Recipe: Sweet 'n' Spicy Lamb Gyroti

In December of 2009, Joel and I spent a glorious week on the island of Antigua, eating Caribbean and French food, playing with lizards and baby donkeys, ziplining, and enjoying the tropical weather. While most of the food was extraordinary, one of the dishes that has really stuck with us is roti. In Indian cuisine, the word "roti" refers specifically to a round, unleavened bread frequently served with curry, but in parts of the Caribbean, it refers to a more complete dish: bread that resembles Indian roti, wrapped around a curry-coated filling, generally meat, poultry, or seafood. It's often topped with a fruit marmalade, particularly mango. As I mentioned in a previous post, we had no idea what roti was, but as we sat in a restaurant and overheard a nearby diner raving about how the roti was the best he'd ever had, we ordered it immediately. It was fantastic, indeed.

Back in Boston, we've been unable to find roti within our general Somerville/Cambridge dining radius, but there are apparently a few roti shops in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. Meanwhile, we frequently make our own version. It's incredibly easy, and it's definitely a go-to dish on nights when we're not in the mood to exert much effort on dinner. In most cases, we grab a ready-to-go rotisserie chicken from Shaw's, shred it up and mix it with Kikkoman Thai Yellow Curry Sauce, and add some pan-fried potato chunks. Then we wrap it up in warm tortillas, which Joel toasts directly on the stovetop gas burner (which terrifies me a little bit), and we top it with a dollop of an orange or mango jam, whatever we have on hand.

Last year, the Tri-Lamb Group (no, not that one) reached out to me to see if I'd host a series of lamb dinner parties in order to help spread the word that lamb is a lean and delicious meat that is easy and versatile. Over the course of six months, they provided me with recipes, lamb, and other ingredients to host three different parties. Here's a video I created after the first party:

While the original plan involved just those three parties, they recently reached out again with one more challenge: this time, we'd have to create our own recipe and serve it at another dinner party. After scratching our heads for a few minutes, we decided we wanted to do a play on our beloved roti. We didn't love the idea of mango or orange with lamb, so the jam morphed into a blackberry sauce that we've used on duck and goose. We also moved away from curry, instead opting for a spicy yogurt sauce for the interior of the roti. Once we decided on yogurt, we realized we were heading in the direction of a gyro, so we decided to call our creation a "gyroti."

Sweet 'n' Spicy Lamb Gyroti
Serves 8-12

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 2 hours minimum; overnight if time allows
Cooking time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 boneless leg of lamb, butterflied
• 12 whole wheat tortillas
• 18 oz plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp harissa (with extra on hand for increased spiciness)
• 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brandy
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 6 oz fresh blackberries
• 3 tbsp olive oil-based butter substitute, such as Olivio
• salt and pepper

Ingredient Notes

• Ask your butcher to butterfly the lamb for you to save preparation time.
• If you can't find harissa, a Tunisian chili paste, substitute any other hot red chili paste. The Asian aisle of any supermarket will have several options.
• Suggested additions: include cucumber and/or tomato inside the wrap, or serve a tomato and cucumber side salad.

Utensils
This recipe requires no special utensils, although a potato masher comes in handy when preparing the blackberry sauce.

Directions

Marinate the Lamb
Start at least three hours prior to serving but preferably a day in advance.

1. Butterfly the lamb if it isn't already butterflied, and carefully cut some of the fat off for a leaner meal.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all sides of the lamb, and then rub light brown sugar all over, patting it in gently. Place lamb in a container or bag for marinating.
3. Make the marinade by combining 1/4 cup brandy, 1/4 red wine vinegar, and 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the lamb. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

Prepare the Blackberry Sauce

Begin at least two hours prior to serving so the sauce has enough time to thicken and cool. For best results, do this the day before and store in the refrigerator overnight. The sauce is best served at room temperature. 

