Just Add Spice

People are often unsure about using spices, imagining that 'spice' means 'hot'. Lyndey Milan and Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill explain that this is not the case, showing us how herbs and spices can bring the simplest of recipes to life, such as spicy pumpkin soup or slow cooked chicken with juniper, adding freshness and depth of flavour. And while we most often associate spices with savoury food, Lyndey and Herbie show how easily this can be applied to sweet dishes too, from ginger and star anise crème brulee to lemongrass poached pears.

Just Add Spice is groundbreaking in the way that spice combinations are grouped to help readers easily understand the dynamic nature of combining spice flavours. These can then be applied to a variety of dishes, rather than just the specific recipes listed in the book. Including comprehensive spice notes that will give the reader confidence to start their own spice collection, the book also includes interesting and concise wine and beer matching notes that counteract the misconception that spiced food is difficult to match.

Lyndey Milan is an energetic, well-known food and wine personality. She has worked as the food director for magazines such asThe Australian Women's Weeklyand BBC Australian Good Food and appears regularly on television and radio. She is also the author of several books on food and wine matching, most recently Lyndey Milan: The Best Collection.