Recipe

QUICK EXIT/ENTRY SEARCH

2008-05-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

QUICK EXIT/ENTRY SEARCH

Down load 36 teams into the middle of the area and each of the team run at full speed at 36 angles to reach the Safe Zone for the EXIT.

Cheese

2008-05-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Mountains and cheese go together, and ewes’ milk cheeses are found all over Europe’s most mountainous country. Goats’ milk cheeses are made in the wetter north can one find cheese from cows’ milk. Most cheeses are still unpasteurized.

The most famous cheese, and the only one exported in any quantity, is Manchego. It is best known in a black rind. Spanish cheeses vary more widely in the course of ageing than the cheddars we know, and Manchego may be mild and quite soft, or strong and hard. Because it is made of ewes’ milk it is expensive – more so than Parmesan, which makes the best substitute. Manchego-style cheeses stored in olive oil are a good buy, as they age without drying.

The most famous blue cheese is Cabrales, and the similar Picon, from the Picos de Europa where it is made. Creamy, blue-veined and sold wrapped in leaves, it is the Spanish Roquefort: a gourmet treat.

Fresh cheeses are made round the country, like queso de Burgos, widely available in Spain and eaten as a dessert with honey. From Galicia the creamy tetilla is famous for the name ‘titty’, and its gentle breast shape.

Smoked cheeses include one from Roncal, with tiny holes, and the shiny, amber-colored San Simon, which looks like a ripe near.

Soft cheeses are eaten with fruit or honey as a dessert, but firm and hard ones are most popular plain, with bread, at either end of a meal. Cooking with cheese is not a Spanish habit, though the spread of Italian pasta dishes in the 19th century introduced cheese sauces. Cheese is grated over baked vegetables like aubergines and egged-and-crumbed fried cheese, queso frito, is a popular tapa.

5. Fruit, Cream and Cheese

2008-03-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

Fresh fruit with a complementary cheese is, from the cook’s point of view, one of the easiest ways of ending a meal. Soft fruits with a soft cheese are idea.

CREAM-CROWDIE (Cranachan)
Unique Scottish flavours – whisky, heather honey and oatmeal combine with cream and soft fruits in this versatile tradition.

The best way to eat and make this is in the traditional way; mixing your own, to your own taste as you sit round a table with family or friends. The toasted oatmeal doesn’t lose its ‘bite’ when mixed and eaten immediately, though some to prefer it softened, as it is when the mixture is made up some time in advance.

The ritual eating was originally a celebration of ‘harvest home’ when brambles and blueberries would most likely have been used. (For origins (see tag245))

Set on the table the following

A bowl of Cream and Crowdie – 2 parts crowdie to 1 part freshly whipped double cream (this was the traditional mixture but obviously may be varied according to taste with sourced cream and natural yogurt used if preferred).

A bowl of pinhead (coarse) oatmeal which has been toasted slowly and gently in the oven. This drives off excess moisture, concentrates, and greatly improves the flavour.

[ A bowl of fresh soft fruit – either a single fruit, or combination, but must be soft and fresh. Picking fruit is traditionally done by children and they are sent out to collect a bowlful.

Jar of Heather honey to sweeten, though sugar may also be used.

Bottle of whisky.

Give each person a bowl and spoon (in old Scots households the bowls would have been wooden and the spoons made of horn). The ingredients are then passed round the table and each person creates their own mixture, lubricating it with a generous tot of whisky. ]

CROWDIE

2008-02-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

(tag245)

[ CROWDIE – Made with low fat milk

Traditional crowdie was a cottage cheese and originated as a staple food for the crofter. It was hand-skimmed on the croft when a little of the cream was left, making it, in modern jargon, a ‘low fat’ rather than a ‘skimmed milk’ cheese.

‘The unusual thing about Crowdie is that it is semi-cooked. The fresh milk is soured naturally beside the stove and then “scrambled” over the heat and hung up to drip in a muslin cloth. This ancient cheese is unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and as far as we know was made nowhere in Europe … it has special qualities. Firstly, because of the natural curding (12 hours) if has a lovely citric flavour. Rennet (forbidden by both Vegetarians and Orthodox Jew) was not traditionally used to speed the souring. We use no rennet on our large scale, lactic cultures, and stick rigidly to the old recipe and method. Secondly this semi-cooked cheese (believed to go back to Viking and possibly Pictish times) is very slow in certain elements that are bad for kidney patients. Among them potassium and sodium.’ Lactic or acid curd crowdie has a more refreshing sharper flavour than rennet-started crowdie.

