12 May 2008 by Shifrah Combiths
Cooking with Coffee
What could improve a pure, unadulterated, piping hot cup of coffee? But complement, as in the case of cream and some sugar, or maybe rich vanilla ice cream – perhaps. Some less known, subtle enhancements of flavor can be added to the coffee as it’s percolating. Try throwing a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg into the grounds before the water passes through them. You’ll end up with a slightly spicier cup, tinged with an extra warmth. A tad of citrus zest imparts an unexpected tang; a dab of vanilla, a sultry twinge. The list could go on and on: eggnog, any number of alcoholic additions, hot chocolate…
In addition to the tasty spread of recipes that can be made with coffee that you’d drink, there’s another whole category of opportunity. Coffee, too, has the capacity to augment the qualities of many other foods, and in many ways. The subtle, or bold, as the case may be, introduction of coffee’s flavor lends richness to some surprising dishes. Let’s start out with some more intuitive combinations, though.
Coffee and dessert, separately, are a natural combination, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary to find the two mingled together in sumptuous decadence as in a recipe for chocolate espresso brownies, which calls for espresso granules both in the brownies themselves and in their filling. Coffee may be delicately laced into a dessert as well. A quick and easy icing may be created by mixing confectioners’ sugar and (a very small amount) of any liquid – like lemon juice, vanilla extract, maple syrup, or, of course, brewed coffee.
Whole beans are also added to some unlikely recipes. In a recipe for Sambuca Romana Jam, whole coffee beans – precisely ten per jar – are placed in a container of a just-boiled jelly concoction of blueberries, lemon rind, sugar, Sambuca, and pectin. (Sambuca is an aniseed-flavored liqueur that’s either colorless, deep blue, or bright red. Incidentally, Sambuca is also sometimes added to coffee as a sweetener instead of sugar in an Italian drink known as caffe corretto, or “corrected coffee.”)
Stepping away from the sweeter side, let’s look at some even more atypical inclusions of our beloved beverage. A recipe entitled BBQ Meatloaf Aussie Style calls for a tablespoon of instant coffee to strengthen it, Coffee Barbeque Sauce demands dark coffee or espresso for a can’t-quite-figure-this-out-but-it’s-quite-delicious result, and Cowboy Brisket asks for dark coffee as the deglazing liquid in the makings of its sauce. (Fascinating link between barbequed food and coffee, isn’t it?) Aptly named red-eye gravy is a Southern dish that also calls for coffee as a deglazing liquid, but in this case with ham. However, the red-eye appellation doesn’t evolve from coffee’s convenient caffeine effects; rather, it derives from the possible appearance of the gravy once it cools – the heavier grease sinks below the coffee, which gives the mixture a reddish hue.
Whether enjoyed solo or with suggestive ghosts of additional flavors, whether included in expected desserts or added almost surreptitiously in unlikely places, coffee belongs in the pantry of any discriminating cook – whether coffee drinker or not. After all, you never know when the urge for greasy coffee poured over pork may arise…