Salt & pepper doesn’t have to mean greasy, heavily fried food. Try this fresh, vibrant version instead — combining warming spices, ginger, spring onion, date and red palm oil with crisp vegetables and fresh herbs.
The Salt & Pepper seasoning is versatile and can be used with raw or cooked foods. Toss it through vegetables, noodles, rice or other savoury dishes, or use it to add a bold salt-and-pepper flavour to your favourite cooked meals.
For this recipe, the seasoning is combined with fresh courgetti, crunchy Asian-style cucumber, red pepper, spring onion, coriander and sea vegetables. The result is a fresh, colourful dish with plenty of texture and flavour.
This Salt & Pepper Courgetti pairs particularly well with the Curry Sauce from our recipes, but the courgetti can also be enjoyed with another sauce of your choice.
Taste as you go and add more salt if needed, depending on your ingredients and preference.
Essential Tools
- High-speed blender
- Spiraliser
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Measuring spoons
- Kitchen scales
- Large mixing bowl
Optional: Coffee/spice grinder — for grinding the whole spices before blending.
Ingredients
10For 4 servings
- 1/2 tsp Fennel or 1/4 tsp Star Anise
- 1/4 tsp Chinese Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Ceylon Cinammon
- 1/4 tsp Clove
- 1/2 tsp Szechuan pepper(or cayenne/frsh chilli to taste)
- 1 tsp Fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp Red palm oil
- 1 small stalk of spring onion or 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp Date syrup or 2-3 blended dates
- 1+1/2tsp Sea salt or to taste
Method
Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
Salt & Pepper Seasoning — 4 servings
- Chinese cardamom — ¼ tsp
- Star anise — ¼ tsp (or ½ tsp fennel seeds)
- Clove — ¼ tsp
- Cinnamon — ½ tsp
- Chlorella powder — ½ tsp
- Szechuan pepper — ½ tsp
- Fresh ginger — 1 tsp
- Red palm oil — 1 tbsp
- Spring onion — 2 finely chopped
- Date syrup — 1 tbsp (or 2 dates)
- Sea salt — 1½ tsp, or to taste
Alternatively, grind the dry ingredients first in a coffee grinder, then blend them with the fresh ingredients and oil.
The seasoning sauce can be stored in a sealed container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.
Courgetti — 4 servings
- Courgette: 8 medium (1.2–1.4 kg) — spiralised into thin noodles
- Cucumber: 2 medium (about 400 g) — cut Asian salad-style into chunky bite-sized pieces, preferably slightly irregular
- Red pepper: 2 medium (about 280 g) — deseeded and cut into thin strips
- Spring onion: 8 (100–120 g) — finely sliced on the diagonal
- Fresh coriander: 60 g — pick off the leaves and tender upper stalks; roughly chop. Save the thicker stalks for a Curry Sauce
- Fresh wakame: 20–30 g — finely sliced into thin ribbons
- (or raw/unroasted nori laver)
- Salt & Pepper seasoning: 1 full batch
- Black sesame seeds : 1 tbsp to garnish
To combine: Add the vegetables and herbs to a large bowl, add the blended Salt & Pepper seasoning and toss thoroughly until evenly coated.