Origin of the name
When the Scots mixed meal and water together in the 18th century they called this ‘crowdie’ and, because it was such a staple item of diet, the name for the dish became transferred to the meal itself. People talked about Crowdie-time as the time to eat and because it took on this much broader meaning, it seems that all kinds of dishes had the word Crowdie added to them.

Crowdie-Moudie was a kind of steamed porridge made with milk; Cream-Crowdie or Cranachan was a special dish of harvest plenty when cream and oatmeal were mixed with fruits; Ale Crowdie was a mixture of ale oatmeal, treacle and whisky, also a harvest dish, while Crowdie Butter was curds with butter mixed through. Today the name is applied to the drained curd.

CROWDIE can be used in all recipes which use low or semi-fat soft cheeses (i.e. Quark, Philadelphia etc.): it is usually cheaper.

Basic crowdies
HIGHLAND CROWDIE (Highland Fine, Tain) A low-fat traditional crowdie with a moist texture and refreshing flavour. It is rennet free. (5.5 oz tubs/6 lb tubs)
CLAYMORE CROWDIE (North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board Creamery, Kirkwall, Orkney) Low-fat, traditional crowdie made with unpasteurised milk. (5 oz cartons) Also sold in tubs mixed with other ingredients.

Crowdie variations
CROWDIE AND CREAM (Highland Fine, Tain) Two-thirds crowdie to one-third double cream. (5.5 oz tubs/ 6 lb tub)
GRU DHU (Highland Fine, Tain) A crowdie and cream cheese mixture rolled in crushed peppercorns, giving it a unique flavour. (5 oz tubs/2 lb ball)
HRAMSA (Highland Fine, Tain) Crowdie mixed with chopped wild garlic lighter in flavour than continental garlic. ‘Hramsa’ is the Gaelic for wild garlic – the ‘all healing herb’.
HOWGATE CROWDIE AND CREAM (5 oz tubs)
PEAT SMOKED SOFT CHEESE (Howgate Cheeses, Penicuik) A soft cheese, the curds are ladled into open ended moulds sitting on straw mats, giving characteristic marks, and turned once, gently smoked over peat. A fine delicate flavour. (5 oz packs)
GOAT CHEESE – Soft farmhouse goats’ milk cheese is being made in small quantities mostly for local sale only. Worth keeping an eye open for in specialist cheese shops who track down supplies or may be able to give you further information. ]

BACALAO IN SPICY TOMATO WITH POTATOES

2008-02-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

SALT COD IS A POPULAR INGREDENT IN SPAIN, NOT JUST A LENTEN NECESSITY. IT IS THE SALT THAT MAKES THE FISH SO CHARACTERFUL, SO DON’T OVERSOAK IT FOR THIS TRADITIONAL BASQUE RECIPE. LOOK OUT FOR A LOIN PIECE, WHICH HAS VERY LITTLE WASTE; IF YOU CAN’T FIND ONE, BUY A LARGER PIECE TO ENSURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH ONCE ANY VERY DRY BITS HAVE BEEN REMOVED.

SERVES FOUR

INGREDIENTS
- 400g/14oz salt cod loin, soaked in cold water for 24 hours
- 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1.5 green (bell) peppers, seeded and chopped
- 500g/1.25lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or a 400g/14oz can tomatoes
- 15ml/1 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
- 15ml/1 tbsp clear honey
- 1.5ml/0.25 tsp dried thyme
- 2.5ml/0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- juice of 0.5 lemon (optional)
- 2 potatoes
- 45ml/3 tbsp stale breadcrumbs
- 30ml/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- salt and ground black pepper

1. Drain the salt cod and place in a pan. Pour over water to cover generously and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the water boils, then set aside until cold.
2. Heat the oil in a medium pan. Fry the onion, and add the garlic after 5 minutes. Add the chopped peppers and tomatoes, and cook gently to form a sauce. Stir in the tomato puree, honey, dried thyme, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt. Taste for seasoning: a little lemon juice will make it tangier.
3. Halve the potatoes lengthways and cut them into slices just thicker than a coin. Drain the fish, reserving the cooking water.
4. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium with a shelf 15cm/6in below it. Bring the reserved fish cooking water to the boil and cook the potatoes for about 8 minutes. Do not add extra salt.
5. Remove the skin and bones from the cod, and pull it into small natural flakes. Spoon one-third of the tomato sauce into a flameproof casserole, top with the potatoes, fish and remaining sauce. Combine the breadcrumbs and parsley and sprinkle over. Heat the dish through under a grill for 10 minutes.

