SFoodie's countdown of our favorite 50 things to eat and drink, 2012 edition
In 2005, a Los Angeles chef named Ludovic Lefebvre asked Le Sanctuaire, a merchant of spices and molecular-gastronomy tools with branches in Santa Monica and San Francisco, to develop a spice blend for him. Called vadouvan, the blend is rumored to have originated in a French colony in South India but is now prevalent in French kitchens.
In the past three years, Le Sanctuaire's vadouvan has shown up in almost every high-end Bay Area restaurant, from Saison and Commonwealth to Wayfare Tavern and Incanto. At first whiff, it greets you like a standard curry powder, the fenugreek, cumin, and ginger in the blend evident. But the genius of the blend is that just behind that garrulous greeting lopes the nutty, sweet flavors of slowly toasted shallots and onion. They give the vadouvan an unexpected richness, uninterrupted by chile heat, that broadens the flavor of everything the spice blend touches.
Vadouvan is not an easy spice blend to make. In his new cookbook, Aziza chef Mourad Lahlou gives a recipe for his version -- based on Le Sanctuaire's -- that requires at least 10 hours of mincing, frying, roasting, and dehydrating. It takes much less time to head to Rainbow to pick up a 23-gram package, which costs close to $11. The moment you take off the lid, though, its potency becomes apparent. A pinch is all that is needed to sprinkle onto scrambled eggs or to flavor a warm vinaigrette for roasted vegetables. Lahlou makes brown-butter sauce with vadouvan for drizzling over chicken, and Setiyo recommends sprinkling vadouvan over steamed lobster.
Le Sanctuaire: 315 Sutter (at Grant), 986-4216. Private appointments only. Spices also available online or, slightly cheaper, at Rainbow Grocery.
Other favorites in this series:
26: Soy sauce chicken from Happy Bakery & Deli
27: Locanda's Jewish-style artichoke
28: Local: Mission Eatery's asparagus-egg sandwich
29: Memphis Minnie's 18-hour brisket
30: Custard buns from City View
31: Mission Chinese Food's kung pao pastrami
32: Panisse frites from Frances
33: Izakaya Yuzuki's chawanmushi
34: Fatted Calf's chorizo
35: Silvanas from House of Silvanas
36: Linden Street Brewery's black lager
37: Aged oolongs from Red Blossom Tea Company
38: Broken Record's crawfish grits
39: Cebiche mixto from La Mar