1. Melt 3 tbsp light brown sugar into 3 tbsp butter substitute on the stovetop at low heat. Once melted, raise to high heat.
2. Add 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and allow the mixture to come to a boil.
3. Add blackberries; mash. (A potato masher is helpful here, but you can also just use a spoon or spatula.)
4. Return heat to low, and add 2 tbsp brandy.
5. Let reduce for 45 minutes to an hour; the final consistency will be runnier and thinner than a berry jam.
6. Set aside to cool until serving. (Refrigerate overnight if prepared a day in advance, and allow it to warm to room temperature before serving.)

Cook the Lamb

Start cooking at least an hour before serving. After the lamb finishes cooking, you'll want to let it rest for several minutes before carving. You can prepare the yogurt sauce while the lamb rests.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Brown the lamb in an uncovered pan on the stovetop, about 6-8 minutes per side.
3. Cook uncovered in the oven for 25-35 minutes.
4. Let rest while you prepare the yogurt sauce.
5. Carve the lamb into small chunks.

Prepare the Yogurt Sauce

Combine the yogurt and harissa to taste, starting with three tablespoons of harissa. Add more if desired to reach your optimal level of spiciness.

Assemble the Gyroti

1. Warm the tortilla in the oven, toaster oven, or carefully directly on top of a gas burner on the stove. Place on plate.
2. Put a serving of lamb on the center of the tortilla and add any other optional mix-ins, like tomato and cucumber chunks.
3. Spoon a generous dollop of yogurt sauce over the lamb.
4. Wrap up the tortilla burrito-style.
5. Spoon a generous serving of blackberry sauce on top of the tortilla.

You're gonna want a knife and fork for this. Or a lot of napkins.

Disclosure: The Tri-Lamb Group provided me with enough lamb for recipe testing and for hosting a dinner party with eight guests, as well as a gift card to help cover other ingredient costs. 

Fractal Broccoli for Miss Lima

Miss Lima taught 10th grade geometry. At least I think it was 10th grade and I think it was geometry, but to be honest, high school memories are starting to get a little hazy. I can't even remember the names of all my teachers anymore. It's strange to think I used to have my entire week's schedule memorized to the minute. In any case, I do remember vague bits of a field trip Miss Lima organized. We went to a day-long fractal conference. A day. Of fractals. It was either at BU or MIT, and my dad was one of the chaperones.

Fractals are complex shapes made up of self-similar parts, which in turn are also made up of self-similar parts, and so on, theoretically to infinitely small self-similar parts. The Koch snowflake is a common visualization. Fractals occur in nature, but not quite as neatly as the theory dictates, of course. 'Infinitely small' is hardly possible in practical application. A few natural examples: ferns, lightning, blood vessel systems...and Romanesco broccoli (also called Romanesco cauliflower), a member of the broccoli and cauliflower species Brassica oleracea.

Two years ago, I learned that Miss Lima, who had since married and had three children, had died of breast cancer at only 39 years old. This post is dedicated to her. I'm still amazed that she was able to get a whole class full of high schoolers excited about a math field trip. I've hardly encountered fractals in an academic setting since then, but the memory has stayed with me.

I first stumbled across Romanesco broccoli somewhere on the Internet last year, probably in a blog post, and I was intrigued by its approximate fractal beauty. I scoured the farmers markets, but it seemed that I had missed the season. Finally, this weekend, I spotted it at the Somerville Winter Farmers Market. I can't remember the name of the farm - too excited about the find to notice, I guess - but they recommended roasting it with some goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. (They also recounted the story of a passerby who commented that looking at Romanesco broccoli was probably much like what you'd see on acid.)

We stopped by the Foxboro Cheese Co. stand to investigate whether they had goat cheese. They didn't, but we ended up with asiago (my favorite cheese) and a lemon honey fromage blanc, which seemed like a perfect accompaniment to the broccoli (instead of goat cheese). Yes, it was perfect.

Lightly season the broccoli with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast it at 425 for about 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add cheese (fromage blanc, goat, or your choice) and balsamic. We used a store-bought balsamic glaze rather than straight balsamic vinegar. Put it back in the oven for another three or four minutes, and then broil for a minute or two. Voila: cheesy roasted Romanesco broccoli with balsamic glaze. The flavor was a perfect mix of broccoli and cauliflower, fairly mild. Delicious, beautiful, and fleeting.

