[1] Chermoula, from North Africa, is spiced with cumin (photo © Off The Meat Hook).

[2] You can serve this papaya sauce with a dessert, or spice it up to serve with fish, and meats. Here’s the recipe from A Spoonful Of Yum (photo © A Spoonful Of Yum).

[3] Makhani is a gravy/curry flavored with chiles and spices. Here’s a recipe from My Food Story (photo © My Food Story).

[4] S’chug, also spelled zhug, a popular Yemeni sauce (photo © Anson Mills).

[5] Harissa has been gaining in awareness in the U.S. Here’s a recipe to make your own harissa paste, from Slow Burning Passion (photo © Slow Burning Passion).

Many of us eat global cuisine at restaurants, but why not dabble in them more often at home?

A simple path is to add an international-style sauce to chicken, fish and other everyday foods.

Flavor & The Menu, a resource for restaurant chefs nationwide, offers 12 global sauces for you to try.

They range from mild to spicy—and of course, you control the level of heat in your own kitchen.

We’re presenting these dozen dazzlers in a three-part article, so you can “digest” your thoughts—four sauces at a time.

Some are thin like marinade, others are pastes that can be thinned with broth, oil or water.
 
 
1. CHERMOULA

This bright herb sauce and marinade from North Africa has cumin as its main ingredient.

It is typically ground or blended into a paste with garlic, cilantro or other herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper.

While chermoula is often used as a sauce accompaniment to seafood in countries like Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, it can also shine in “American” cuisine:

 
 
2. FRUIT-BASED SAUCES

Fruit adds sweetness and texture to a sauce, helping to round out richer dishes and tame those with a bit of spice.

American and European recipes have long used berries, citrus and stone fruits to sauce both savory and sweet dishes.

Go global and make sauces from more tropical fruits—cherimoya, guava, mango, pineapple. Season them with spices from another culture—chile, curry, ginger, lemongrass, star anise…the combinations are endless.
 
 
3. MAKHANI

The name is new to us, but the concept is familiar: It’s a type of Indian curry (a.k.a. gravy).

Makhani is traditionally made by simmering green and red chiles, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spices, nuts and seeds in plenty of butter, and then grounding or blending it into a paste.

Thanks to a growing interest in Indian cuisine, bright red makhani sauce can move beyond Chicken Butter Masala, Paneer Butter Masala, and egg and vegetarian Indian dishes, to flavorful fusion dishes.

Consider the sauce on:

 
 
4. MIDDLE EASTERN HOT SAUCES

As with most hot sauces used in the U.S., Middle Eastern hot sauces work across cuisines, providing lots of fusion opportunity.

Harissa is perhaps the best known, but take a look at s’chug, with bright, acidic notes from cilantro and green chiles.

Another hot sauce to watch is shatta, from Lebanon. It blends Kashmiri red chiles, lemon juice, garlic and chile powder.

Perfect with Middle Eastern dishes like shawarma, these sauces work equally well with tacos, wings and more.

In fact, how about a plate of tacos or wings with all three hot sauces for a fact-finding mission (i.e., which Middle Eastern hot sauce you like best)?
 
 
COMING UP

“If you’ve ever called a .GIF a Jif, we forgive you.”

So say Jif® peanut butter and from GIPHY, the world’s first and largest GIF search engine.

The two brands have teamed up to settle the ongoing debate over how to pronounce GIF, the acronym for Graphic Image File.

[1] Jif, making a point about GIFs (both photos © Jif).

[2] THere are 34 spoonfuls of creamy Jif in the jar.

[1] Mmm, Vegetable Lasagna; or, if you prefer, meat sauce (all photos © Michael Angelo’s).

[2] Have some Eggplant Parm, or the Chicken Parm if you prefer.

[3] Check the store locator to find your products of choice.

There are two comfort foods that we allow ourselves once a month—at a restaurant, at Whole Foods takeout and other specialty stores (Fairway, Citarella) where you’d think the store-made lasagna and eggplant parm would more than satisfy.

Mostly, they don’t. The sauce isn’t great, the seasoning is lacking, there isn’t enough ricotta, etc. etc.

Thank goodness Michael Angelo’s found us, and sent us samples of our favorites.

They are our new go-to’s!

 
We did add some dried oregano and fresh parsley, but were happy to eat all of the dishes without garnishing.

The entrées were more than cheesy: We didn’t need to grate any parmesan on top.

The only problem is, now that we’ve discovered Michael Angelo’s, the once-a-month rule may fall by the wayside.
 
 
AN EXTENSIVE LINE OF FAVORITE ITALIAN CLASSICS

There’s much more in the Michael Angelo’s line that we haven’t yet tried.

The line is so extensive, we could try something different every night for a month.

With food as good as your neighborhood Italian restaurant, Michael Angelo’s serves up all the classics from
Baked Ziti and Chicken Piccata to Manicotti and Shrimp Scampi.

Keep a few boxes in the freezer, grab a bag of salad and an optional loaf of Italian bread, and you’re good to go.

Head to the website to see the whole line; there’s also a store locator.

There are 11-ounce single-serve, 30-ounce family size and 44-ounce large family size; plus gourmet bowls, starters and more.

The 30-ounce family size serves two hungry adults—although we admit that on a particularly hungry night, we ate the whole thing.

(Don’t tell Mama.)

The food comes in microwavable trays, and if you prefer to use a conventional oven, you can remove the food and place it into your own oven-proof dish.

We tried both techniques, and for a time-saver, the microwave is just fine. The food was ready in little more time than it would have taken to preheat our oven.

On the other hand, the oven offers the opportunity to bake a loaf of garlic bread.
 
 
>>> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA IN OUR PASTA GLOSSARY<<<

National Clam Chowder Day is February 25th.