FLAN

2007-10-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

THESE LITTLE BAKED CARAMEL CUSTARDS, MADE IN BUCKET-SHAPED MOULDS, ARE THE BEST-KNOWN AND MOST POPULAR OF ALL SPANISH DESSERTS. IF YOU DON’T OWN SMALL MOULDS, YOU CAN MAKE ONE LARGE FLAN INSTEAD BUT IT WILL NEED TO BE COOKED FOR A LITTLE LONGER.

SERVES EIGHT
(Please check the details with the club food at http://www.yuwie.com/signup.asp?r=132333, INFO002)

BITTER CHOCOLATE MOUSSES

2007-10-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

THE SPANISH INTRODUCED CHOCOLATE TO EUROPE, AND CHOCOLATE MOUSSE REMAINS A FAVOURITE DESSERT IN A COUNTRY THAT USUALLY FAVOURS CUSTARDS AND FRESH FRUIT. THESE DELICIOUS CREMAS DE CHOCOLATE ARE RICH WITH CHOCOLATE, WITH A HINT OF ORANGE LENT BY THE LIQUER.

SERVES EIGHT
(Please check the details with the club food at http://www.yuwie.com/signup.asp?r=132333, INFO001)

CHARD

2007-10-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

Acelga is an old vegetable round the Mediterranean. The glossy dark leaves and bright-white stalks can be eaten together, but are most often separated. Spinach can be substituted for the leaves of chard.

BUTIFARRA

2007-10-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

A common white sausage in Catalonia and Mallorca, it is made of pork, tripe and pine-nuts and spiced with cinnamon and cumin. It is good grilled. There are also black butifarrones – a nickname for the middle classes in their black coats.

BREAD

2007-10-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

Spanish bread is white and of excellent quality, freshly baked every day, and sold first thing in the morning as rolls, under names like bollo or chica, ‘little girl’, and later in the day as the larger pan. Whole meal bread, and some rye or cornmeal, can be found in the north-west corner of the country.

Bread is the standard accompaniment to food, in a country where few dishes are paired. Bread is also eaten as a bocadillo, a crusty roll sandwich, with olive oil replacing butter. The cocas of Mallorca are the nearest thing to an Italian pizza.

Stale bread is used as a thickener for sauces, for it will hold a little fat in suspension; the result is light and not greasy. Torrijas are a children’s sweet: stale bread dipped in milk, then egg-coated, fried and sugared.

CARDOON

2007-10-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

The cardo is popular in Navarre, a relative of the globe artichoke but less well known. The stalks are boiled and eaten with butter or béchamel sauce.

VALENCIAN ORANGE AND ONION SALAD

2007-09-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

INSIDE A SPANISH STORECUPBOARD

ENSALADA DE NARANJAS
VALENCIANAS

A Spanish storecupboard salad, from winter ingredients, it seems to have gone out of fashion somewhat, now lettuces and tomatoes are on sale all the year round. It is nevertheless excellent for adding a splash of colour to any meal and wonderful before a lamb stew. If green salads are available, decorate it with lettuce or frisee round the outside.

SERVES 6

4 large organs
1 purple onion, or 1/2 mild Spanish onion
lettuce (optional)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
75 ml (3 fl oz) olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
a few black olives

Purple onion rings look pretty but must be soaked in cold water for a couple of hours first, to tame their flavour. Slice the onion as thin as possible and push it out into rings, then leave to soak. Drain well on kitchen paper before use. Spanish onions are milder and need no soaking.

Peel the oranges, removing the membrane from the outside of the segments with the pitch. Slice into rings and remove the pips. Arrange the orange and onion slices in a salad bowl. If using a deep bowl, line it with lettuce first, so a frill appears round the edges. If the bowl is wide and shallow, roll the lettuce leaves in wads, slice across and arrange the ribbons round the edge. Use the next 5 ingredients to make a vinaigrette and pour over the salad. Scatter with black olives and let it stand for 30 minutes before serving.

