Nutmeg Instead Of Mace In Fish Stew

Our answer

Nigella's Fear-Free Fish Stew (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) has an aromatic tomato sauce that uses ground spices - mace, ginger, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric. A diced sweet potato adds a touch of sweetness to the sauce.

Mace is the lacy coating that is on the outside of a nutmeg seed. It is dried and then used whole or ground as a spice and although it has some nutmeg flavours it tends to be a bit more assertive and peppery. But if you can't buy mace then ground nutmeg is the next best alternative and use the same amount (¼ teaspoon). If possible, very finely grate or grind the nutmeg yourself from a whole nutmeg, as the flavour is usually slightly stronger that ready-ground nutmeg from a container.