I envisioned piles of spices, some known to me, others, new. Like the souk which was comprised of innumerous stalls in the meandering lanes leading up to the spice market, this market was made up of several small stalls.
They were filled with jars upon jars of spices, petals, bark and leaves inside, and beckoned to passersby outside with peaked piles of colorful spices. There was cumin, saffron, harissa and paprika.
Ras el hanout is always a proprietary blend, and made of several dozen spices. The spice vendors I bought from told me that there were more than 35 spices in their blends, but listed only the most common. These usually include paprika. That said, I do believe that each shop had its own blendβ I bought from three different shops, and each tastes slightly different. This means that Ras el Hanout goes well with everything from Indian to Mexican food, and beyond. So far, it has been the grace note on a summer salad of burrata, arugula and peaches.
I also used it in a lentil stew along with additional cumin and coriander, and it gave a warmth and slight smokiness. And the biggest hit was when I added a fair amount to mayonnaise to go with fried green tomatoes. Have fun, experiment, and let me know how you use Ras el Hanout!
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