ARTICHOKES WITH TWO SAUSE

2007-09-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

(See74)ALCACHOFAS CON
DOS SALSAS

The Spaniards admire the beautiful shape of artichokes and don’t cut the leaves unnecessarily. It’s more convenient for the eater, however, if the hairly choke is removed before they come to table. The cup this makes is then filled with mayonnaise, and there is vinaigrette for dipping the outside leaves. The same tow sauces are often served with the white asparagus from Rioja, which is canned and sent all over the country.

SERVES 4

4 large globe artichokes
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
150 ml (1/4 pt) mayonnaise (See78)
125 ml (4 fl oz) olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Snap off the stalks; with large tough artichokes this will bring away most of the stringy fibres underneath. Trim the bottom almost flat, removing little leaves. This will tell you how tender the artichokes are, and give you a better idea of cooking time. Cook tender heads for 20 minutes, and large tough ones for 40 minutes in plenty of salted boiling water. They will stay green if cooked without a lid Drain them upside down for 10 minutes to cool a little.

To prepare them for the table, start by pulling out the centre leaves. When a soft, lighter cone becomes visible under the first leaves to go, hold the artichoke firm and pull the whole cone out. Underneath is the inedible hairly choke – scoop it out with a spoon. For decoration, turn the cone of small leaves over and lodge it in the artichoke to keep the cup open.

Eat barely warm or cold. To serve, stir a little garlic and parsley into the mayonnaise and fill each cup. Make a vinaigrette with the oil, vinegar and seasoning and pour a little on each individual plate. Eat the outside leaves, dipping each base into vinaigrette. Eat the inside ones – and finally the base itself – with mayonnaise. Remember to put out a plate to use for the discarded leaves.

CON ALCACHOFAS A LA CORDOBESA

2007-09-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

(See103)TERNERA

VEAL WITH ARTICHOKES FROM CORDOBA

The town of Montilla in Andalusia gave us the word amontillado for a certain style of strong, medium dry wine, though ironically we now associate it first with sherry. The wines from the Montilla-Moriles district are fortified in Spain, like sherry, and the popular Alvear fino, C.B., is used for both cooking and drinking. Exported Montillas are in the sherry styles but are unfortified and, as a consequence, cheaper than sherry. ‘Pale dry’ Montilla is excellent for cooking. It blends beautifully with veal escalopes in this dish from the neighbouring town of Cordoba, though leftover roast pork is nearly as good.

SERVES 4

8 – 12 small veal escalopes, about 550g (1.25 lb)
6 fresh globe artichokes or 400g (14 oz) canned
prepared bases
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pork fat or butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
125 ml (4 fl oz) pale dry or medium dry Montilla
wine or good sherry
150 – 250 ml (4 – 8 fl oz) meat or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the artichokes. Snap off the stalks (if they are stringy, that means the artichokes are tough and need an extra 5 minutes’ cooking). Trim the bottom flat, removing small leaves. Turn on the side and cut through the top leaves just above the choke, leaving a base about 4 cm (1.5 in) deep. Then trim away the side leaves with a small knife until the white base shows through. Cook the bases in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain upside down and cool for 10 minutes.

Flip off any soft leaf stumps with your thumb, revealing the choke. Use a spoon and your thumb to remove the hairy choke, leaving a smooth cup base. Depending upon the toughness of the vegetable, this needs about 5 minutes’ more cooking, which in this recipe it gets once added to the veal. Otherwise braise it in a dish or in boiling water.

Heat the oil and fat or butter in a wide shallow casserole and fry the onion until softened (20 minutes on low heat) then add the garlic. Season the escalopes well then put in half of them, well spread out, and fry over high heat until coloured on both sides. Remove to a plate and fry the remaining veal. Then return all the veal to the pan and sprinkle with Montilla or sherry, boiling this away.

Add the stock – for canned artichoke bases use only half the stock. Bring to simmering point, add the quartered artichoke bases and cook for 5 minutes (or heat through if using canned bases). In Cordoba a dry Montilla would certainly be drunk with this dish, or Chiclana, the local sherry-like Cadiz white wine.

ARTICHOKES

2007-09-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

Alcachofas are served whole or the bases only may be prepared (mainly for salads). Hearts (whole immature artichokes) and bases are both sold canned. To prepare the base(See103), to cook and eat whole (See74).

PAELLA DE VERDURAS DEL TIEMPO

2007-09-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

PAELLA OF SPRING VEGETABLES

A paella can contain many things through the changing seasons – bacon, chard, tomatoes, white or black beans and turnips – usually with some part of the pig. Here is a pretty dish with the new season’s vegetables. Fresh broad beans can be substituted for the asparagus, and chopped mushroom for the ham.

