The Spice Shop

Cascabel, 35g
Unit price: £4.99 (approx. €5.59)
Shipping Weight: 35g

Also called little rattle, this round, brownish chilli on the heat scale of 4-5/10 has a smoky flavour and nutty taste after toasting.

Chilli con Carne mix

Brown onions and minced beef in oil, add water, soaked beans, and spice (1 teaspoon per person - make sure some bay leaves make it into the pot), chopped tomatoes, and cook until done. Make a huge pot to last you a week, as it gets better with time. I normally add some chillies as well.

Hungarian Goulasch mix

Brown onions and diced beef in lard, add water and spice (1 teaspoon per person) and cook until meat is done. I normally cook a pot to last me a week, and for each meal I transfer a bit to a smaller pot and add potatoes (which is good but not Hungarian-orthodox). Serve topped with sour cream. Gets better each day.

Green Peppercorns

For a steak sauce: after frying your steak, add a good lump of butter to the pan. When melted, add a couple of teaspoons of green peppercorns and a chopped clove of garlic. Fry gently, then add 1 tbsp of good brandy, 2 tsp wholegrain mustard and 100 ml single cream. Let the sauce bubble up, then pour it over the steak.

Galangal powder

Pumpkin soup: fry 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic, chopped, in oil. Add 500g diced pumpkin, 1 tsp galangal powder, salt and pepper and fry for a minute. Add stock to cover and cook until pumpkin is soft. Blend the soup, add 1/2 tin coconut milk and re-heat. Garnish with fresh coriander.