Arroz con Vieiras y Alcachofas, camarones a la parrilla, y escarole

Spanish food rocks! I was inspired for this dish by Jose Andres and his Made in Spain show.

One thing you'll soon pick up (if you cook enough) is that recipes in books, TV, etc. are never what they seem. They tell you cook this for 10 minutes, and it really needs 50 minutes. They say add 1 tsp of a spice and you really need 2 Tbs. That's why you can't cook without some degree of intuition.

If you've ever followed a recipe exactly as stated and wondered why it tastes like crap, here's why: the recipe is a general idea of the sought after dish. It's a Cliff's Notes version of the real task of making something.

So here's what I'd like you to do. Take a recipe from your favorite book or TV show. Get out everything they tell you to do. Now double the spices, except the salt. Yes, DOUBLE THE SPICES. Try it. What happens? Well, for one, maybe you have a flavorful dish. Next time, cook whatever it is you're cooking for twice as long. See what happens. You'll be surprised, and you'll learn something in the process.

Enough of that, here's how I made my Spanish meal.

Arroz con Vieiras y Alcachofas [Rice with Scallops and Artichokes]:

First, get your sofrito. You'll need at least three large dollops of that.

Take three large ripe artichokes and get them down to the hearts. Here's a pretty decent video on getting it down to the heart, so watch it if you don't know what you're doing. Store the hearts in a large bowl of cold water with some fresh lemon juice and Italian parsley. When you're ready for them, cut each heart into 8 pieces (4 if they're small).

Get a handful of clean mushrooms, and chop them.

Pour a couple Tbs of olive oil in a large pan and drop in your artichokes. After about 2 minutes, add your mushrooms. Fry this all up for about 5-7 minutes, adding 1/2 cup of white wine somewhere along the line. Then, add your sofrito. Stir it and mix well, being careful not to burn the mixture. Add three cups of water and bring to a boil, while stirring. Once boiling, add 1 cup of arborio rice. Mix well and boil on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then cover and lower heat for about 15 minutes.

Add juice from a lemon, and one Tbs smoked paprika, as well as 2 bay leaves. Mix well and put the lid back on for another 20 minutes or so. Low heat.

Meanwhile, add salt and pepper on your scallops (about 1 handful of bay scallops). Pan fry them in olive oil for 2 minutes. You do this right before your rice is done. You're going to add these into your rice when it's done. Once you add them in, mix well and you're good to go!

Camarones a la parilla [Shrimp on the grill]:

Take 1/2 shrimp and marinate in 1/2 cup white wine, handful of chopped parsley, juice from 1 lemon, salt, pepper and paprika. Thread onto a skewer and grill for about 2 minutes per side.

Escarole (pan fried):

Wash and chop a head of escarole. Heat olive oil in a large pan and fry it for 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbs water, put a lid on and cook down for a couple minutes. Take off the lid, add some kosher salt and you're done!

This whole meal works well with a bit of aioli (mayo, olive oil and pressed garlic).

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Sofrito

This is a base for Spanish cooking. It's really simple, but do it right and do it well.

Sofrito:

Finely dice one large onion. Sautee it in olive oil until translucent, but not browned. Add 3 cloves pressed garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add one large can of crushed tomatoes (24oz). Mix well, reduce to medium-low or low heat and cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring often.

~ Brock

Paella and Tortilla De Patata

I always look forward to Spanish food. At my house, it usually means Paella and a Tapas or two. Otherwise, it's a bunch of Tapas. The flavors are amazing, the use of seafood is exciting and it's also a chance for me to use flavors I don't always use - saffron, smoked paprika - great, but intense stuff.

This particular meal was inspired by a mouth-watering episode of Made in Spain with Jose Andres. I was lurking around Hulu and came across it. It just so happens I have a great Tapas book by him too. He went to this place that served Tortilla de patata and I was sold.

I really felt like having Paella, since it's been many months without. Tortilla and Paella? Yep, it works. Now I'm starting to get frustrated that I live in an area that purports to be diverse, yet I have not been able to locate Spanish chorizo at any store in my area. Mexican chorizo, sure. Spanish chorizo? Nope. If anyone knows where I can get it, please let me know. Meanwhile, I've had to sub Mexican for Spanish and hope for the best. I've also had to really improvise with my approach because Spanish chorizo works very differently than Mexican...the former holds its form like a sausage, the latter breaks up into tiny little pieces if you don't deal with it properly. So, for my Paella, I made Mexican chorizo meatballs first - this means I rolled them into walnut-sized balls and pan fried them in my paella pan so I'd have the oils and flavor.