And then it was gone.
Even nature's not infinite, but it does a good job of convincing us otherwise.
  

Video: Super Spicy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I wrote about these cookies back in March, but I figured they'd be a fun subject to revisit for another video post. Through the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program, I recently received a complimentary sample of Ghirardelli's new Intense Dark chocolates, and I had always wanted to try out the cookies with a darker chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Chocolate Chips for all the other times I've baked these cookies.) Goodbye 60%, hello 86%!

Joel took a hammer to a couple bars: the 72% ("Twilight Delight") and the 86% ("Midnight Reverie"). We were afraid to make the cookies too bitter, so we included about a 2:1 ratio of the twilight to the midnight. (As for the leftover chocolate? Well, let's just say there's no such thing as leftover chocolate.)

The result? The most delicious batch of the spicy cookies that we've ever made...but it was also the least spicy. I think I used the same amount of ghost chili powder and salt as usual - except for that one time when I was a bit tipsy and included a heaping spoonful of the powder - so I'm guessing maybe the stronger, darker chocolate masks the spice a bit more. Upon eating the cookies, I still got the strange chill and euphoria that ghost chili seems to trigger for me. In any case, these remain my favorite cookies to bake - and to share with unsuspecting friends!

If you'd like to download or print the recipe, check out the PDF version here.

Links to stuff mentioned in the video:

• The recipe that inspired this one: "Dark Chocolate Cookies with Espresso Salt" by Bianca Garcia (Confessions of a Chocoholic)
• Ghost chili products online: ghost chili sea salt at saltworks.us and ghost chili powder at bhut-pepper.com (I've also found part of the bhut-pepper.com product line at The Meat Hook in Brooklyn, NY.)
• Dried ghost chilis available locally: Christina's Spice and Specialty Shop (Inman Square, Cambridge, MA)

Special thanks to Joel Edinberg, who (a) helped me shoot the video, particularly when I'm the one on screen, (b) helped me bake and eat the cookies, and (c) did all of the music/sound work, including writing, performing, and recording the music, recording my voiceovers, and tracking down the perfect cat and elephant noises.

Also, thanks to several of my co-workers, who, with varying levels of enthusiasm, allowed me to record video of them tasting the cookies: Rob Ciampa, Yelena Kadeykina, and Theresa Moore.

Video: Lambapalooza

I used to avoid lamb. It fell under the "too cute" category - a distinction which now makes no sense to me. If I'm going to eat meat, I'm not going to pick and choose based on an arbitrary scale of adorability. This awareness has helped me appreciate the meat I do eat while also helping me start to cut back on meat, an ongoing process that I'm thinking about more and more.

The first time I ate lamb, I was at a dinner party with my then-boyfriend at his relatives' house. When I saw that the main course was lamb, I panicked but quickly decided that the best route would be to take the smallest portion possible to avoid being rude and maybe take a few small bites.

Next thing I knew, I was asking for seconds. So much for cute.

Lamb Supper Club? Yes, Please.
Fast forward to now. I was recently contacted by the Tri-Lamb Group, a "collaborative initiative between United States, Australia, and New Zealand lamb producers to enhance demand for lamb in the United States." They wanted to know if I'd be willing to host a series of three lamb supper clubs for groups of friends: they'd provide the lamb, a recipe, and other necessary ingredients, and I'd take it from there. I realized that I'd never actually cooked lamb before, so it seemed like a good opportunity.

I rounded up the boyfriend, the roommate, and an assortment of blogger and non-blogger friends, set a date for a meal I dubbed Lambapalooza #1, and asked everyone to bring a dish they thought would go well with lamb.

Irene Keeps Us Indoors
I desperately wanted to grill the lamb outdoors and eat under a leaf-covered trellis in my yard; I've never eaten under it, and I hoped the final days of August would provide a good opportunity. Unfortunately, Lambapalooza ended up occurring the day before Hurricane Irene, so we expected heavy rains to begin right during dinner and opted for indoors instead. I obsessed a bit over decorating and ended up settling on picnic-style checkered tablecloths and a few other accoutrements, including an adorable lamb print by Alyson Thomas. (I also have one of her fantastic "cheeky meat" prints.)

