Piquant Post is a monthly subscription box that offers a variety of freshly ground, small batch spice blends with their very own chef developed recipes that feature a new region each month.
This is a review of the $11.99 monthly plan.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Piquant Post
The Subscription Box: Piquant Post
The Cost: $11.99 a month, $65.94 for 6 month pre-pay, or $119.88 for 12 month pre-pay.
ACTIVE DEAL: First Order 10% off. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: 4 spice blends from a single region or country, 4 chef-developed recipes showcasing each of the spice blends, plus online access to recipes and ingredient substitutes.
Ships to: Worldwide with free U.S. shipping
Piquant Post March 2018 Review
Each box comes with four spice blends and coordinating recipe cards. Let's get into this month's spices!
Provence Rose Spice
Look at how beautiful this spice blend is! It is made with rose and centifolia. Not only does this blend look beautiful but it smells amazing! It is very floral and fresh like a spring afternoon. I almost felt bad cooking with this blend, it looks like it should be displayed in a dish, but once I saw the recipe for it I knew I had to use it!
Vanilla Ice Cream with Rosewater Recipe
The recipe calls to turn this blend into rosewater that you can sweeten with sugar or honey! Then, you drizzle it over some vanilla ice cream. You can even dress your ice cream up with pistachio or mint leaves. I have been craving ice cream in a big way, hello second trimester, so I knew this was a recipe I had to make!
Honestly, this recipe is so easy I want to make it again for my parents! All I did was boil water, add 3 tablespoons of the rose blend, let it simmer until the water turned pink, and then I just strained the water out from the petals. While this cooked, my house was filled with the most amazing floral scent. Nothing too powerful just a light freshness that I wish would have lingered longer. Once you strain the liquid, you want to add your sweetener right away, and then put it straight into the fridge to cool. I added honey for mine because I was out of sugar.
Once my liquid cooled I gave it one last stir and poured it over my vanilla ice cream! I'm not a fan of mint so I didn't add any mint leaves, and before I could add my pistachios my son was gobbling this dish down. I don't think I want to eat ice cream any other way now. The liquid had this lovely floral taste to it like a fresh tea, but I also got hints of berry sort of similar to a raspberry. The honey made this liquid thick and just so sweet in the perfect way. My liquid was still slightly warm so it made my ice cream super soft which I love! I only wish I had purchased more ice cream since my son ate most of this!
Baharat 7 Spice
Baharat is the Arabic word for spice. According to the Piquant Post blog, this spice blend is a traditional Arabic blend that is typically used on various meats. It looks like you can use it on just about anything from fish to steaks! This blend is made with seven spices of black pepper, allspice, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and smoked paprika. I love allspice so I knew this blend was something I would be able to use on so many dishes!
Lamb Baharat Recipe
This is a traditional dish that really brings out the flavors of the Baharat spice. It also brings out the flavors commonly found in modern Arabic cuisine. I absolutely love lamb, but I have never cooked it on my own. My Dad is an amazing cook and makes lamb for many holidays so I'm honestly scared to cook it since his is always perfect. I am going to save this recipe for a special occasion when I am also feeling adventurous, but I am going to use this spice blend the next night we decide to grill some steaks!
Spicy Mint Blend Spice
According to the Piquant Post blog, mint is added mint is often added to dishes or spice blends in the Middle East that have hot ingredients or spices. I wonder if that is to cool it down a bit or just to add a light flavor of freshness to compliment the spiciness? This blend had a wonderful smell. You are really hit with the mint flavor and then bam, spicy! This blend contains spearmint, smoked paprika, cayenne, cumin, and coriander.
Lebanese Moussaka Recipe
This dish is a vegetable stew that is a common meal in the Middle East. The card notes that you can serve this cold or chilled. It notes that you can serve it along with crusty bread or pita chips, I think a warm pita would be amazing with this hearty bowl! The dish is meant to give you a lot of spice with that cool spearmint flavor to add a little freshness. I love making stew, serving it warm, and then my husband will usually eat the leftovers cold the next day. So this is really the perfect recipe for us! I haven't cooked this dish just yet, but I can't wait to try my hand at this bold dinner.
Zaatar Spice
This is an authentic zaatar blend that has so many different levels of flavors! It is made with thyme, sumac, marjoram, oregano, and sesame seeds. I don't think I have tried so many different spices together in one blend. Since this was so unique to me, I knew I had to cook the matching recipe for this blend.
Zaatar Roasted Chicken Recipe
I love gathering new chicken recipes that are quick and easy! This recipe looked simple enough for a weeknight meal, but I knew it would be filling enough for my family. We even had a few leftovers! Let's dive into this recipe.
I started by adding olive oil to my spice blend and mixing it together. This is where I was really able to smell all of the layers of spices that this blend contains.
From there, I added my chicken breasts (with skin) to the bowl and made sure everything was coated nicely with the spice and oil. I covered and set this in my refridgerator for an hour. The card notes that you can let this sit for as little as 15 minutes or as long as overnight to really let the flavors blend together.
Then, all I had to do was place the chicken in a baking dish and let it cook. So simple!
The finished product! Look at this beautiful plate! I served my chicken with lemon slices to squeeze over the chicken which was just an amazing addition. Each bite was full of unique flavors like a little spice, a little sweet, some tartness, and then that thyme just really put this chicken over the edge. This recipe really reminded me how important it is to season and let your meat rest while the seasoning blends together before baking and serving.
Verdict: This month's Piquant Post was so delightful and fresh! I was really excited to see a dessert recipe this month that was also easy, I am not a big baker, but ice cream I can handle. Each spice blend was unique and it allowed me to learn a bit more about Middle Eastern spices and cuisine. The roasted chicken dish was by far my favorite that I cooked this month, and I will be adding it to my recipe rotation. Piquant Post always gets me thinking outside of the box each month and getting me a bit more adventurous and focused in the kitchen instead of sticking to my usual.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, order by 5/15 to receive the May box!
Coupon - Use code MSA15OFF to save 15% off your first box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $11.99 with free U.S. shipping, and I received a total of 4 spices. That means that the average value for each of those items is around $3 (not counting the recipe cards).
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