Enough, let's get to the recipe...

Paella:

Fry chorizo (see note above) until nearly cooked, remove to a plate.
Fry up 1 pound shrimp until just opaque, remove to a plate.
Fry up 2 fillets of firm white fish in a bunch of 1" chunks (I used Mahi Mahi - not a traditional choice, but an excellent selection, I must say), remove to the same plate as shrimp.
Finely dice 1 onion, pour 4 Tbs olive oil into paella pan heated medium and fry towards caramelization...maybe 15 to 20 minutes. Pop 4 large cloves of garlic through a press and mix into the onions for a couple of minutes. Remove to your plate with the chorizo.
Put 6 small slices of pimenton into the pan and fry up 2 minutes, then add a whopping amount of smoked paprika. Stir and fry, stir and fry. Add 3-4 grated tomatoes or 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and fry up 2 minutes or so. Add 3 cups of Aribol0 rice and stir to coat, frying for a couple minutes. Add 5 cups of boiling broth [I've made paella with fish broth in the past, but this time I used a chicken broth with some saffron, white wine, salt, pepper and a bay leaf - excellent]. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat slightly (keep the bubbles going, but don't have it on high). Add in the chorizo, and onion/garlic mixture, stir and let cook for 15 minute or so. Use a spatula and stir around the top of the rice and some of the liquid to redistribute and cook for another 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, then lay out the seafood on top. Cook a few more minutes until cooked. Turn off heat and cover with foil for 5-10 minutes.

Plate your portion, squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle some parsley.

Tortilla de Patata:

Take three small potatoes, skin and slice into really small slices...something like quarter or nickel size. Put those into a large bowl and run water through to rinse of starch, keep rinsing, then drain and dry.
Heat 1" deep olive oil and fry up the potatoes into a golden brown. Drain and reserve oil.
Caramelize 1 onion for 15 minutes. Drop into your potatoes.
Don't break up the potatoes!
Meanwhile mix 6 eggs and then add in potatoes and onions. Heat some of the potato olive oil to medium heat and pour in egg-potato mixture. shake lightly and let fry up for 5 minutes or so. Use a small spatula and make sure the side have pulled away.
Use a large plate over the top of the egg, holding the pan/plate over a large bowl, flip onto the plate, then slide the tortilla back into the pan. Poke a quick hole in the center and pour in any of the excess liquid that poured out into your large bowl. Fry up a few more minutes and remove out to plate.
The texture should be firm on the outside and soft on the inside.

Enjoy with a nice Spanish wine. I had a Tempranillo - very nice.

~ Brock

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is interesting for many reasons, but the primaries are that it's amazingly simple, good and versatile. It originated in Spain and can be made so many ways. I've even seen a recipe for White Almond Gazpacho. I think people are used to seeing it with thick chunks of tomato and cucumber, but that didn't sound appetizing to me. How I made it is how I wanted it, so if you don't like it, don't try it.


1.5 pounds vine-ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber, skinned, seeds removed
1/2 red bellpepper
7 cloves garlic
2 handfulls of the inside of French bread (i.e., no crust), soaked in water and slightly squeezed of liquid
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
A few solid glugs of good olive oil
salt
pepper

Chop everything course and throw it in a processor. You might need to work in two batches, because you don't want the liquid shooting out the top! Process it until it's as smooth as you can get. If you study recipes, you find some that have you peel the tomatoes before they get processed - that's your call. I prefer the taste that comes from skins left on, and the cheesecloth deals with the solids left over. I also have a good feeling (though I haven't confirmed this yet), that if you roasted the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and garlic first, this would be even more amazing. Let me know if you try that on.

Lay out cheesecloth across small colander, and pour a batch into the cheesecloth. Strain this over a large bowl, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Work with as many batches as you need until you have only liquid in the bowl. Meanwhile, get a large cup of ice water going and stir it into the liquid, to taste. You might need to adjust the vinegar, salt and pepper at this point also.

Stick it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with 1/2 cucumber skinned and chopped. Some like to add ice into their soup - I don't.

Enjoy!

~ Brock