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How to cook the perfect paella

How to cook the perfect paella
Some dishes are a victim of their own success. The Yorkshire pudding springs to mind – just a little too tasty and conveniently shaped for its own good; the Scotch egg suffers from a similar problem. One of the saddest examples is the brave paella. As Catalan author Josep Pla put it, the "abuses" committed against Spain's most famous dish are "excessive – an authentic scandal". Jenny Chandler reports in The Real Taste of Spain that shoppers in Valencia's Mercat Central could be persuaded to agree on only thing – fish and shellfish are "absolutely out of the question". Rice is a tricksy ingredient and, just like risotto, certain rules must be observed to achieve paella nirvana. Cooking with gas This is controversial. The Harts' recipe is much simpler. Chef José Pizarro gives a recipe in his book Seasonal Spanish Food that follows a similar process, but he covers the dish with foil for the last eight minutes of cooking. Two essentials Sundries Perfect paella Serves 2-4, depending on hunger Related:  Seafood

C H E W I N G T H E F A T: Vietnamese Shrimp and Pork Belly with Sweet and Spicy Sauce Ever since my last trip to Hong Kong, where, on our last night there, we went to a Vietnamese Restaurant called “Pho Lemon” (25 Elgin St. Central, TEL: 2523-8272) I have wanted to cook Vietnamese food. There’s likely nowhere on earth where you can find such a confluence of Asian cuisine as there is in Hong Kong. During my last trip there, we’d eaten Japanese, Korean, Malaysian and of course, Chinese food from Hunanese to Cantonese. When I got home, I almost immediately bought a book called “Authentic Recipes from Viet Nam”, by Trieu Thi Choi, Marcel Isaak and Heinz Von Holzen. If it’s true that too many cooks spoil the broth, this book has at least two too many. As Julia Child said, “A cookbook is only as good as its worst recipe.” But I have soldiered on and finally, thanks to an article in May’s Bon Appetit, I struck culinary gold. This is a wonderful dish! I fell in love with Pork Belly several years ago at Joe’s Restaurant in Venice, CA. Shrimp are a staple in our house.

Cookbook Review: Weekend Paella, Pan Not Included - Los Angeles Restaurants and Dining - Squid Ink click to enlarge Fire and rice. No, James Taylor has not released a new album. We're talking about paella. The just-released cookbook - with a very cool white cloth cover trimmed in red stitching, incidentally -- is highly focused on the subject at hand. Great. First, a side note for the paella-averse: Paella pans are shockingly inexpensive for the size, or at least to our American kitchen-excess eyes. thewanderingeater.com Herraiz's Squid Ink Paella At Fogón Still, this is what we can only describe as a "paella enthusiast's" sort of book. And yet, that rather fussy attention to detail works here, unlike in so many cookbooks. Herraiz also devotes much of the book to stovetop-to-oven cooking (traditional paella is cooked over an open fire). To finish, there is sweet paella rice with apples and Camembert, a goat milk-rhubarb and goat cheese version, and for summer, a sweet strawberry-almond-rosemary version. Damn.

C H E W I N G T H E F A T: Review of Fatty Crab and a recipe for a one-dish wonder called Nasi Goreng with Shrimp Now that it’s made the trek north to the Upper West Side, it’s become one of our two favorite Asian restaurants. It’s a funky place born of owner Zak Pelaccio’s love affair with Malaysian cooking following a stint cooking and eating in Kuala Lumpur. I’d never had Malaysian food ‘til Fatty Crab arrived on Broadway. The restaurant serves Malaysian street food in an atmosphere that imitates that influence. The open kitchen lets you in on another secret. Jalan Alor is a food haven in Kuala Lampur, a downtown street that was once a red-light district but is now home to the kind of food Fatty Crab does brilliantly. If you want a fork or knife, you’ll have to ask for one. Nasi Goreng, my dear Malaysian friend Ann Lee tells me, means nothing more than Fried Rice. Now I hate to ask you to wait until it arrives but it’s truly the only ingredient that is consistently found in every recipe for Nasi Goreng and I doubt it would be the same without it. 1. 3.

