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Cooking with Coffee
Why don’t we use coffee more in cooking and particularly in savoury dishes? I think it’s time to experiment. Recently, I tried some coffee marinaded pork chops created by Sous Vide Tool’s chef Chris Holland – delicious.
Do seek out the Marley Coffee Cookbook. Here are 100 recipes for savoury and sweet dishes and even cocktails. Yes, the name is familiar. Rohan Marley is Bob Marley’s son and the proud owner of Marley Coffee. There are a hundred recipes in here, many for savoury recipes and completely delicious.
One of my favourites is for meatballs with a coffee sauce. I’ve use the glaze as a sauce on its own. with both meats and fish. It will work with other coffee too or the coffee bags mentioned below.
Coffee Recipe
Curry Meatballs with Roasted garlic, coffee and teriyaki glaze
Many thanks to the publishers, Quarry Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group for letting me share this recipe. As the book originates in America, I’ve added a few British translations. This is ideal for a midweek supper (or appetiser).
Curry Meatballs with Roasted garlic, coffee and teriyaki glaze
Ingredients
- 908 grams ground (minced) chicken - 2 pounds
- 20 grams curry powder - 3 tablespoons (American tablespoons are smaller than in UK)
- 1 clove garlic, minced - or crushed
- 100 grams chopped coriander - cilantro. Divide in half
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon Marley Coffee Spice Blend* See below
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 60 millilitres Brewed Buffalo Soldier coffee or other flavoursome coffee - 1/2 cup
- 120 millilitres Teriyaki sauce (eg Kikkoman)
- 3 cloves Roasted garlic** See below
- 75 grams cherry tomatoes - 1/2 cup
Instructions
- To make the meatballs:In a large bowl, mix the chicken, curry powder, garlic, most of the coriander (reserve 3 tablespoons for garnish), the eggs, and Marley Coffee Spice Blend.
- Season with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into about 15 (2-inch, or 5 cm) meatballs.
- Preheat a gas or electric grill to medium. Arrange the meatballs on the grill and grill for about 5 minutes per side.
- When thoroughly cooked, remove the meatballs from the grill and keep warm.
- To make the glaze/sauce:In a medium-size saucepan over high heat, whisk the coffee, teriyaki sauce, roasted garlic, and cherry tomatoes. Whisking constantly, bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer the glaze for 4 to 6 minutes, or until it starts to thicken.
- Combine the cooked meatballs with the glaze and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with the reserved coriander.
Notes
* This is a mix of ground coffee, star anise, onion powder, cumin, sugar, thyme, curry powder, salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and allspice. I suggest using a mix of equal parts of star anise, allspice, cumin and cayenne pepper.
Coffee Bags – simple with no mess
Time was when we had relatively little choice about which coffee we drank. Instant was king. Brands created rather amusing advertisements capturing our imagination. Nescafe introduced the Gold Blend couple and pitched the coffee as something sophisticated and perhaps a little naughty. Red Mountain suggested that their coffee indistinguishable from filter coffee. In one advertisement Sarah Crowe pretended to make coffee with a whole range of plink plink noises rather than admit she wasn’t using the machine her mother-in-law bought.
We’ve since fallen in (and probably out) of love with Starbucks. We’ve bought all sorts of gadgets Aeropress, Cafetieres, pods etc. some of which are better than others. We’re a nation of coffee lovers, and just one method of preparing coffee no longer fits.
The times when you’d like a coffee …
But there are still times when all you want is a quick cup of coffee and you’re nowhere near your local favourite coffee shop and instant is the very last resort. You might be at a conference where there are plenty of choices of tea, but coffee is dispensed from a container that was probably filled an hour ago. You’d probably rather not drink coffee at all than choose that option. A quick cup of tea from a tea bag would be far better.
So why not a selection of bagged coffees ?
New Kings Coffee sent me some coffee bags to sample. Each is individually sealed. The bag itself is made from Bioweb which is a biodegradable product that is corn starch based. The outer sachet will soon be switched for material that can be composted.
They’ve sourced coffee from all over the world. All are arabica coffees, free trade and organic. The highest strength coffee is from Sumatra, Indonesia and East Asia the light roast from Sidamo, Ethopia. There’s a decaffienated version too. Rather than rely on the designated strength of the coffee, reading the tasting notes give an idea of the flavours you’ll find in the coffee. After all, you might feel a bit fruity one day so try the Sumatran coffee, or something more acidic with almond and toffee notes – the Guatemalan coffee. And they are great for cooking with too!
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