The Secrets to a Great Paella

There are many, many divided opinions on what makes a Spanish paella "authentic"...just do a search on the Web. Some say it's the type of rice, using a proper paella pan, the heat source, chicken AND rabbit....and most of all, no stirring!!! So I'd rather not get into that discussion.

Good thing the Spanish forebears must've passed on the Paella-cooking gene along with Paella-loving gene because it's one of those dishes I somehow know how to cook without actually being shown how.

Chicken and Chorizo paella made from our go-to paella recipe
using yellow instead of red capsicum.

Over the years, I've compiled a few absolutely essential must-haves and must-dos if you want to get the best tasting, tender paella with a well-formed socarrat lining the bottom of the pan. Thought it's about time I share these little secrets and hopefully inspire you to start making this nutritious, flavourful dish at home that's a real crowd-pleaser.

Always start with the best quality paella rice. I'm sorry, I know that they're hard to find, and quite frankly expensive, but rice is the star of the show here. No compromises! I use this particular brand of rice, Arroz Calasparra grown by the Cooperativa del Campo Virgen de La Esperanza in Spain. Calasparra is, of course, a region in Spain but they have used this as the branding for a cross-breed (Balilla x Sollana) short-grain rice. Bomba is another variety you can use for making paella.

Browning the meat(s) in batches. Stir-fry the meats in batches to seal in the juices, keep them from disintegrating, and add flavour to the sofrito. Transfer the meat to a plate when browned and set aside to be added again later.

I use artisan chorizo made by L'Authentique,
cutting it into 2 cm chunks.

Speaking of sofrito....this requires a lot of patience. I use only fresh vine tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped. No skimping on the olive oil - oh, and use the best quality extra-virgin, cold-pressed Spanish olive oil you can find. On medium-low heat, add the onions first and stir-fry until they start to caramelize before adding garlic and turmeric (if using instead of saffron). After around a couple of minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and stir-fry until the mixture thickens and the solids separate from the oil. It's so hard to describe, but do watch the mixture closely and add more oil if required. There should be enough oil to coat the rice.


Day old, homemade chicken broth that's re-heated and kept hot. Here's a basic one from Taste of Home that you can build up to your own taste. I add a handful of oregano to this recipe for added flavour and nutrients. Or fish stock if you're making seafood paella.

Finally, keep it simple!!! Do not go overboard with the ingredients because, as I've said earlier, rice is the star of the show.

Now let's get cookin'! Here's a few of my favourite recipes to get you started:

1. Chicken and Chorizo Paella from BBC Good Food - our go-to paella recipe because it's the simplest and a real crowd pleaser.
2. My favourite Seafood Paella recipe is from La Tienda.
3. Bon Appetit's Seafood Paella. Now this is a modern take on a paella, and more of a paella-risotto fusion, but who am I to quibble when it looks absolutely fantastic? Definitely one to impress your guests and worth all the effort. 
4. If you want a true, authentic paella, then try this recipe from Alicante, Spain's travel web site. Getting hold of some rabbit meat might just be little challenging so good luck!

The best part is placing the paella pan in the middle of the table with a Spanish wine, and get the crowd to help themselves - using wooden spoons, of course!

Architecture and Happiness

The unusually warm weather has been keeping me outdoors, so this recipe took a while to publish. Last week, I took a short walk to revisit some of Wellington City's oldest structures, from the Town Hall down to Cuba Street, and I'm sharing some of the photos I took here. That short walk was inspired by Alain de Botton's The Architecture of Happiness, where he expounds on why the quality of our surroundings can make us happy, or miserable.

Some of the buildings were truly worthy of admiration, but some made me think the architect took the mixed Edwardian style of that era just a bit too far! Like the mullioned windows of The Kennedy Buildings below. The different sizes, numbers, and shapes on each floor make me want to tear it down and start over.

On the other hand, I love the symmetry, columns, and ornate decorations on the BNZ building and look forward to that day in 2018 when Burger King's lease expires.

