(Almost) everything is better with oregano
Posted by parker over 2 years ago
I confess to being mystified at why oregano comes in such large canisters relative to almost every other spice in the rack. When cumin comes in tiny little thimbles barely big enough to hold six quarters, oregano comes in tubs you could use to carry water up Mt. Washington. Maybe it's frightfully easy to grow, and supply so out-strips demand that suppliers try to keep costs down by minimizing the packaging-to-oregano ratio.
I've started actively looking for places to use my oregano overstock, and I've found that nearly anything that tastes plain to start with is improved with a light sprinkling of oregano. The trick is to add the oregano at a point where it won't get burned in the cooking.
For example, I'll sprinkle it over pizza sauce before adding toppings and cheese. I've tried adding it to ground meat for burgers, but this needs to happen before the burger is shaped. I've even added it to boiling water while cooking pasta, with relatively unnoticeable effect. (Bullion cubes, or just a teaspoon of Mrs. Dash, another spice I'm trying to get rid of, it much more effective with pasta boiling.)
The best oregano destination, though, is a grilled-cheese sandwich. The oregano, for the record, goes inside the sandwich, as I'll explain next...
Comments