Tempero
My secret seasoning
I probably should have started my substack with this recipe because it is the base that makes food taste like mine. In May 2002, the Washington Post wrote about Marco Pantano whose Brazilian family made this seasoning in huge batches. For some reason, the ingredients and the story resonated with me. Garlic, onion, herbs, and salt. I made a vat of it that week in my sad blender.
That was 24 years ago. I still make it. There’s always a jar in my fridge, and it is the key to making anything savory taste better. Multiple alliums blended down into a paste that gives whatever you’re cooking an umami start before anything else hits the pan. I use it in my house salad dressing, burgers, soup, and rice at least twice a week. One jar takes me about 6 months to finish.
The original recipe makes 8 cups. I scaled it to two jars.
I’m not Brazilian, but I put this in everything I can. This is the first in a series about what I actually do with it.
I just picked up bottles of mixed French baking spices (cinnamon, cardamom, and more), sugar seasoned with tonka bean, berebere, and zatar from a wonderful little spice shop in Bordeaux. Upgrades everything we might be able concoct in an Airbnb or hotel room while we travel. But I’ll have to wait until we’re somewhere with a blender (and maybe invest in containers that won’t break in checked luggage) to give this a try. Sounds delicious!
This is the first time I have ever learned about Tempero. This seems to be an interesting dish.