This unusually warm weather - unusual for Wellington, that is - calls for grilled dishes that you can easily slap on to a barbecue. When I'm in a hurry, I stick to salt and pepper and just embellish with chutneys and sauces on the side. This lamb dish can still be ready within half an hour and is full of flavour that you won't need anything but the simplest of salads to accompany it.

Ingredients
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
2 grams mint leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
cracked pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
750 g butterflied leg lamb

Greek yoghurt and parsley

Method

1. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds on a hot pan until fragrant, around 30 seconds.
2. Place the toasted seeds on a mortar and pestle, add the mint leaves, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Pound all these into a rough paste.
3. Rub the spice paste on the butterflied leg of lamb, cover, and leave the lamb to marinate for at least an hour at room temperature. Marinating overnight inside the refrigerator is best, but the lamb must be brought back to room temperature before cooking.
4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cover a shallow roasting pan with aluminium foil and place the lamb on the foil, cut side up.
5. Roast the lamb for around 45 minutes, or until an instant read meat thermometer registers 60 degrees C for medium rare, or 65 degrees C for medium. 
6. Allow at least 20 minutes resting before carving and serve with some Greek yoghurt and flat leaf parsley on the side.

Recipe Notes

When I first read up on how long the roasting time should be, I got quite confused with the myriad of methods available. Luckily, I found this article from the Reluctant Gourmet. I decided for a lower, constant temperature to let the flavours slowly develop but it really is a matter of preference (or time constraint). Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Rice Pilaf

Today is the Day After Yoga Flash Mob, and I'm really feeling the after effects of the 90-minute class under the hot midday sun.  In a good way, of course! Still, it was nice to take things easy today and have one of those do nothing Sundays where you can read magazines at your leisure. Today's read was the latest issue of Cuisine Magazine, full of light, fresh salads and marinated meats that you can just slap on the barbecue. I certainly took my time looking at the photos while putting together this week's meal plan.

The first dish that I'm sharing today is a vegetarian rice pilaf, full of aromatic flavors from the Middle East. You can make a really simple version and add almonds and pine nuts to make it more festive.

There are many recipes for rice pilaf on the web, and some are really entertaining to read. The possible combinations of aromatics, herbs and dried fruit and nut are endless. I usually make a cumin+cardamom+cinnamon+coriander pilaf to go with curries, but today I decided to create this Middle Eastern-inspired version to complement a roast lamb dish.

For me, the most important thing is the quality of the rice you use. I always use the best quality basmati rice I could get hold of, washing it several times until the water runs clear to get the starches out. Just make sure that the water is drained out before cooking. That's the secret to light, fluffy rice pilaf.

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
400 g basmati rice (2 cups)
1/2 cup currants, sultanas, or dried almonds. Or any combination of these three.
750 ml water or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
a handful of curly leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup  toasted sliced almonds or pine nuts (optional)

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and stir-fry until soft and caramelised, but not browned.
2. Add turmeric and cumin and continue stir-frying until fragrant. This should take around 30 seconds. Make sure you carefully watch the spices so they don't get burned!
3. Stir in the basmati rice, making sure that the grains are coated with the oil and spices. 
4. Add water, dried fruits, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to make sure that all of the rice is covered by the water. Cover the pot tightly and bring to a boil.
5. Lower the heat and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, around 18 minutes. 
6. Turn of the heat and let the rice sit with the lid on for another 10 minutes.
7. Remove the bay leaf, fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in parsley, and the toasted almonds or pine nuts, if using.

From Garden to Table: A New Dining Experience

I just came back from a trip to Auckland where I went to a couple of eateries owned by the Hip Group: Ortolana in the Britomart Precint and Rosie Cafe in  Parnell. What's so special about the Hip Group is their garden-to-table philosophy, outstanding design, and quality of food and service. They have quietly but completely transformed Auckland's dining scene since they opened their first venture in 2004.

So today, on my first day back, I was inspired to work on revamping my old web site and design a few recipes that follows the same light, seasonal, fresh from the garden style. I've also focused more on achieving balance and harmony of flavours, where no single flavour dominates the dish. While this has always been at the back of my mind, I realised that I've never consciously make extra effort to achieve this in my previous creations.

