I know I posted yesterday saying adios but I thought I'd share this with you before I set off for Spain, although it's not a recipe per se, it's something I tried and thought worth jotting down.
I'm not generally a lover of coffee and our obsession with skinny-organic-soya-mocha-frappu-cinos and the monolithic chains such as Costa and Starbucks who charge a small fortune for the pleasure of drinking them in their ghastly establishments, is not my cup of cappuccino.
However, when in Spain (as opposed to Rome) do as the Spanish do. Spaniards will linger over a coffee in a bar or café because stopping for a coffee is a social event, and unlike the coffee we're drinking (I mean come on, latte is nothing to do with coffee; it's just the Italian for milk) Spanish coffee is the real deal!
Spaniards like their coffee strong, smooth and aromatic, if I'm feeling lethargic a café solo soon knocks me into shape. Even better is a Belmonte, a solo with brandy and milk, the milk is often condensed and the sticky sweetness is a delicious accompaniment to the strong coffee and brandy.
A carajillo is a solo with brandy and no milk, the Spanish say this is a good coffee to put you in a dancing mood!
But my all time favourite is an Asiatico coffee. Made with a solo, condensed milk, cognac, a few drops of licor 43, a couple of coffee beans, lemon rind and cinnamon.
Everything about Spanish coffee is superior to our coffee, even the attitude with which they drink it, you wouldn't see a Spaniard walking around drinking out of one of those awful paper cups with the horrible slit in the plastic lid. Every year we throw away 2.5bn disposable cups and they go straight to a landfill, all because we can't even sit down for ten minutes to drink a coffee.
Anyway, I've been known to put a chilli in my cafetiere before now, I think I got the idea from Jamie Oliver but don't quote me on that. Chillies release endorphins and the combination of coffee and chillies gives a real kick (who needs drugs!)
My latest idea was to add cardamom seeds to my cafetiere, cardamoms are often grown in coffee plantations so it made sense to me to combine the two ingredients. The seeds have a lemony, flowery flavour and are often used in desserts such as rice pudding, added to which, like all spices, they have a myriad of health benefits.
Always buy whole cardamom pods, as the flavour will be more intense. The mistake many people make is by using the whole cardamom, the pod can be tough and bitter (the seeds are sweet) always remove the seeds from the pod by crushing the pod with a rolling pin or other weighty utensil.
Add a heaped teaspoon of cardamom seeds to a tablespoon of coffee, place in a cafetiere and allow to brew for 5-10 minutes
Truly speaking, any spice could be added to your cafetiere, a cinnamon stick, star anise (I drink peppermint and liquorice tea to soothe my stomach) cacao beans (another stimulant) I shall certainly experiment and keep you posted and I'd be thrilled to hear of your ideas in the meantime.
'Come on, don't you ever stop and smell the coffee!'
- Justina Chen.
Love Donna xxxxxx
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