Moroccan Spice Blend - Epicurious Recipe

I just wanted to do a quick post to share this recipe for a Moroccan inspired blend of spices that I found on Epicurious.  During the week I tend to eat fairly simply, and given its summer where I am salads and grilled meat are the go at the moment.  But just a plain old salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and the like can be a little bit boring, so I try to make the meat part more exciting.

I'd already had cajun flavours with my chicken wings over the weekend so was keen to try something a little different.  The recipe said it would go well with chicken, and as I had some free-range chicken thighs I figured I would give it a go.  There's not a lot more to be said, so i've tried to capture this with photos instead, the recipe doesn't create a large amount but its good enough that i'll make up a larger mix as i'm sure i'll be able to get through a 4x recipe over the course of a month.

I couldn't find my ground ginger so omitted that, and as you can see the cinnamon I used is not the nice thin stuff but is quite woody and can be a bit tricky to bash up in the mortar & pestle that I use.  I've thought of getting a coffee grinder for spice, but there's something quite therapeutic about bashing away with a hunk of stone.  When i'm doing bigger batches of things I have a large one that I can use, but this small one is great for single use spice mixes like this or if I wanted to grind up spices for a curry.

Oh, and I didn't bother toasting the spices beforehand.  I know all the celeb chefs say to do that, but to me its just an extra step for not a huge gain in flavour.  In any case, the spices all got cooked when I fried the chicken, and if they'd already been toasted I figure they'd have been at risk of burning and getting bitter.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Moroccan-Spice-Blend-109356?mobify=0?intcid=full-site-mobile

Spice Rub for Beef Fillet - Epicurious Recipe

In a fit of recklessness I bought a fillet of beef from the supermarket the other day. I'd always intended to have it with salad, but had originally planned to cut it into steaks.

I'm quite glad that I didn't and that I found this recipe from Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spiced-Fillet-of-Beef-with-Mizuna-Salad-107005?mbid=ipapp

The spice rub is the thing here and it really packs a flavour punch. It could easily be used with chicken as well. For a whole roasted bird or perhaps even better for a big bowl of wings with a tangy tomato based sauce.

I definitely over cooked the fillet. I think you could probably get by with 10-15 minutes in the oven depending on the size you buy. 25 minutes was overkill for the one I had.

Don't get me wrong, it was still yummy & moist - but I like fillet to be pretty much raw. In fact a solid sear on all sides would probably be enough, leaving the inside dark red & glassy.

I'd recommend giving this rub a go, if summer ever turns up I might even BBQ some pork fillet & let you know if it's delicious.