Paella Fest (good pictures) Posted by johngl I’ve done a couple of other posts on paella (Paella and Paella Cookoff?) so the fact that grown men venture into 100°+ Texas temperatures and cook mass quantities of food in huge pans over an open fire should come as no real surprise. So let’s leave the mere amateurs to cooking the mundane (hot dogs and burgers) on their shiny new stainless steel grills and come join me for more of this open fire cooking. Chicken thighs searing skin-side-down over an open fire The firepit is about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. But before we talk about the fire-pit cooking, we should delve into what makes a good paella. I firmly believe that the most important part is creating a proper sofregit. For this rendition, we started with 20 fresh Roma tomatoes and four large onions. Start with the onions, cutting them into a 1/4″ dice. This takes longer than you might think. Then there is the tomatoes. After that, a fine chop will render a reasonably smooth looking sauce: Yes, this is a little wet.

C H E W I N G T H E F A T: Melissa Clark's Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter Before you turn the page on this wonderful dish, let me assure that those dried-out and dreadful anchovies that someone left atop your last Caesar Salad are not at work here. Instead, these flavor makers are worth a great deal more than their weight in making this fast and easy dinner worthy of any Meatless Monday. The New York Times featured Melissa Clark's recipe last week and then added it to its "Food" Email blast this week. And for good reason. It's a winner. I love Melissa whose recipes pepper this blog because they are always easy for a home cook to achieve using combinations of ingredients most of us haven’t thought of combining before. It is worth it to pay more for these anchovies. butter is used to ‘fry’ the fish in and the other half makes a quick pan sauce to spoon over the salmon once it emerges from the oven. Recipe for Melissa Clark’s Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter Serves 4 (but if serving two, stick to the recipe for making the butter and do not halve it.)

Socarrat Socarrat representing an ox Socarrat refers to fired clay tiles covered with a white base and generally painted in red and black. These were placed between beams and joists in buildings’ ceilings and eaves. Their origin is typically medieval but subsequent production of these objects is known, mainly in Valencia. Socarrat can also refer to the crust that forms on the bottom of the pan when cooking paella.[2] Usage[edit] Socarrats were mainly manufactured in two basic sizes: the smaller with 30 x 15 x 3 cm and the larger with 40 x 30 x 3 cm (approximate measures). Manufacturing[edit] Iconography[edit] There are three basic types of representations in socarrats: religious, magic and social ones. References[edit] Coll Conesa, J.

How to make the perfect gravadlax For many of us, January is a sober culinary month after the excesses of Christmas – but gravadlax is glowing pink proof that healthy eating doesn’t have to be all hairshirts and low-fat hummus. This Scandinavian buried salmon (a term that would have been pleasingly intelligible to our own ancestors, “lax” being the Middle English word for that mighty fish before the Normans came along and introduced the Latinate salmon, and “grave”, of course, persisting to this day) is a relic of the time when fish was put into holes in the ground and covered in salt to preserve it for the wild and freezing winter ahead – no doubt something similar was practiced on these isles, too. Fortunately, there’s no need to get out into the garden with a spade. It is incredibly quick to make and, as Diana Henry observes in her book on the art of preserving, Salt, Sugar, Smoke, curing fish is one of the “most calming things you can do in the kitchen”. The fish The cure Herbs and spices Method The sauce (Serves 6-8)

Paella Paella (Catalan: [pəˈeʎə], Spanish: [paˈeʎa], English approximation /pɑːˈeɪlə/,/ˈpaɪjeɪə/ or /ˈpaɪjɛlə/) is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain.[1] Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols. Etymology[edit] Paella is a Valencian-Catalan[4][5][6] word which derives from the Old French word paelle for pan, which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan as well. Valencians use the word paella for all pans, including the specialized shallow pan used for cooking paellas. History[edit] Moorish influence[edit] Uncooked bomba rice In Moorish Spain, farmers improved the old Roman irrigation systems along the Mediterranean coast. Valencian paella[edit] Seafood and mixed paella[edit] Traditional preparation of paella Valencian paella

Simply Divina- Sicilian Swordfish - Divina Cucina Swordfish is a beginner’s fish. One of the least fishy and more meaty fishes. There are some recipes which just grab you the first time you eat them and remain in your memory. This is one of them. When we go to Cantina Siciliana for our cooking class, Pino is more than generous to share his recipes with us, not just those we had for class, but also what he makes for us for lunch after. This is called Pesce Spada alla Pantesca a recipe from the island of Pantelleria, famous for their capers. I once was shopping in Florence for a recipe my vegetable vendor gave me, when I told her what I was making and the list of ingredients ( as per her recipe to me) she added carrots saying she ALWAYS had carrots in the recipe. The secret to this recipe is start with a cold pan. Turn on the heat. I added some Sicilian oregano tonight and was great. If you are going to Sicily, you MUST eat at Pino Maggiore’s restaurant. Cantina Siciliana via Giudecca, 36 Trapani.

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