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Photos and story by Julie Van Rosendaal

Not counting water, tea is the most popular beverage on the planet; it’s the focus of rich cultural traditions worldwide, and though most buy the leaves to steep and drink, it has huge potential as a culinary ingredient.

All true teas come from the same tea bush — Camellia sinensis — and are categorized as black, green, white or oolong depending on the processing method. Anything else — herbal teas and roiboos, for example — are technically not teas at all but tisanes that are steeped and drunk in the same manner.

These basic teas are then used as canvases; often scented, flavoured or blended with other ingredients — Earl Grey is created by adding oil of bergamot to black tea leaves, and jasmine is scented by layering dried tea on screens between screens of jasmine flowers to infuse the tea with its scent. Non-tea ingredients like citrus, dried fruit, flower petals and spices are frequently added to tea leaves, and “chai” blends typically contain cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, though chai translates to tea. Some tea leaves are altered during processing; lapsang souchong, for example, is smoke-dried over pinewood fire, giving it distinctive campfire smokiness.

Both the loose leaves and steeped tea have potential in the kitchen — cooled tea is acidic, making it a great base for marinades (try strong black teas such as Earl Grey, Darjeeling and smoky lapsang souchong for beef and pork, light herbals, green teas and citrus blends for chicken and seafood), in place of water when cooking rice (try citrus blends, Jasmine, lemongrass) or oatmeal (try chamomile, chai blends, soursap), or along with or in place of stock as a soup base — tea is a brilliant vegetarian or vegan option. Tea makes tasty hot and cold cocktails, and if you like to plump up raisins and other dry fruit before you add it to your baking, you can use tea instead of hot water or booze.

Dry loose tea leaves can be added to shortbread, cookie or scone dough, or used to infuse cream you intend to whip and dollop over pie (imagine a strawberry-rhubarb pie with Earl Grey-infused cream) or turn into ice cream, panna cotta, crème brulée, even rice pudding. But though you can start with dry leaves in baked goods, adding them as you might add a dry spice, waking them up in a ramekin with a splash of boiling water will soften the leaves and help them release their flavour before you add them to a recipe.

Julie creates four recipes this month using a variety of teas. Check out the other three here: Earl Grey or Lavender Shortbread, Black Tea Panna Cotta and Pulled Pork with Lapsang Souchong.

chai butternut squash soup
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Chai Butternut Squash Soup with Apples

Frozen cubed squash works well in this soup, and as a wider variety of winter squash comes back into season, consider roasting them whole in the oven (poke it a few times with a sharp knife first) when it’s onto bake something else — a whole squash takes about an hour, and once cool can be peeled with your fingers, and the roasted flesh used in a pot of soup.

Ingredients

  • Olive or canola oil
  • 1 onion, small chopped
  • 2 tsp curry paste or powder
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 butternut squash, medium size peeled and cubed
  • 1 tart apple (such as Ambrosia), peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 cups chai-spiced tea (hot or cooled or another tea)
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1/2 cup half and half heavy or whipping cream

Instructions

  • Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes, until soft.
  • Add the curry paste or powder and ginger and sauté for another minute or two.
  • Add the squash, apple, stock and tea, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the squash is very soft.
  • Adjust seasoning, add the cream and puree with a hand-held immersion blender straight in the pot, until smooth.