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| Now That's Italian !!! |
A seasoning blend no kitchen should be without is “Italian Seasoning.” Having this in
your pantry may save a little time by not bringing out a half dozen (or more) seasonings
to add to a dish. In addition, if you are just starting out in your culinary journey, buying
commonly used herbs and spices can easily set you back several hundreds of dollars if
purchased all at once, as I did. Buying one jar of Italian Seasoning may save you a hefty
initial expense by having several well-balanced ingredients in this nice blend. However, I
have a recipe for an Italian Seasoning blend for you below. First, let me tell you some
ways I like to use my Italian Seasoning:
Making my own Italian salad dressing
Sprinkle it on popcorn
When added to olive oil, it makes a great dipping sauce for bread
When making or buying pizza, I add it to wake the pizza up and give it some zing
Sprinkle it on and in a chicken, along with other seasonings before cooking it on the
rotisserie
Roll goat cheese in it, then slice the goat cheese for a nice cracker topping
It makes a great seasoning for frittatas or omelets
If your pantry is well-stocked with most common herbs and spices, you probably already
have most of the herbs and spices needed to make your own Italian blend. Try this
combination as a starting point for your blend. Adjust it to your liking:
3 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or powdered form)
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon granulated onion (or powdered form)
1 tablespoon sage
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons black pepper
Place all the ingredients into a spice grinder, food processor or blender and process until
you have the consistency you like. Be sure not to over-process making everything into a
form of dust.
Some variations include dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, savory and marjoram. As I
instruct all my students, when making seasoning blends, weigh them, document them, try
them and then document, in detail, any changes you would like to make the next time! All
this information will become vital later when trying to adjust them to your liking and
reproducing them later. The reason I prefer to weigh my spices is that the weight per
volume is a function of how finely ground the spices are when purchased. A teaspoon of
loosely packaged leaf oregano is much milder than a teaspoon of ground oregano.
An important point to remember if you are gluten intolerant, some manufacturers of
seasoning blends use wheat flour as an anti-caking agent. Making your own eliminates
this potential risk.
If you don’t have time to make your own and want a safe gluten-free, salt free, non-
irradiated blend with no preservatives, my favorite store-bought is Morton & Bassett’s
blend. It is well-balanced and has the paprika in it that brings a nice color and flavor to
my dishes.
Give it a try; you’ll be glad you did.
Blessings,
Chef David Hall
Thyme for a Chef, LLC
www.thymeforachef.com
your pantry may save a little time by not bringing out a half dozen (or more) seasonings
to add to a dish. In addition, if you are just starting out in your culinary journey, buying
commonly used herbs and spices can easily set you back several hundreds of dollars if
purchased all at once, as I did. Buying one jar of Italian Seasoning may save you a hefty
initial expense by having several well-balanced ingredients in this nice blend. However, I
have a recipe for an Italian Seasoning blend for you below. First, let me tell you some
ways I like to use my Italian Seasoning:
Making my own Italian salad dressing
Sprinkle it on popcorn
When added to olive oil, it makes a great dipping sauce for bread
When making or buying pizza, I add it to wake the pizza up and give it some zing
Sprinkle it on and in a chicken, along with other seasonings before cooking it on the
rotisserie
Roll goat cheese in it, then slice the goat cheese for a nice cracker topping
It makes a great seasoning for frittatas or omelets
If your pantry is well-stocked with most common herbs and spices, you probably already
have most of the herbs and spices needed to make your own Italian blend. Try this
combination as a starting point for your blend. Adjust it to your liking:
3 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or powdered form)
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon granulated onion (or powdered form)
1 tablespoon sage
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons black pepper
Place all the ingredients into a spice grinder, food processor or blender and process until
you have the consistency you like. Be sure not to over-process making everything into a
form of dust.
Some variations include dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, savory and marjoram. As I
instruct all my students, when making seasoning blends, weigh them, document them, try
them and then document, in detail, any changes you would like to make the next time! All
this information will become vital later when trying to adjust them to your liking and
reproducing them later. The reason I prefer to weigh my spices is that the weight per
volume is a function of how finely ground the spices are when purchased. A teaspoon of
loosely packaged leaf oregano is much milder than a teaspoon of ground oregano.
An important point to remember if you are gluten intolerant, some manufacturers of
seasoning blends use wheat flour as an anti-caking agent. Making your own eliminates
this potential risk.
If you don’t have time to make your own and want a safe gluten-free, salt free, non-
irradiated blend with no preservatives, my favorite store-bought is Morton & Bassett’s
blend. It is well-balanced and has the paprika in it that brings a nice color and flavor to
my dishes.
Give it a try; you’ll be glad you did.
Blessings,
Chef David Hall
Thyme for a Chef, LLC
www.thymeforachef.com
Copyright 2011, Thyme for a Chef, LLC. All rights reserved.
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