Penguin Books Australia

Introduction

This book has come out of our long friendship and a shared passion for spice and wine.

Despite his obsession with spices, Herbie cooks good, simple food. Lyndey has been a food professional for many years, but shares Herbie's pared-back approach in the kitchen. She knows, from years of reader feedback, that when you keep things simple, you empower the home cook.

We started to explore our shared interests some years ago when we were asked to put on an event that looked at the links between spice and wine. In our many conversations, we found ourselves using the same descriptors for spice as we used for wine: Lyndey, the wine expert, referred to the pepperiness in cool-climate shiraz, yet to Herbie's ear this was all about spice. He talked about the soothing qualities of vanilla, and Lyndey remarked how storing wine in oak gave it a vanillin character and softened it over time. And so it went on. There was no getting around it: we were talking the same language. Unfortunately the event didn't go ahead, but the seeds were sown. In amongst the competing demands of our busy food lives, we found time to return to the issue. The concept started to evolve, and eventually came to fruition in this book.

Just Add Spice takes us back to time-honoured basics. It is about teaching people to cook using simple techniques and readily available ingredients. We are excited by the possibility of people transforming their basic repertoire by experimenting with spices. Herbie feels that the real magic happens when spices are combined in different ways to create whole new flavour experiences. In the past we have tended to look at spices individually – what Herbie does is bring them together in much the same way a musician creates a symphony. These recipes are your guide to creating that symphony of flavours.

Lyndey's food and wine notes add another perspective on combining flavours, and counteract the misconception that spiced food is difficult to match with wine. Lyndey has written simple wine and beer matching notes for every recipe, so that each sip perfectly complements every mouthful.

We hope you enjoy this voyage through the intriguing world of food, spices and wine, and come to understand how easy it is to create wonderful, complex flavours using very simple techniques.

Lyndey and Herbie