‘Spice Health Heroes’ cookbook highlights immunity-boosting recipes

he world is waking up to the health potential of the culinary world, where foods from around the world are peppered with a flavorful array of spices that not only add an extra zing to food but bring medicinal magic with their antioxidant and antibacterial, calming and energizing effects.

That’s why Natasha MacAller, author of the 2015 cookbook, “Vanilla Table,” decided to tackle the trendy topic in her latest cookbook, “Spice Health Heroes” (Jacqui Small, 2016). The book includes research from eight clinical doctors weighing in on each of the spices she explores, and original recipes from the author and some 20 renowned chefs from around the world.

“The doctors were very keen to get on board with it, and the majority of them are chefs in their own right,” she said in a phone interview from her part-time home in London. “So there’s a new culinary medicine - good food, good health, and adding more spices for more flavor and nutrients and health benefits.”

Although she started out with just six spices, her list soon blossomed into 30 spices, from familiar ingredients like black peppercorn, citrus zest and rosemary to more unusual spices such as cocoa nib, hibiscus and wasabi.

“It was quite a lot of research,” she said. “I worked on it for just under a year, seven days a week, 12 hours a day. It was complete insanity, but I felt so passionate and inspired, the more I read about the spices.”

After brainstorming the book with editors, chefs and doctors, MacAller opted to organize her research into six chapters, grouping the 30 spices according to similar compounds and benefits. For example, the opening chapter on Immune spices includes turmeric (the master spice), cumin (the global spice), clove & allspice (the enchanting and awesome spices), citrus zest (the zing spice) and star anise (the sultry fighter spice.)

The other categories deal with spices that share similar cleansing, energy, warming, restorative and calming properties. Each chapter includes a full menu of recipes, from starters to desserts.

“It’s a healthy book but not a health book,” she said. “There’s ice cream and chocolate and things that you would not consider diet food.”

MacAller is a former ballerina who turned professional when she was 13 and was fortunate to dance into her 30s. At that point, she decided to go to culinary school at the Culinary Institute of Art in Denver, then turned her attention to catering, restaurant consulting and cookbooks.

“I love cooking food and giving it away and making beautiful things,” she said. “Ballet is the only art form with a sell-by date ... even though your artistry continues to grow, your body doesn’t follow.”

A native of Los Angeles, MacAller still lives there part-time and consults for Sausal restaurant in El Segundo. She also spends part of her time in London, where she does a lot of projects with chef Peter Gordon, and the rest of her time in New Zealand,

“It’s such a healing place, and we have a small orchard with fruit trees and tomatoes,” she said. “It’s just idyllic.”

MacAller created about two-thirds of the recipes in the spice cookbook, then drew among her connections in the food world to bring in all kinds of well-known chefs, from José Andrés to Lidia Bastianich. From India, she drew upon a couple of people versed in blending spices.

“Raharan Iyer is such an expert,” she said. “Then there is a lauded chef in London, Cyrus Todiwala. Learning about the complexity of the blends is astonishing.”

She also includes a particularly healing dish - Hippocrates broth - from Dr. Eleni Tsiompanon, who wrote the forward to the book. “She’s a clinical doctor and is Ayurvedic certified and works with oncology and people with long-term illnesses ... as one gets older, food is a big thing, and to have a little more flavor helps increase appetites.”

One of the author’s favorite recipes is a slow-roasted lamb shoulder with quince, cumin and coriander, which is included in the chapter on Immune spices, because it calls for turmeric and cumin.

“Just cover it with foil and put it in the oven for four hours,” she said. “The whole house smells amazing.

Another entree - Sazon Rub Beef Roast - utilizes chile, ginger, cumin and garlic in the dry rub, plus a big dose of parsley, oregano, garlic and chile in the chimichurri sauce. The recipe is included in the Warming spice chapter, which includes chile peppers, ginger, mustard seed, horseradish, and wasabi.

“It’s delicious, and it’s just packed with flavor,” she said. “The cut is a tri-tip, also known as a beef rump cap. If you go to the butcher, just ask them to leave the fat cap on, because it adds flavor.”

From a famous Panamanian chef, Rachel Pol, she included an unusual recipe for Cocoa Butter Roasted Veggie Salad with Cocoa Nib Vinaigrette. The recipe is found in the Energy spice chapter, which also includes black peppercorn, coriander, cocoa, nutmeg and tamarind.

“She actually has a cocoa plantation,” she said. “Cocoa is the star of the dish. It has antioxidants … and the polyphenols also found in red wine. It helps with blood pressure and insulin resistance.”

There are many tantalizing pastries and desserts, but MacAller’s favorite is one of the simplest: Pomegranate Pistachio Parfait that calls for cardamom and chia seeds. It is found in the Restorative spice chapter, which includes garlic, cardamom. pomegranate, fenugreek and thyme.

“I adore it and I just put it on the menu at the restaurant (Sausal),” she said. “It calls for pomegranate juice, honey and gelatin, with a chia cream. You can make it ahead, and it’s healthy but really filling, in a nice way.”

The cookbook includes some of the history and the myths that surround each spice, as well as the active compounds.

“Turmeric compound is found in Advil,” she said. “And ginger is what the doctors are studying to help with tuberculosis in Ghana, because of its antibacterial qualities. So many people don’t have access to the drugstore, like we do, but they can grow spices.”

