Rick's Chicken and Shellfish Paella

My seminary classmate Carlos Diaz gave us a paella pan and the Time-Life Cooking of Spain cookbook for a wedding present. That was forty years ago and paella has been a mainstay of my kitchen for special events. I made one last night for a family birthday.

The original Time-Life recipe was a lovely Valencia style paella with some not very authentic ingredients such as lobster. Paella was originally a humble peasant dish of saffron infused rice with whatever fresh vegetables and fish or game that was available.

This elaborate Valencia style paella is the one most Americans know from restaurants. This is my take on it with four decades of my tweaks. It is pretty labor intensive, but a fun project in the kitchen, and the results are unfailingly crowd-pleasing. Serves six with generous portions.

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided

1 Spanish (yellow) onion, chopped

1 garlic glove, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, halved, cored and cut in ¼ inch wide strips about 2 inches long.

1 large ripe tomato, cored and chopped

1 link sausage (Spanish chorizo is authentic, but I use Andouille) cut in ¼ inch rounds

1 boneless pork chop, trimed of fat, and cut in ½ inch cubes

6 chicken pieces (legs and thighs) cut in half

12 small littleneck clams

12 mussels

12 uncooked large shrimp with shells on

3 cups short grain rice (Arborio works fine if you can’t find Spanish)

1 Tsp saffron

1 Tsp smoked paprika

2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

6 cups of water

Recipe

Peel the shrimp, retaining the shells. Put the shells into a pot with six cups of water, and bring to a boil, then keep it at a light simmer while you work on the recipe.

Salt and pepper the chicken. Put 1 TB olive oil in a 12 inch non-stick frying pan and brown half the chicken, adjusting the heat so it browns nicely but doesn’t burn. Remove the browned chicken to a plate and brown the other half, then put it on the plate. Brown the sausage in the pan, and then put it on a plate over a paper towel.

The next step is to make what the Spanish call a sofrito. To do this place the remaining olive oil in the pan and brown the diced pork over high heat stirring constantly. Then add the garlic, onion, tomato and red pepper strips to the pan and stir constantly until most of the liquid is boiled off and the mixture is firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

For the next step you need a big oven-proof pan, at least 14 inches wide and a couple of inches high. I use of well-seasoned 14 inch cast iron pan. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Drain the shrimp stock into another pot and top off with water to make six cups if needed. Bring it back to a boil. Grind the saffron with a mortor and pestle.

Place the sofrito mixture, the rice, and the six cups of the boiling shrimp stock into the big pan, add the saffron and smoked paprika. Pour a little boiling water into the mortar to get the last bit of saffron. Bring it all to a boil over high heat stirring constantly, and as soon as it boils turn off the heat.

To construct the paella place the chicken, sausage, and shrimp into the rice mixture. Place the clams and mussels in the rice with their open ends up. Sprinkle the peas over the top.

Place the paella in the oven and cook it for 25 minutes. Then check the rice and if necessary cook it for another five minutes. Remove the paella from the oven and place it on a trivet on the table. Cover it with a clean dish towel for ten minutes and serve.

I serve a Rioja or other tempranillo based Spanish red with this, but you could also serve an Alborino or other Spanish white.

(Photo by R.L. Floyd, 2015)

Salade niçoise

As the weather warms up it’s time for a hearty dinner salad. Some friends of ours served us a lovely salade niçoise a few weeks ago and then last week I was at a bistro in Boston and one of my dining companions ordered a good-looking one. It seemed as if it was calling to me to make it since it has been a long time, and I knew I had some nice cooked French beans and some cooked Yukon gold potatoes leftover from a supper a couple of days ago. So the only thing I actually had to cook were the hard-boiled eggs. There are nearly endless variations of this. Here’s mine:

The Ingredients

A few leaves of washed lettuce or other greens (I used Romaine since I had some)

1 can of good quality oil-packed tuna, drained

Some cooked small potatoes such as Yukon Gold sliced.

