Moose Spice 2: Allspice, Basil and Black Pepper

INTRODUCTION was yesterday…

 

Allspice, Piment, piment (Pimenta dioica/officinalis)

I was quite sure the most common English name for these tasty little balls would be something along the lines of “piment”, too, but no, the English obviously thought ground pimento was a combination of several aromatic ingredients, so they went and called it allspice. That’s OK with me – as long as it is clear we are dealing with a very inspiring dried fruit here.
Where I come from they use ground allspice together with pieces of dead animals which they stuff into the emptied intestines of the same dead animals to make sausages. Due to its hot, cinnamony flavour I still love to use it for vegetarian purposes: with sauces and vegetables of any kind, depending on the weather. One of the best things that our kitchen has ever seen is the mixture of ground allspice and grated cheese, spread all over cooked pasta tre colori and put into the oven for 7 to 10 minutes…
Apart from its warming taste, pimento has other notable virtues: after some business phone calls using mortar and pestle for grinding the little black balls can turn into a therapeutic experience. Believe me.

Basil, Basilikum, bazilika (Ocimum basilicum):

The queen of all herbs. Since my darlings perished during the last summer holiday, I have to rely on our supermarket’s supply till I can grow my own again. I do use a lot of basil; I guess it’s because of all that boring parsley that is traditionally overused in the Sausage Country I come from. I’ve actually grown to believe you need to put something green, leafy and chopped into/onto most things and basil was my herb of choice and thus represents my personal touch, a signature, as Dita von Teese would undoubtedly call it.
And I do sign things abundantly: sauces, dips, soups, salads, leftovers au gratin… I roast dried basil leaves together with mushrooms or vegetables and then pour hot water over them to make a quick soup, or otherwise, I use fresh chopped leaves, which I put into the hot soup a minute or two before serving it.

Black Pepper, schwarzer Pfeffer, črni poper (Piper nigrum)

Another kind of lovely little balls… What should I say? They keep me warm in winter.
What I learnt while preparing this post is that you need different processes to get black, white or green pepper; they won’t just grow in different colours.
Never mind, black pepper’s good from time to time, especially in a creamy mushroom soup. We even own a cheap pepper mill to fiddle with at the table.