There are several teas and smoothies in the book, including a turmeric tea and a cardamom chai. Cardamom, which she calls “The Spice Bomb,” is one of the author’s favorite spices.

“It’s extraordinary, and it’s used in so many places that you wouldn’t expect it, like Sweden and Denmark,” she said. “I love its versatility. It can be in savory or sweet.”

The following recipes are from Natasha MacAller’s “Spice Health Heroes,” (Jacqui Small, 2016). The first recipe, included in the Energy spice chapter, was sourced from Rachel Pol of Panama. “Cocoa butter is a high stable fat with a long shelf life, rich in antioxidants,” Pol writes. “The cocoa nibs are packed with powerful nutrients, antioxidants and mood lifters.”

Cocoa Butter Roasted Veggie Salad with Cocoa Nib Vinaigrette

Makes 4 servings

1 sweet potato, cut into small wedges

10 baby carrots, halved

20 pearl onions

1 turnip, cut into small wedges

1 parsnip, sliced diagonally, 1/2-inch thick

1 large potato, cut into small wedges

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 fennel bulb, cut into small wedges

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3 tablespoons cocoa butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh arugula, to serve

For cocoa nib vinagrette:

2 tablespoons cocoa butter

2 tablespoons cocoa nibs

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread out all the vegetables son a foil-lined baking tray.

Put the fennel, coriander and cumin seeds in a small pan and heat over medium heat for 2 minutes, shaking occasionally. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a coarse powder.

Add the melted cocoa butter, spice mixture and salt to the veggies and toss well to coat thoroughly. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes until the veggies are tender and caramelized.

Make the cocoa nib vinaigrette. In a small pan over medium-high heat, melt the cocoa butter, add the nibs and sizzle for 30-45 seconds. Add the olive oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt and take off the heat.

Serve the roast veggies on a bed or arugula, drizzled with the cocoa nib vinaigrette.

The following recipe is found in the Warming spice chapter. “The spice crust is inspired by the hugely popular South American dry spice blend sazon,” MacAller writes. “This blend is packed full of fresh oregano, garlic and spices. You can apply the rub to the beef up to two days ahead and the sauce, too, can be made a day in advance.”

Sazon Rub Beef Roast with Chimichurri ?Argentina

Serves 4-6

2 pounds, 4 ounces beef rump cap (tri-tip) ideally aged for 3 months

For the sazon rub:

1 tablespoons grapeseed oil, plus extra for brushing

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons fresh oregano

2 teaspoons chipotle powder

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon chile flakes

1 teaspoon dried mint

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

For the chimichurri ?Argentina:

2 bunches fresh parsley

1 bunch fresh oregano

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 apple cider (or juice)

1/2 apple, peeled, cored and chopped

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 whole fresh red jalapeno or other chile pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pat the beef dry using kitchen paper. Score the fat, making incisions about 1/2-inch deep, 1/2-inch apart. Brush with oil to coat. Pack the rub into the fat on top of the beef, then cover and chill for 2 hours. Remove the beef from the fridge at least an hour before cooking to let it come to room temperature.

Make the Chimichurri Argentina. Put all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor, or small blender. and pulse until coarsely chopped. Slowly drizzle in the oil until combined, adding more if you wish. Spoon into a serving bowl, cover and chill until needed.

Turn on the extractor fan, then heat a stovetop grill pan/plate or barbecue to medium-high, place the beef on it, fat-side-up, and cook for about 6 minutes, then carefully turn it over and cook fat-side down for an additional 6-8 minutes. Test for doneness with a thermometer if you like (it should have reached 130 degrees for rare/medium-rare.)

Remove from heat and transfer to a carving board. Loosely cover with foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Thinly slide the beef across the grain and serve with the chimichurri Argentina.

This recipe is from the Restorative spice chapter. “With chia seeds full of protein and seductive ruby-red pomegranate juice packed with anthocyanins and prostate-healthy antioxidants, this light and easy-to-make pudding sweetened with honey is a dairy-free delight.”

Pomegranate ?Pistachio Parfait

Serves 4

For the chia cream:

3 tablespoons chia seeds

1 cup almond milk

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

- Pinch salt flakes

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

For the pomegranate gelatin:

2 cups pure pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon honey

4 gold gelatin leaves (or 3 1/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin)

For the vanilla labneh:

1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste

- Pinch ground cardamom

1/3 cup labneh (or Greek yogurt)

To serve:

3 tablespoons pistachios, chopped

2 fresh figs (or dried figs or fresh pears) quartered

- A few drops rose water

To make the chia cream, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and chill for 3 hours or overnight.

Cover the gelatin leaves in ice-cold water and leave until soft. In a small saucepan, warm the pomegranate juice with the honey to dissolve. Drain and squeeze excess water from the gelatin then stir it into the juice. Divide the liquid among four dessert glasses. Chill until firm.

Whisk the vanilla, sugar and ground cardamom into the labneh.

Spoon the chia cream layer on top of the pomegranate gelatin layer then top with vanilla labneh. Sprinkle over some chopped pistachios and garnish with figs. Sprinkle over a few drops of rose water.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.

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