About 8 good quality canned anchovy fillets, rinsed and drained

½ cup good black olives, such as (duh) niçoise, or kalamata

8 oz. cooked French beans (haricot verts) or green beans

4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Thinly sliced red onion (or scallions)

Coarsely chopped good fresh tomatoes or cherry tomatoes halved

Capers and fresh herbs (parley, basil or tarragon are nice) for garnish

Some sliced radishes for color (I didn't have any)

The Vinaigrette

4 TBS red wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (French evoo is nice if you can find it and afford it)

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced

½ TBS Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 TBS finely chopped parley

Putting it together

Whisk the dressing ingredients and put it aside. Assemble the salad on a platter starting with the greens, the tuna, the potatoes, the beans, the egg slices, the onion, the tomatoes, the anchovies, the capers and herbs. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, a few turns of the pepper mill, and serve.

It’s a meal on a plate. Get yourself some good bread, some Provençal rosé and “Robert est votre oncle!”

(Photo: © R. L. Floyd, 2015)

Veal chops with mushroom Marsala sauce

I saw these beautiful veal loin chops at my local market. One of my wife’s go-to meals in a good Italian restaurant is veal Marsala, which is made from very thin scallops of veal. Why not use these same wonderful flavors for chops? This recipe is for two, but it can be easily doubled.

Ingredients

2 TBS unsalted butter (divided)

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

2 veal loin chops, about an inch thick.

Flour for dredging.

8 OZ white button mushrooms, quartered.

¾ cup dry Marsala wine.

½ cup beef stock

Salt and pepper.

Recipe

Start heating a no-stick pan over high heat. While you heat the pan dry the chops with paper towels and salt and pepper them. When the pan is hot add 1 TBS olive oil and 1 TBS butter.

When the butter and oil foam, dredge the chops in flour, and put in pan. You want to brown them but not burn them. When they are a golden brown remove to a plate and put in your mushrooms and saute’ them until they give up their juices. Splash in the Marsala and the stock, stir and keep them simmering for a minute or two to reduce a little.

Return the chops to the pan and cover. Turn down the heat. You want a gentle simmer to finish cooking the chops. Depending on the thickness of your chops and the heat source this will take between 8 and 12 minutes. You can flip them over about half way through.

When they are done remove them to a plate. Turn up the heat and reduce the sauce for a few minutes until it thickens a bit and is almost syrupy. Turn the heat off and add the remaining TBS of butter and stir. When it is blended into the sauce pour it over the chops and serve.

I served this over buttered noodles with a tossed green salad and a nice red wine from Italy.

Braised Beef Brisket

Everybody has a brisket recipe, and they are all delicious. Some have exotic ingredients such as grape jelly, cranberry sauce, chili sauce, etc. Here’s mine; it is pretty basic. This is cold weather comfort food.

Ingredients

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 first-cut beef brisket (I used a grass-fed one) about 5 LBS

5 yellow onions, chopped

4 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces

4 stalks celery cut in 1 inch pieces

4 clove of garlic, smashed, peeled, and cut in half

½ tsp dried thyme

1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary

3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef stock or broth

½ cup of apple cider vinegar

1 14 OZ can of chopped tomatoes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wipe the brisket with paper towels, and generously salt and pepper it. In a large oven-proof lidded casserole heat oil over medium high heat and carefully brown brisket without burning until it is nicely browned. Remove meat and put it on a platter. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté, stirring regularly until they are browned.

Add the wine, stock, vinegar and tomatoes and the herbs.

Bring to a simmer, put the meat on top, cover tightly and put it in the oven for about 3 ½ to 4 hours, depending on the size of your meat (grass fed seems to need a bit more time in the braise.) Some recipes have you turn it or baste it. This seems like extra work to me. I check it once at the half-way mark to make sure there is enough liquid in it.

When it is tender take it out and let it sit for 20 or 30 minutes until it is cool enough to cut pieces across the grain. Better yet, put the whole thing in the fridge and serve it the next day or two.

The traditional way is to serve it with potato pancakes, which is mighty tasty, but some extra work.