Irene Also Inspires a Drink
Yep, hurricanes. How could we not? I'm not going to bother providing the recipe because, honestly, it was pretty much the entire liquor cabinet. There are tons of variations online - find one that looks good and play around with it if you really want to drink this. Our first attempt included blue curacao, which gave it a gray color - definitely hurricane-like, but certainly not appetizing. After some tinkering, we came up with a nice pink version (without the blue curacao). Think Long Island Iced Tea meets the sketchy jungle juice from a frat party, and that's pretty much what we drank. Keepin' it classy.

Lambapalooza Begins
The guests arrived bearing wine and food. Molly (Cheap Beets) and her husband Rich brought curried potato latkes with curry yogurt sauce (also a delicious topping for the lamb!) Lindsey and Jon (the duo behind Beantown Eats) brought minted orzo with peas; you can view their recipe here. My non-blogger friends Lauren and Cindy brought an excellent chickpea salad. I also prepared dinner rolls - I'm using the term "prepared" loosely here as I actually only added seasoning to Pillsbury dough - and brie and fig cups, part of my new obsession with wonton wrappers. The cups are ridiculously easy to make; check out the video above for a demonstration.

Lambapalooza Hits a Snag...
The recipe we were provided was rather vague about when to slice the lamb. Since we were using the alternative oven- and pan-roasting instructions rather than grilling, and since the recipe didn't specify otherwise, we thought we were supposed to keep the lamb whole and in the netting as we roasted it. Turns out the 25-minute cooking estimate applies if you butterfly it before grilling; for our method, it was a good 90+ minutes. Oops. In the end, though, it was still delicious.

In Case You'd Like to Try It
Here's the marinade recipe from the Tri-Lamb Group:

Ingredients
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 to 4 red Anaheim chilies, thinly sliced (ribs and seeds removed if you'd like less heat)

Mix them all together, and marinate the lamb overnight if you can.

As far as cooking goes, you can try butterflying and grilling it (about 25 minutes, supposedly). We ended up doing a chaotic combination of searing on the stovetop and oven-roasting...and searing some more...over the course of about an hour and half. While it ended up great, I'd recommend checking some other sources to figure out what you should really do with a giant hunk of boneless lamb.

Lamb Thoughts from My Dinner Guests
"Why do I love lamb? It's never tasted gamey to me. I just think it's really tender and delicious. I love that it's even a little more meaty than beef sometimes. It tends to show up in the types of food I love, too: Indian, Greek..." -Rich

"My mom never really cooked lamb. It's been one of those meats that was kind of intimidating for me to cook for myself, maybe because I was never really exposed to it. The first time I think I really had lamb was with Jon. He made it really, really simply - a small rack of lamb, pan-seared in a cast iron skillet. I realized how easy it was in that kind of set-up. He just seasoned it with garlic and rosemary and it was so good." -Lindsey

"I love lamb to the point where Rachel should get jealous." -Joel  [Ed. note: Hmmmmm. -Rachel]

"I'm really excited for this lamb" -Lauren

Disclosure: As mentioned above, this meal was sponsored in part by the Tri-Lamb Group, who provided the lamb, the recipe, and ingredients for the marinade. By accepting these items, I was asked only to host a lamb dinner party and provide feedback on the event. This video and blog post were my own idea; I was under no obligation to complete them.

Potato and Poblano Pepper Wontons

I'm on a wonton wrapper kick. These things are great. You can put just about anything in them, and there are plenty of ways you can cook them. Earlier this week, I made kale ravioli in a thyme-lemon broth and tomato and goat cheese wonton cups with balsamic glaze. Last night: potato and poblano pepper wontons.

Nearly everything going on in my kitchen lately is an attempt to plow through as many CSA vegetables as possible. I don't think we've ever been able to completely finish a week's share without letting a few things go to waste; we need to get better.

Since the earlier recipes were boiled, baked, and not actually wontons, we decided to do a simple steamed wonton with some of our CSA veggies. We'll probably try out fried wontons next!