SERVES 6

400g (14 oz) Spanish medium-grain, or risotto, rice,
washed
850 ml (1.5 pt) good stock
150 ml (1/4 pt) dry white wine
200g (7 oz) trimmed asparagus tips, in short lengths
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
175g (6 oz) raw gammon or bacon, chopped small
200g (7 oz) green beans, trimmed, in short lengths
2 small courgettes, thinly sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 tomato, without skin or seeds, diced
100g (4 oz) mange-tout, trimmed, snapped in half
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a paella pan or wide shallow casserole and fry the onion gently with the gammon or bacon. When nearly soft, add the garlic. Add 2 tablespoons of parsley and the rice, stirring it in the oil for a minute or so.

Combine the stock and wine and taste it, adding seasoning as needed. If it is tasteless, boil to concentrate it, adding wine to make up the volume. Add a third to the rice, bring to simmering point and add the asparagus. The rice takes 20 -25 minutes from the moment the first batch of stock is added.

When the stock has been absorbed, add another third, with the beans, courgettes, carrot and tomato, and stir for the last time. Add the remaining stock with the mange-tout. When the rice is done, cover the pan and let it stand, off the heat, for 5 minutes, then garnish with more parsley. This is good served with slices of fried ham.

(See95)SEPIA GUISADA CON ALBONDIGAS Y GUISANTES

2007-09-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

CUTTLEFISH WITH MEATBALLS AND PEAS

The Catalans invented ‘surf and turf’ to eke out one expensive ingredient with another cheap one – originally the festive chicken with the free lobster, a combination which is now enjoyed all over the world. The same idea is behind this dish from L’Emporda, between Barcelona and the French frontier. It could be nicknames ‘poor man’s veal’ for it’s rather like eating veal served two different ways.

Buy a large cuttlefish if you can, for its flesh is thicker and sweeter than squid, or buy one of the big squid fished in northern waters. If using small squid, keep the tentacles for a pretty salad and use only the bodies in this recipe.

SERVES 4

700g (1.5 lb) big cuttlefish or squid
400g (14 oz) peas, fresh or frozen
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
100g (4 oz) ripe tomatoes, without skin or seeds
400 ml (14 fl oz) meat or chicken stock
125 ml (4 fl oz) dry white wine
1 slice of stale bread
125 ml (4 fl oz) olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper

METBALLS
200g (7 oz) lean pork, minced
200g (7 oz) beef mince
2 slices of stale bread
50 ml (2 fl oz) dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten, for coating
flour for coating

To clean squid, grip the tentacles and use them to pull out the insides. Cut across above the eyes and discard everything below. Large squid (and cuttlefish) have a mouthpiece in the centre of the tentacles which can be popped backwards like a button. Flex the body gently and the spinal structure, like transparent plastic, will pop out. Cuttlefish are very similar, except the body looks like a plump money purse with a frill round it, instead of a rocket with fins. Slit the body up both sides and remove the cuttle bone. Wash squid and cuttlefish well inside under running water. Rub off the skin with salt-coated hands and wash again. Cut the body into squares the size of large postage stamps and the tentacles of large cuttlefish into short lengths.

Make the sauce in a deep casserole without too big a base. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil, fry the bread over high heat till golden and remove to a blender. Fry the onion gently until it starts to soften then add the garlic and parsley. Add to the blender and reduce everything to a puree – this is the picada.

Sprinkle the flour into the casserole (more oil may be needed) and cook over medium-high heat until it turns brown. This is important to give the sauce its dark meaty taste, but be careful that it does not burn. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock and simmer to reduce. Traditionally the picada is added to thicken the sauce and then the whole thing is sieved. The easier way, however, is to add the contents of the casserole to the blender and puree everything once more. Return the sauce to the casserole, add the prepared shellfish and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, or for 30 minutes if using frozen peas.

Make the meatballs. Sprinkle the bread with wine, then squeeze it out lightly and combine all the ingredients, seasoning well. Make large marble-sized balls and roll them in beaten egg. Transfer them to a plate covered with plenty of flour and shake it to and fro until the balls are coated. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the balls over high heat, shaking frequently so they colour and crisp on all sides.

Add the wine and peas to the casserole and cook till the peas are tender (20 minutes for fresh peas, 5 for frozen). Slip the meatballs into the sauce, bring back to simmering point and give them a minute or so in the sauce. Long-grain rice makes a good partner.

