If you have visited marketplaces in Yucatan, you have seen colorful mounds of different spice pastes in many shades from black or green to yellow or red, for home cooks to buy in small quantities. These are the famous regional recados, complex and intensely flavored mixtures of herbs and spices. At home, people dilute the concentrated recado with water or bitter orange juice, and skillfully blend it with the other ingredients of a sauce or marinade. Sometimes, of course they make up a particular recado from scratch and store it for future use instead of buying the paste. Or they grind dry spice-herb mixtures to use as rubs, or to convert into recados by diluting and blending them with roasted garlic and/or onion just before cooking a dish.
Living in New York, I have no access to Yucatecan market-sellers’ wares, and I seldom have reason to make up recados for my own purposes. However, I do rely constantly on the dry spice mixtures, which last a long time when stored in a sealed container. They are a blessing to anyone looking for an extra dimension of flavor in a simple, quick-cooking fish, chicken, or meat dish. I’m especially fond of this version invented by my good friend and fellow food-writer Peggy Knickerbocker. Take it as a general model and vary the seasonings to your own preference. For instance, you might try fennel seed instead of anise, or substitute allspice for one of the other spices and Mexican oregano for the thyme.
Dry Spice Rub
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons anise seeds
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme or preferred combination of dried herbs
Instructions
- For best results, heat a small heavy skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact and carefully toast the anise, coriander, and peppercorns for about 1 minute or until the aroma is released, shaking the skillet for even heating; let cool briefly. (When I’m in a hurry, I may skip the toasting, but it really does bring out a deeper flavor.) Place all ingredients in a food processor or clean coffee grinder and process just until coarsely ground, with some texture remaining. Store in a small tightly sealed jar in a cool place.