Recipe: Potato and Poblano Pepper Wontons

Ingredients

• wonton wrappers
• potatoes (we used the Katahdin variety)
• poblano peppers
• soy sauce
• dipping sauce of your choice (we used a ginger soy sauce and a store-bought spicy dumpling sauce)

Instructions

1. Finely chop potatoes and peppers into small cubes or chunks. Optional: remove pepper seeds for less heat.
2. Pan fry potatoes and peppers to desired doneness. (Trying putting the potatoes in first and adding the peppers as the potatoes began to brown.) Include a splash of soy sauce.
3. Place small spoonfuls of the potato and pepper mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper and fold according to the directions on the package (or get creative and do your own thing).
4. Place the wontons into a steamer basket. Steam for 5-10 minutes.
5. Serve with a dipping sauce or two. We used a ginger soy sauce and a store-bought spicy dumpling sauce.

Kale Ravioli in Thyme-Lemon Broth

Today's relentless drizzle and moody grey sky signaled the quickly coming autumn, but I think we still have a little bit of summer sun left to enjoy. Tonight's dinner was the perfect bridge between the seasons: soup for warmth, but a light and lemony soup filled with flavors of the warmer months.

As usual, I'm trying to burn through the impossible amount of vegetables I've received in my CSA, so I decided to throw together this week's curly kale with some wonton wrappers I already had (from last week's tomato and goat cheese wonton cups). When the idea first came to mind a few days ago, I was thinking of a basic pasta dish with a tomato-based sauce, but yesterday, I found myself at Christina's Spice and Specialty Foods, where I picked up a jar of preserved lemons on a whim, quickly realizing that kale and lemons were a good match.

Wonton wrappers have so many uses! There were a million in the pack that I bought, so they'll probably be making appearances in a few more posts in the near future. For the kale, I just sauteed it in olive oil with some salt and crushed red pepper, and then I blanched it to keep it nice and green while I got everything else ready.

I had hoped to tie little knots of thyme around the tops of the raviolis, but this proved to be way too much work, so I just speared a few of them to add some color and flavor.

The fried garlic garnish was inspired by a Cambodian lime soup that I absolutely love - a sweet and sour broth with pineapple, shrimp, and some other tasty ingredients, including fried garlic. I also used a few thin slices of a preserved lemon as garnish. I'd never had these before; they added a subtly salty flavor along with the tartness, and the jar gave off an intoxicating scent when I opened it.

I accompanied the meal with some biscuits (the type made from store-bought dough), which I topped with Himalayan pink salt, another random purchase at the spice shop over the weekend.

Recipe: Kale Ravioli in Thyme-Lemon Broth
serves 2


Ingredients

• Wonton wrappers (I used 18) 
• Fresh thyme (a few sprigs)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 head curly kale
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper (optional)
• 3 cans broth (I used low sodium chicken broth)
• 1 large lemon
• 1 preserved lemon (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine three cans of broth and the juice of one lemon in a large pot. Add some thyme. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until everything else is ready.
2. Wash the kale and tear into small pieces. Saute with olive oil, salt, and crushed red peppers (optional). Blanch.
3. Spread out wonton wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Put a small spoonful of sauteed kale in the center of each.
4. Wetting the edges of each wrapper, fold raviolis. Follow the directions on the wonton wrapper package or do your own thing. Work quickly; the wrappers get harder to manipulate the longer they've been sitting out on the table.
5. Get some water boiling. In the meantime, prepare the garnish: slice up the preserved lemon and fry some minced garlic.
6. Cook the ravioli for about three minutes in the boiling water. Drain and combine with the broth. Garnish with preserved lemon slices and fried garlic.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Wonton Cups with Balsamic Glaze

The title really has all the information you need to make this ultra-simple appetizer!

I got cherry tomatoes in my CSA today, which led me to make these. I ended up eating the whole batch, accompanied by a nice cold bottle of Unibroue Éphémère, while watching The Piano on Netflix. I can't believe I had made it through 20+ years as a pianist without watching this movie.

