February 24, 2016

An Egyptian Spice Dinner with RawSpiceBar

I love trying new recipes. I spend every single week meal planning with half a dozen cookbooks and Pinterest open scouring new recipes.

My ambitious goal of cooking my way through an entire cookbook really isn't that ambitious for someone who tries 2-3 new recipes per week on average. The only reason I've never been able to make it through an entire cookbook it is because I'm trying so many other recipes at the same time.

I'm not a natural in the kitchen by any means. Experimenting with different recipes gives me the opportunity to find different ways to mix ingredients together that I wouldn't normally think of mixing.

When the team at RawSpiceBar reached out to me about trying their monthly spice box, I jumped at the chance. RawSpiceBar is a subscription 'box' that delivers 3 freshly ground, exotic, and global flavors from around the world. Each box includes 3 kitchen-tested recipes and an origin and history of spices from that region.


The spices are toasted whole, ground, and blended just a few days before being shipped. freshly ground. When I opened the packet, I could smell the spices from across the room. I don't think I've ever actually come across spices that were so fresh!

I received January's Egyptian Spice Box which came with three spices: Egyptian Spices, Ground Sumac Berries, and Hazelnut Dukkah. The recipes were for Roasted Egyptian Spiced Bronzini, Sumac, Carrot, and Almond Salad, and Toasted Flatbread and Hazelnut Dukkah.


I wanted to try the three recipes together as a meal and I found that most of the ingredients were basic kitchen staples - garlic, lemon, carrots - that I typically buy or are easy to find. I couldn't find Bronzini, but the recipe gave the option for another white fish, so I used tilapia.

The tilapia was delicious but my absolute favorite was the toasted flatbread. I mixed the hazelnut dukkah with olive oil, brushed it onto raw pizza dough, and put it in the oven.

It took about an hour to pull everything together ande everything was phenomenal! The spices were so fragrant and flavorful and really elevated the dishes. I love roasted carrots and would never think to put them on a salad, but the Sumac dressing gave it a wonderful kick.

The RawSpiceBar 'box,' is $6 a month and each month has a different theme. The spices come in a sample size which is enough to make the recipes included in the box. The only downside is that the spices aren't available to buy on their website. Since they're spice blends, rather than simple spices, they aren't something you can just pick up at a grocery store. It would be nice to be able to pick up a larger quantity of my favorite spices from month to month.

I do love the idea of getting fresh spices with new recipes delivered every month and, at $6 a month, you really can't beat the price!

Have you tried RawSpiceBar?
Do you like experimenting with different flavors and spices?
What are some of your favorites to try?

Disclaimer: I received a RawSpiceBar box for free in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own and links are affiliate links.

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