to dabble in the exotic.

Drawing inspiration from Asia, the Middle East, India, North Africa and anywhere else that spices are used with vigor, the book presents unique yet authentic recipes designed to awaken the palate.

Scrolling script and patterned page backgrounds evoke Marco Polo and the Silk Road. And the vivid recipes not only conjure the lands that inspired them, but make the familiar intriguing again.

Haines' Mid-week Falafel is rolled in sesame seeds, baked, not fried, and served with a date and lemon chutney instead of the usual tahini dressing. Chicken Livers with Szechwan Peppercorns and Pears points to richness, heat and sweetness all at once. And the book's many Spanish recipes (think Seville Duck with Oranges and Olives) suggest fishermen and tumbling bougainvillea.

The book is arranged into categories that reflect mood, eating style or time commitment, such as "Mid-week Speed" and "Luxury Sundays," and offers to sate the experienced cook's hunger for something extraordinary any day of the week, for any occasion. But the key word is "experienced."

This is not a book for beginners, and even old hands must be ready to commit. The budget-busting list of spices that Haines calls "essential" include amchur, allspice berries, cassia bark, cardamom (which comes in green and brown), kokum, juniper berries and four different types of peppercorns and paprika. The book's comprehensive glossary describes each spice and how to choose it, use it and store it, but not where to find it.

Haines also assumes a great deal of culinary knowledge. The recipe for Istanbul Street Mussels requires soaking currants and grinding fennel seeds but skips directions on removing mussels' tough beards. She asks cooks to toast and crush "two blades of mace," to cook chicken livers "to your liking," and encourages them to create spice blends by thinking "about the flavor combinations and how they might work with the other ingredients you have in mind."

All very sophisticated stuff.

That said, this marvelous book offers a user-friendly education on spices that will not only improve your culinary game show prospects but promises some very fine eating in the meantime.

Eggplant Rolls with Honey, Mint and Sesame Seeds

2 large eggplants, tops trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips

Vegetable or grapeseed oil

1 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. honey

6 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint

6 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan until brown

Juice of 1 lemon

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the eggplant strips, leaving a little space between each. Moisten each with vegetable oil, then sprinkle them with the salt. Bake for 15 minutes, or until brown and soft. Remove from the oven and cool, patting them with paper towels to remove excess oil.

Drizzle the eggplant strips with the honey, then sprinkle them with some of the mint and some of the sesame seeds. Roll up each slice and arrange on a serving plate. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the rolls, then scatter the remaining mint and sesame seeds over the top. Serves 4.

— Michal Haines, 'The Spice Kitchen'