Since setting up in 2003, Steenbergs Organic have been busy sourcing and packing the best organic spices, herbs and teas from all over the world. In those two decades, they have become one of the leaders in Fairtrade spices and also blend spices and herbs to their own recipes, creating a range of organic seasonings. Two thirds of the people who work at Steenbergs (including the management team) are women, but that's not the only thing that makes them special. They are completely focused on organic and ethical trading, knowing down to the region and often the exact one-hectare farm who grew the spices or herbs that they sell. Since 2020,they have also been carbon neutral.
However, being a fabulous ethical and ecological company is no good if the products that they deal in are nothing special. Luckily, Steenbergs have a great reputation there too and I have used several products from their extensive range in my cooking, enjoying their rich and authentic flavours in my numerous globe-cooking adventures.
Steenbergs recently teamed up with award-winning Middle Eastern chef Sabrina Ghayour to produce three unique spice blends to complement her delicious recipes and add a little Middle Eastern magic into everyday cooking. This new launch ties in with the publication of Sabrina’s seventh cookbook, Flavour, published by Aster, which is a brand-new collection of simple, delicious, crowd-pleasing recipes which can be tailored to all tastes and budgets.
Encapsulating Sabrina’s passion for flavour, the new spice blends have been hand blended to Sabrina’s own recipes. As soon as I flipped off the lids of the jars, the scent tantalised my nostrils and had me mentally wandering through the busy, hectic souks that we visited on our holidays to Tunisia and Turkey. They really reminded me of the spices we brought back from those trips, in plain plastic bags and often tossed together seemingly randomly by the enthusiastic stallholders. They would happily tell us that the spices would be perfect for couscous or tagines, rubbed onto meat and poultry or just tossed into soups and stews. Basically, they would be good for everything and we were never disappointed.
The first spice blend is called Flavour Blend and it is a mix of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, lime powder and cracked black pepper. It was love at first fragrant sniff as far as I was concerned and instantly brought back memories of lamb tagines enjoyed in exotic lands. Sabrina explains, “This earthy blend of spices is simply perfect for roasted meats, root vegetables and squashes and not forgetting, the perfect combination for kebabs such as shawarmas, koftas and red meat kebabs.” I think this would be a great spice blend for dishes such as Bastilla, Kefta Meatball Tagine and Lamb Tagine.
Persiana Blend appears on the cover of Sabrina’s now iconic debut cookbook Persiana, released in 2014, and was originally created for one of Sabrina’s signature dishes from the book, the slow-roasted spice-perfumed lamb. It contains rose petals, sumac, lime powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic powder and cayenne. It is perfect for roasted meats, grills, root vegetables and squashes but also great with game, poultry and oily fish and seafood too. You can see tiny specks of rose petals in the blend which I was slightly unsure of to begin with, but this actually gives a really fragrant and authentic hit to Middle Eastern dishes. This can be used to give a flavour hit to a variety of dishes including Jewelled Persian Rice with Pomegranates, Walnuts and Parsley, Chermoula Spiced Carrots or Bulgur Pilavi.
Bazaar blend is a fabulously versatile blend of oregano, paprika, Spanish citrus pepper, ginger and garlic powder. It can be used for anything from simply coating meat and fish for roasting or pan-frying to salads, rice dishes, hummus and even flatbreads. This would be perfect for Turkish-inspired Salmon with Pomegranate Molasses and Sumac, Chicken Tava and Güveç.
The great thing about these spice blends though is that you don't need a specific recipe to try them out. You could scatter some over mashed potatoes or roast potatoes before popping them in the oven, into soups and stews or over chicken or meatballs before putting them on to cook. Top tips, recipe ideas and inspiration for using the spice blends will be featuring on both Steenbergs and Sabrina Ghayour socials and on the Steenbergs website.
The spice jars will be available for sale individually (RRP £2.75 or £3) but also as a complete set of three, beautifully packaged in a jute bag with a card and ribbon, all ready for Christmas gifting and costing £9.50.
Available to purchase from steenbergs.co.uk
Disclosure : I received the spice blends in order to share my honest review.
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