By the way, these are obviously extremely customizable. Have fun! I think some fresh basil would have tasted great with the tomatoes and goat cheese.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Wonton Cups with Balsamic Glaze
Serving: 12 cups


Ingredients

• 12 cherry tomatoes
• Goat cheese (lots!)
• Balsamic glaze (It can usually be found in the same aisle as balsamic vinegar.)
• 12 wonton wrappers
• Fresh basil (optional)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
2. Grease a muffin pan.
3. Put a wonton wrapper in each cup of the muffin pan.
4. Bake the wrappers for five minutes.
5. Take the muffin pan out of the oven and put in all of the fillings. (You can add the glaze now or at the end; it's up to you!)
6. Bake for another three to five minutes.

Take a Gander at This Grilled Goose

The smell of citronella candles invariably triggers nostalgia for carefree summer nights with friends and family (and blissful freedom from mosquito bites). Last night, the hippocampal connections were reinforced as another wonderful memory was added to the summer mix: a night of grilled goose, aged wine, and good friends - and their dog - under the Somerville moonlight, hanging out next to the old porch piano and catching a glimpse of Henry the neighborhood rabbit hopping around nearby. (No, we're not going to eat Henry.)

The goose - two pounds of deep red breast meat - was given to us by one of Joel's co-workers, a hunter, in exchange for a recipe. The perfect opportunity for recipe-gathering arose last weekend when Joel and I judged the Cadillac Culinary Challenge and had a chance to chat with Chef Jonathan Waxman and Chef Jason Santos after the competition. We ended up mostly following Chef Waxman's advice to marinate the goose for two days (olive oil, red wine, garlic, chili pepper), grill it on medium heat, cook it to medium, and let it rest before slicing across the grain. (Chef Santos had recommended simply seasoning it with salt and pepper and cooking it over low heat in cast iron, letting it cook in the fat drippings.)

We imagined goose would pair well with berries, so we chose a favorite sweet, cheap wine for the marinade: Jam Jar, a South African shiraz we discovered thanks to a wine and chocolate course we took awhile back. We used what was left of the bottle as a simple wine reduction to drizzle over the goose.

For sides, we threw together a salad with vegetables from our CSA, and we made Hasselback potatoes with pesto, based on this recipe. The potatoes that came with the CSA were Yukon gold, so we used those, but in the future, a sturdier potato like a russet would be a better choice - much easier to slice properly. Despite some slicing errors, these potatoes were gorgeous and delicious, and I plan on making this recipe again and again. It's endlessly customizable; plenty of toppings would work well, and more than just garlic and butter could be hidden between the slices. Fresh herbs might be a nice fit.

We figured that a nice summer night with friends and an unusual meat provided the perfect opportunity to break open a bottle of wine I've been aging since the summer of 2005. For my birthday that summer, I visited some wineries in the Finger Lakes; I was living in Rochester, New York at the time. On a whim, I decided to buy a wine to age for five years. At one of the wineries, Standing Stone, they recommended that year's Pinnacle, a blend of bordeaux, as a wine that would age well by 2010. I didn't get around to opening the bottle last year, so I've been waiting for the right occasion.

For a summer that has not been nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped, there's no better interruption to a busy schedule than a dinner out on the back porch with great friends and great food. As the hours stretched on, I could barely keep my eyes open, but sleep is overrated; late nights like these are the most important ones, the memories-in-the-making that come drifting back with every future scent of citronella in the summer breeze.

Grilled Goose with Jam Jar Glaze

INGREDIENTS

• goose breast - cleaned, boneless, skinless
• red wine - try a sweet one with strong berry flavors
• olive oil
• garlic
• red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Brine the goose for up to a day. (We brined it for about six hours.)
2. Marinate the goose breast in a mixture of red wine, olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes for up to two days. (We used about a half cup of olive oil - just enough to barely cover the meat - and about a half bottle of wine.)
3. Grill on medium heat until cooked to medium.
4. Let rest for 20 minutes.
5. Slice thinly across the grain.
6. Optional: drizzle with red wine reduction. (We literally just reduced the wine we had left - no other ingredients - but you can get as creative as you'd like with the reduction.)