Deciding on what to cook first wasn't easy after I got a bit carried away on my short trip to the fresh market. I always have a meal plan and shopping list before I leave the house, but leave room for improvisation depending on what's available. So ended up with a few extras of the green variety: watercress, baby pak choi or mei quin choi...plus some corn tortillas and a kilo of beef schnitzels. I'm sure I'll think of what to do with them later in the week.

Meanwhile, it was the warm, very much summery weather that made me settle on cauliflower fritters inspired by South Asian flavours for today's dish.

 Ingredients

For the dip:
36g coriander leaves (around 6 plants), finely chopped
3 g mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
salt to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

For the fritters:
686 g cauliflower (1 head)
1 tsp toasted whole cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
85 g chickpea flour
1 spring onion, chopped
3 small eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup rice bran oil

Method

For the dip

1. Place yogurt in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy.
2. Pound the coriander and mint leaves in a mortar and pestle with 2 tablespoons of yogurt. 
3. Add the chili flakes and salt and pound again.
4. Tip the mixture into the bowl with the yogurt and stir until you've reached the mixture is fully incorporated.
5. Taste and add lemon juice if required. I didn't need any because the yoghurt I used was already sour.
6. Chill in the fridge while making the fritters. 

For the fritters

1. Coarsely chop the cauliflower and place in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add toasted cumin, turmeric powder, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well combined.
3. Add chickpea flour and stir to coat the cauliflower evenly.
4. Stir in the spring onion and egg.
5. Heat around an inch of oil in a cast iron frying pan over medium to low heat.
6. Add around 1/4 cup of the mixture, flattening with the back of a spoon or measuring cup. Fry until crisp and brown, around 3 - 5 minutes per side. 
7. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain the oil.

Serve fritters while warm with the coriander and mint dip. I hope you enjoy making this dish as much as I did. Wishing you the best for 2015!

Dreaming of a Potager Garden

My father had what we called a "la huerta",  which means "vegetable garden" in Spanish, that he lovingly tended to with the help of the extended family and neighbors. We grew practically everything we needed for our small household's needs in that small plot of land. Whatever we lacked, our neighbours were more than happy to fill with what they had in their own gardens. It was pretty common for us kids to be asked to knock on someone's door to request a missing ingredient at the last minute, and to be told to go get it from the garden ourselves. What fun we had climbing trees or on the fence to pick tropical fruits, and digging out sweet potatoes and peanuts.

Sadly, I no longer have the space nor time to have a la huerta and have to content myself with growing herbs on the kitchen windowsill. But I dream of having a real potager garden again someday...fortunately I live close to the next best thing, a fresh market that sells produce from small, commercial growers in the region. There are also several farmers' markets during weekends so we're really spoilt for choice for the freshest, local, and seasonal produce.

Today I was leafing through Donna Hay's Simple Dinners cookbook for inspiration and stumbled on a recipe for Roasted Chicken with Pancetta and Lentils. When I got to the fresh market, there were no leeks!! I walked the length of the vegetable shelves thrice and nope, no leeks in sight. Having set my heart on a chicken and pancetta dish, I was not going to be thwarted so easily. So I picked up these two ingredients anyway and set about creating these dishes... After I remembered that I had a box of new potatoes hidden away in the pantry from last week that I bought from the market, just because I liked the look of them :)

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

200 g (approx) thinly sliced pancetta (I used smoked pancetta for more flavour)

