Ah Needs Anise

I never really appreciated pastis (Ricard, Pernod, ouzo, arrack) as a possible ingredient in cooking, but boy, do I sooo do now.

I’ve had restaurant meals with, say, “sauce pastis Marseillaise” (whatever that might be) but last night I took the plunge. What a revelation! The original plan was shrimp in linguine with crème fraîche and cheese sauce, but it only occurred to me mid-cooking to maybe try some pastis.

The first time was after I’d cooked down some shallots, garlic and ham in white wine . . . then something in my mind whispered “flambée!” But there was no cognac.

So in went 2 tablespoons of pastis, the click of a lighter, and “Whoosh!” Ouf. And it tasted/smelled SO GOOD.

Then, when it was time to separately sauté the shrimp in compound garlic butter and red pepper flakes, I splashed the whole potpourri with another slam of pastis, and “Whoosh!”

Recipe/pics to follow, but the shrimp were actually redolent of pastis . . . very slightly, and I’m sure that fennel would have tasted similar, but wow! I’ve met my new best cooking pal.

Next: Adventures with Absinthe!