I served these with fingerling potatoes and steamed green beans. A sturdy red wine (perhaps a Cote de Rhone or something from Spain) would not be out of place.

(Photos: R.L. Floyd)

Braised Lamb Shanks with Cardamom, Garlic and Prunes

We love braises in the winter such as osso buco and short ribs, but I had never made lamb shanks before, although I had enjoyed many good ones in restaurants. The only exotic part of this is the cardamom, which I have on hand because of my Indian and Moroccan cooking. You can find these in any Asian market, and some super markets, and it is worth it to find them for this dish.

This dish is pure comfort food.

2 TBs olive oil
2 lamb shanks
1 large onion sliced
2 carrots sliced
10 cloves of garlic peeled and squashed
The seeds from 7 green cardamom pods, ground with a mortar and pestle
1 cup dried pitted prunes.
3 cups beef stock

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You need a wide oven-proof casserole with a lid for this one. Brown the shanks in the olive oil until they are nicely brown, about ten minutes. Remove the shanks, and put the onions and carrots in the casserole and saute for about ten minutes until brown. Add the garlic and cardoman, and cook for another minute or two stirring. Then add the prunes and beef stock, put the shanks back in and bring to a simmer. Cover the casserole and put it in the oven for about two hours.

Serve with crusty bread or couscous. And a robust red wine such as a Spanish tempranillo or a Cote de Rhone.

(Photos by R. L. Floyd)

“If life gives you basil, make pesto”

We had about as perfect a day as we ever get here in the Berkshires. Not too hot, not too cold, not humid, not windy, lots of sunshine and birdsong, and to top it all off, my little herb garden was yielding the first crop of basil. Welcome summer!

I have made more than my share of pesto in a variety of ways, and they all taste pretty great. The key is fresh basil and good olive oil and cheese.

Here's my basic recipe, which works with a pound of pasta. I have used many different pasta shapes. My favorite is fettuccine, which I have learned is traditional in Genoa, where pesto originates (they call it trenette there).

Recipe:

2 cups basil leaves, the bigger ones torn in pieces

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 TBS pine nuts

1-2 cloves of peeled and lightly crushed garlic (according to taste)

Salt to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

3 TBS freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 LB pasta of your choice

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add salt and cook your pasta al dente

Put the first 5 ingredients in the food processor and  puree them.

Pour them into a large bowl and add the two grated cheeses, blending them with a wooden spoon.

As you cook the pasta save a few TBS of the cooking water and use it to thin out the pesto. Toss it all together and grind some black pepper on it. If you want to get fancy throw  1 or 2 TBS of softened butter into before you serve it.

Any crisp dry white wine will taste great with it. We had an Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc with it tonight, because that was what was in the fridge. Enjoy!

Roast Pork Loin a la Nottingham Drive

So my local grocery store had a sale on whole and half pork loins, and I thought what a great item for the rotisserie on my grill for Memorial Day weekend. But then the weather got weird, so I roasted this one inside in the oven, and I commend it to you.

I used convection roast, and if you have that capability I recommend it, but this will work fine in a conventional oven.

Recipe

For the rub:

2 tsp. ground thyme or thyme leaves

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground gloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp.paprika

Salt and pepper to taste.

The meat:

1 3-4 lb. boneless or 4-5 lb. bone-in pork loin roast.

How to do it:

Mix the spices together, and rub generously over the roast. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the roast fat side up on a broiling pan (you are not going to broil it, but the broiling pan will keep the juices and fat from splattering better than an open roasting pan) Score the top of the roast with a sharp knife with shallow 1/2 inch diagonal cuts.

Place the roast in the oven (if using convection roast on the bottom rack, if not in the bottom third of the oven). Cook at 425 for 15 minutes, and then reset the oven to 325 degrees. Cook to an internal temperature of 155 (if you like some pink) to 160 degrees (if you don't) and let sit for 10 minutes before carving. Cut in straight thin slices like a jelly roll.

Serve with baked beans and applesauce. We had a lovely Portuguese Dao with it, but any light red will do.

Enjoy.