handful of basil leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

olive oil

1 kg new potatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Wash the potatoes and slice lengthwise into halves, or quarters depending on size. 
3. Put lightly salted water in a pot enough to cover the potatoes, and bring to a rolling boil over medium to high heat. Add the potatoes, cover and boil for 4-5 minutes. 
4. Strain the water out using a colander and leave the potatoes to steam until all the water has evaporated.
5. Wash then dry the chicken thighs well with paper towels. 
6. Carefully slide your fingertips between the meat and skin of each chicken piece to loosen the skin from the meat. Season between the two layers with salt and pepper, and also season the outer part of the chicken. Insert a layer of around 5 basil leaves between the two layers, taking care to make sure that the basil layer is fully covered by the chicken skin so the basil doesn't get burned. 
7. Wrap each chicken thigh with 2-4 slices of pancetta, depending on size.
8. Heat a large skillet over medium to high heat. Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan to around 1 cm deep.
9. Fry the chicken with the skin side down first, for 3-5 minutes per side or until brown. You might need to do this in batches. Turn of the heat.
10. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer reads at least 83 degrees Celsius.
11. Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest while cooking the potatoes.
12. Tip some of the oil out of the skillet, leaving enough oil to saute the potatoes. Reheat the oil in medium to high heat.
13. Add the potatoes, with the cut side down first, and fry until brown on both sides turning occasionally. Again, you might need to do this in batches depending on the size of the skillet. 
14. When the last batch of potatoes are done, return the rest of the potatoes to the skillet. 
15. Add garlic to the skillet and quickly stir-fry with the potatoes to keep it from burning.
16. Turn off the heat, add the chopped parsley and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
17. Serve immediately with the chicken and a simple green salad.

Basil: A Powerful Healing Herb

This story starts with a basil plant I found on my desk at work, on a Thursday morning. Its strong, sweet aroma and flavor has made this herb a culinary favorite worldwide. It's also a powerful healing herb used in traditional remedies to treat many ailments such as headaches, stomach spasms, arthritis, respiratory and ear infections, stings and bites.

Basil contains exceptionally high levels of essential nutrients: Vitamin A, and is a good source of Vitamin K, Iron, and minerals. This particular one I found on my desk is sweet or Mediterranean basil, and suggestions from fellow foodies on what to do with it were endless: pizzas, pasta, curries, pestos....but I thought it would be great to create some new dishes around it. Inspired by summer: light, fresh, and simple!

The first dish I created was a spaghetti dish. I use fresh pasta whenever I can. Somehow, it absorbs the flavors more easily and only requires the simplest of treatments. No need to smother with cheesy and meaty sauces.

Basil, Parsley and Courgette Pasta

Ingredients:
200 g spaghetti
4 tbsp olive oil (or more to taste)
3 cloves garlic (or more to taste), chopped
2 courgettes, grated
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp basil, chopped
1/2 tsp chili flakes
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan, grated to taste


1. Cook the spaghetti in salted water according to directions in the packet
2. Heat olive oil in medium heat, add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes
3. Add the courgettes, parsley, basil, chili flakes, and lemon zest and saute for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Drain the spaghetti, leaving a little amount of water and toss with the sauce
5. Divide into serving bowls and top with grated parmesan and more basil leaves.

Serves 2.

French Lentil Soup

One of my favourite blogs is Zalin Grant's  Tales from a French Village.  I try and read one letter a week, relishing every single word as you would a very special treat. This particular letter ends with a very simple salted pork - a petit salé - with lentils recipe.

Now I really love lentil soup and don't like the idea of letting all that delicious broth go to waste. So I decided to make my own version of French Lentil Soup based on this recipe. A perfectly warming winter soup!

Ingredients:
450 g pancetta, sliced into 2-inch pieces
6 cups water
1 bouquet garni (mine had  4 sprigs of parsley,  2 bay leaves, 5 stalks of thyme)
2 large white onions, peeled
10 cloves - push 5 cloves into each onion
3 carrots, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups French lentils
Handful of baby silverbeet or spinach leaves

Method:
1. Place the pancetta, bouquet garni,  carrots, onions, salt and pepper in a pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil then simmer for an hour. Add more water if it gets too dry.
2. Add the lentils and cook over medium heat for another 20-25 minutes. Check to make sure the lentils don't get overcooked.
3. Add the baby silverbeet or spinach leaves.  Stir to cover the leaves with the broth, then cover the pot. Turn the heat off and serve after a couple of minutes.

This can be made the day before or at least a few hours ahead up to step 2; then reheat and add the leaves. Bon appetit!