A Touch of Urfa Biber to Your Asparagus

Asparagus - or spargel, in German - is one of those foods that I can easily live without, but once the year, when the season is in full bloom - mid-May and end of June - I want to try it, for creating at least one new recipe. In most cases, I consider it a relatively bland food, without any special features and no taste to long about for the rest of the year.

This year, I tried to use my treasure of spices from the multi-awarded Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program. Not an easy choice given their exquisite collection of top spices, but in the end I decided to add to my hard boiled - 25 minutes at 250C - asparagus the Urfa Biber (Isot Pepper). Part of the red pepper family, this spice adds a mild flavor to the dish, not too salty, not too hot, just that pinch that bring taste to the otherwise neutral asparagus. I usually add salt - especially when matchen with boiled potatoes, but this time it was just enough to bring the healthy life - read it taste - to my dish. All you need is half teaspoon of this magic black spice spread all over your dish.

You can pair it with a cold white wine and life couldn't get any better... 

Disclaimer: Spices offered by Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

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Add a Bit of Spice to Your Potato Kugel

A staple food for the Shabbat table, the potato kugel can be also a good comfort food during the week, especially during the winter when you need a piece of hot fat rich everything. I am usually a big fan of a very classical recipe, that require a minimum of ingredients, usually the classical combination. What may differ from a recipe to another are the quantities and the quality of the ingredients (especially when it comes to the kind of potato used). I personally have nothing against a bit of more oil once in a while, as long as it is part of a tasty meal. For the first time on my blog, I am sharing my potato kugel recipe, which this time has a secret ingredient, replacing the usual black pepper I am regularly using.

Ingredients
12 medium-size potatoes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 tablespoon Urfa Biber black pepper that I previously learned how to use a couple of days ago, part of my assignment as Brand Ambassador for Spice Kitchen UK
3 medium-size eggs, beaten
125 ml. sunflower oil

Directions

Grate the potatoes. You can also use a blender, but I personally didn't mind as the potatoes were relatively small and I was able to deal with them easily and painless. I keep the watery starch of the potatoes as it does absorb well during the baking. Add the ingredients one by one and mix well each time. After ready, pour the content into the Aluminium pan and let them rest for about 10 minutes.

Heat the oven at least 15 minutes before starting the baking. 

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 1h30 or until fully done

Cut into little cubes before serving. It serves around 16 cubes baked into a medium-size pan. In terms of the spice, I was careful not to use half of tablespoon but if you want a spicier kugel, you can dare. Urfa Biber brings a taste of sweetness while balancing the heavy taste of potatoes plus oil plus eggs. The texture is smooth and silky and the cover is so crunchy that I can hardly resist to not eat only the cover at once. You can have a bit of heavy cold sour cream on the side for an even better flavor balance. 

Bon Appétit!

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About a Different Kind of Pepper: Urfa Biber (Isot Pepper)

This is less a post about recipes and cooking ideas, but has as main character a very special kind of pepper: Urfa Biber or Isot Pepper. Part of my selection from the Spice Kitchen UK collection, with whom I've entered a partnership part of their Brand Ambassador program, I've received a couple of spices to test in the next weeks and months, starting with the very special Aleppo pepper.

The inspiration of Monday's lunch was something a bit different: a very black looking powder called Urfa Biber. Biber means pepper in Turkish, the country of origin of this special kind of pepper. Practically, it is part of the red pepper family, produced through a process of 'sweating': drying of the seeds during the day, followed by wrapping them tied during the day. Compared to other peppers, they are less spicy, with a warm note which creates a pleasant balance of flavors. 

I used it twice for my lunch: spread modestly on my fresh tomatoes, and as one pinch used for by very special barberry rice - 1 cup Jasmin rice, plus 25 gr. dried barberries (or Berberizen as they are called in German). The other part of the meal were Turkey cevapcici, brought to me by the kosher meat Of Tov company. Especially in the case of the rice, the urfa biber was a great balance to the mild sparkling taste of barberries, without pungency of any kind. Given that the day before I had a 25 km. hiking this meal was not only easy to prepare but also full of energy and fresh vitamins (barberries are rich in Vitamin C). 

As for the urfa biber, my short documentation indicates that it has a great variety of uses, among which: on roasted eggplants, fried eggs, but also brownies. Testing in process so keep an eye on my blog for updates.

Disclaimer: Spices offered by Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

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