There’s also National New England Clam Chowder Day on January 21st, a recipe with a cream base. But there’s no Manhattan Clam Chowder Day, a chowder with a tomato base, or Rhode Island Clam Chowder Day, made with a clear broth.

For today, here’s a fun fusion food: Gnocchi Clam Chowder, combining the creamy clam chowder of New England with gnocchi pasta from Northern Italy (photos #1 and #2).

It’s a clever twist: Instead of the diced potatoes that are typical in chowder, this recipe substitutes potato gnocchi (NYUH-kee, photo #3) and a second ingredient that originated in Northern Italy:

Pancetta (pan-CHET-tuh, photo #4), a style of Italian bacon (here’s more about it.

And here’s more about gnocchi: technically, a dumpling but usually included in the category of stuffed pasta or “pillow pasta”—agnolotti, ravioli, tortellini, etc.
 
 
RECIPE: GNOCCHI CLAM CHOWDER

This is a hearty, comforting, filling, chowder that can serve as a first course, or a main course with a green salad.

This easy recipe from DeLallo is made with their packaged potato gnocchi.

You can use packaged gnocchi or fresh gnocchi, which require less cooking time.

Instead of the oyster crackers traditionally served with clam chowder, consider this garlic bread recipe.
 
 
Ingredients For 8-10 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BRING a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook according to the package instructions. Remember, gnocchi will float to the surface when finished cooking. Drain and set aside.

2. MELT the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and pancetta begins to brown, about 8 minutes.

3. ADD the celery, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add clam juice, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile…

4. WHISK the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl to form a slurry paste. Stir into the chowder base and bring to a boil to thicken.

5. DISCARD the bay leaf. Stir in he clams, cream and gnocchi, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6. GARNISH with chives and serve. We had some fresh parsley, and snipped that in as well.
 
 
MORE CHOWDER RECIPES

 
 
GARLIC BREAD RECIPES

 
 
>>> THE HISTORY OF CLAM CHOWDER <<<
 
 
>>> BEYOND GNOCCHI:

CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA IN OUR PASTA GLOSSARY <<<

[1] Clam chowder with something different: potato gnocchi instead of diced potatoes (photos #1 and #2 © DeLallo).

[2] A hot pot of clam chowder. Here’s a recipe for the toasted garlic bread.

[3] Handmade gnocchi (photo © Neco Garnicia | Stock Exchange).

[4] Pancetta, a variety of Italian ham (photo © Di Bruno Bros.).

[5] Canned clams are a quick solution, but if you can use fresh clams, the superior flavor is your payback (photo © Pete’s Seafood Club).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Plant-based JUST has become the #1 liquid egg in just a year (photos #1, #2 and #3 © Eat JUST Inc.)

[2] Coming soon: JUST Folded Egg, ready to serve on toast or muffin, or to top with omelet ingredients.

[3] A JUST Egg muffin can be on your table soon.

[4] Mung beans are identifiable by their white spot (photo © Albert Deccan | Wikipedia).

[5] The fully sprouted beans become familiar bean sprouts (photo © 5 Gallon Bucket Hydro | Amazon).

JUST is the brand that shot to prominence with JUST Egg, a liquid, plant-based egg replacement made from mung bean (photo #1).

It caught the attention of not just vegetarians and vegans: Half of the customers are conventional eaters who seek sustainability, zero cholesterol, and high protein.

The liquid product contains natural colors from carrots and turmeric. When cooked, it looks very much like scrambled eggs, and tastes very similar.

Last year, JUST Egg expanded nationwide and quickly became the number 1 liquid egg product.

You don’t have to look too far to see that plant-based foods have exploded in popularity, far beyond their historic audience of vegans and vegetarians.

In fact, the company found that the majority of purchasers are neither vegans nor vegetarians; and more than 20% are using the egg substitute as a main source of protein.
 
 
COMING SOON: FOLDED EGG

Soon, JUST Egg will debut Folded Egg, an omelet-like variation that is sold frozen, and can be heated in a microwave or toaster (photo #2).

It’s faster than scrambling the liquid egg, and can be eaten as a breakfast sandwich, on toast or a biscuit (photo #3), or on a plate topped with standard omelet fixings (we did a quick sauté of bell peppers, onions and mushrooms).

The folded product is also made from mung bean protein, but with a slightly different texture, enabling foldability.

We received an early taste of the new product, and give it thumbs up!
 
 
WHAT IS MUNG BEAN PROTEIN?

The mung bean (Vigna radiata, family Fabaceae), is native to India.

Cultivated since ancient times, it later spread to China and Southeast Asia, where the protein-rich legume became a nutritional staple.

It is used in curries, salads, savory pancakes, soups, and even desserts.

Also known as the green gram, maash and moong, the legume called “mung bean” is not well-known in the U.S.

Instead, we know it by its fully sprouted form, bean sprouts—the crunchy, slender white filaments used in Chinese and Thai cuisines (photo #5).

Mung bean protein is the key ingredient in the plant-based alternative in Just Egg’s egg substitute.

The English word mung, correctly pronounced moong, derives from the Hindi word moong, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word mudga.

To make mung bean protein:

To extract the protein, raw mung beans (photo #4) are de-hulled and milled into mung flour.

The flour is then mixed with water and other ingredients to create a slurry, which precipitates solubilized protein extract.

The protein extract solids are separated from the slurry, and take a curd-like form.

This is your mung bean protein, the basis of JUST Eggs’ delicious products.
 
 
>>> GLOSSARY OF BEAN TYPES <<<
 
 
>>> THE HISTORY OF BEANS <<<

Beans are one of the oldest-cultivated plants, an important source of protein. Cultivated bean fossils have been found dating to the early 7000s B.C.E.