(see96)MEJILLONES A LA MARINERA

2007-09-23T07:56:00.001-07:00

SAILORS’ SPICY MUSSELS

The Galician seaboard not only provides Spain with over a quarter of its national fish catch, but also gives the region the damp, misty weather that makes warming dishes particularly appreciated in its cooking.

SERVES 4

1.4 kg (3 lb) large mussels
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 bay leaf, crumbled
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
tiny pinch of cayenne pepper or mild chilli powder
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
125 ml (4 fl oz) dry white wine
salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cover the mussels in cold water and scrub the shells, discarding any that are smashed or do not shut when touched. Pull off all ‘beards’. Do not clean them too far ahead, as this removes their life support system and they die.

Heat the wine in a saucepan with a lid and add the mussels in 3- 4 batches. Cook briefly, covered, and remove them when they open, discarding any that remain shut. Reserve the liquid. Remove the top shell and arrange the biggest mussels in an ovenproof dish. Use a loose shell to cut the smaller bodies free and put 2 bodies in each shell.

For the sauce, fry the onion in the oil in a small pan, adding the garlic and then the flour when the onion softens. Cook briefly. Meanwhile boil the mussel liquid down to about 175 ml (6 fl oz), then add it to the pan with the bay leaf. Bring to simmering point, taste and add the tomato paste, paprika, cayenne and a little salt and lemon juice, as needed. Strain the sauce through a sieve then pour it over the mussels and heat them briefly (5 minutes under a low grill or in a medium oven). As the mussels are distinctly spicy, Spain’s best-known lager, San Miguel, which has plenty of flavour of its own, would make a good thirst-quencher.

PAELLA VALENCIANA

2007-09-23T07:50:00.001-07:00

RICE WITH CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD

SERVES 6 – 8

1 kg (2lb) chicken with giblets, or 3 small chicken legs plus a chicken carcass
700g (1.5 lb) monkfish on the bone, or 500g (1 lb) white fish fillets, plus some fish bones
250g (8 oz) prawns in the shell
500g (1 lb) clams or mussels, cleaned (see96)
250g (8 oz) baby squid, cleaned (see95)
500g (1 lb 2 oz) Spanish medium-grain, or risotto, rice, washed
500g (1 lb) onions, chopped
tender pods from 300g (10 oz) podded peas, or 1 celery stalk, chopped, plus 50g (2 oz) mange-tout, trimmed, in short lengths
400g (14 oz) canned tomatoes, with juice
250g (8 oz) green peppers, seeded and cut in squares
100g (4 oz) French beans, trimmed, in short lengths
75g (3 oz) cooked chickpeas or haricot beans, or frozen broad beans
75g (3 oz) peas
5 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped about 150 ml (1/4 pt) olive oil
150 ml (1/4 pt) white wine
1 bay leaf
20 saffron strands or 2 x 2 g packets of powder
2 teaspoons paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by making a good stock. Strip the flesh off the chicken and cut into large chunks. Joint the legs, then halve, chopping through the bone with a heavy knife. Put the carcass (and giblets) into a stockpot.

Cut the fish into chunks about 5 cm (2 in) wide and remove any skin. Reserving 6 whole prawns for decoration, shell the prawns, putting the shells and fish debris in the stockpot. Add 1 chopped onion, half the pea pods, or celery stalk, and the bay leaf and cover with water. Simmer for an hour then strain. Measure the liquid, add the wine and reduce again until you have about 1.2 l (2 pt) liquid. Pour a little over the saffron in a cup and keep the rest ready in a saucepan.

Prepare the shellfish. Heat some of the stock in another saucepan and add half the clams or mussels. When they open, remove them and discard the shells. Cut the squid bodies into rings and keep the tentacles in a bunch. Check through the recipe and prepare all the ingredients, grouping things that are added together. Drain the tomato juice into the main stock and cut the tomatoes into strips. The recipe takes an hour from this point.

Use a paella pan about 40 cm (15.5 in) across or a wide shallow casserole which will hold 4 l (7 pt). Heat 4 tablespoons of oil over gentle heat and soften the onions. Season the chicken pieces, increase the heat, and fry the chicken until golden. Add the peppers and the remaining pods or mange-tout and stir-fry for about 5 minutes – more oil may be needed. Season well.

Add a little more oil, then toss the squid tentacles in it, so they stiffen. Reserve these for the garnish. Season the fish pieces and add them to the pan. (If you are not using a paella pan it is easier to do this in a separate frying pan, with more oil.) Fry them on both sides and then add the squid rings.

Fry the garlic and add the rice to the main pan. Stir the rice in the oil and let it fry for 3 – 4 minutes, sprinkling it with paprika. (If the fish was fried separately, fit in now.) Add a third of the hot stock to the pan, all the beans and peas with the shelled prawns and shelled clams or mussels. Stir the rice for the last time, making sure everything is evenly distributed, then tuck the unshelled clams or mussels.

Arrange the tomato strips across the surface and pour in another third of the hot liquid. Reduce the heat to the minimum and start to shift the pan regularly, if the heat source is smaller than the pan bottom. (A thin pan, or a deep one, is best cooked in the oven at 180 ºC [350 ºF, gas 4] from this point.)

Add the remaining stock and continue cooking for 15 – 20 minutes. Test a rice grain: if it’s cooked, decorate the top with the unshelled prawns and squid tentacles. Cover the top – traditionally it is wrapped in layers of newspaper – and let it sit for 10 minutes for the rice to absorb the final liquid. In Spain, red wine is served with paella- try Faustino V reserve.

Cooking Procedure

2007-09-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

· 500g (1 lb.) chicken
· 500g (1 lb.) rabbit
· 480g (1 lb.) medium grain rice
· 350g (3/4 lb.) paella vegetables (big haricot beans "garrofó", small haricot beans "tavella", green beans "bajoqueta (de ferraura)"/"judías verdes", red peppers and green peppers optional)
· 24 snails (optional)
· 120g (1/4 lb.) tomatoes
· 1.5 L (4 cups) of water
· olive oil, salt, paprika ("pebre roig"/"pimentón dulce"), saffron, rosemary.

Procedure
Clean the snails, chicken and rabbit thoroughly. Cut the chicken and the rabbit in small pieces and salt them generously. Pour olive oil in a paellera and, when hot, quickly stir-fry the chicken and the rabbit pieces. When they have browned, add the tomato and stir-fry until well cooked, then add the vegetables and stir-fry til they reduce. Add a pinch of paprika and stir-fry for one or two minutes.

Before the paprika gets burnt, pour the water into the paella (you might find it best to pre-boil the water first). Add saffron and salt to taste. (If you've never used saffron before, start with a pinch, about 10 threads.)

Add the snails if you are using them. Bring everything to a rolling boil and let it bubble for about 10 minutes. Correct for the evaporation of the water by adding a little extra water as needed.
Add the rice and stir. Spread the rice over the pan (it should be less than 1 cm thick) and let it simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer gently for a further 10 minutes. When the rice is almost dry, remove pan from the heat, place some small branches of rosemary over the rising rice, and let the rice absorb the remaining liquid. Cover with cloth or sheets of newspaper for about 10 minutes. Once the rice is dry the paella is ready to be served.

Ritual Eating
Some lemon juice may be poured over the paella. The Valencian words "bon profit" must be said.
Paella is usually eaten on the very paellera with a spoon, made of wood if possible. As a local rule says, no bread must be eaten if the paella is to be finished.

Variations
Rice is the most important ingredient in paella. The other ingredients are there to give the rice flavor; add enough to complement it but not so much that they overpower the rice. That said, paella lends itself well to experimentation. Use whatever fresh ingredients are available to you.
The soul of this dish is the saffron. Sold in threads, it is not cheap, but a little goes a long way. Lightly toast the rice in olive oil before adding the chicken stock flavored with the saffron. Add some chicken or pork, in bite-sized pieces. Crab claws, mussels, scallops, and shrimp provide flavor of the sea. Green peas and pimento peppers add color. This dish fits wonderfully with the concept of "cooking for sport", once you get the basics.

Paella

2007-09-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Paella is a rice dish, it is traditionally eaten on Sundays. The name paella is the word for "frying pan" in Catalan/Valencian (from Latin patella).
Paella is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three main ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil.

Possible background
There is an old story of how the Moorish kings' servants created rice dishes by mixing the leftovers from royal banquets in large pots to take home. It is said by some that that word paella originates from the Arabic word baqiyah, meaning leftovers. The story that the word 'paella' derives from 'para ella' (for her) is unlikely, even though it is said that most paellas are made by men cooking once a week for their wives.
It is, in fact, commonly believed that paella was served among kings in France and Spain. The Romans may have produced a first form of paella.