On the rare occasion I find myself at home alone, aside from the puppies, on a weekend (others are off turkey hunting and golfing), my days are filled working in the yard or in the kitchen. This past weekend, I binge watched Gordon Ramsey’s Master …
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The sultry jazzy sound of Spanish Flamenco singer, Buika, greets us as we enter the door of The Paella Club, in the heart of the Barri Gòtic, in Barcelona. Tonight is about cooking, eating, drinking, music and making new friends. Alex hosts his 3000th class as enthusiastically as he did his first. The 10 of us (from Wales, the Netherlands and California) will be cooking traditional Spanish paella together. We pick a station and start by sautéing whole garlic and lemon rind until it’s golden and then into the hot pan the whole shrimp sizzle and crack.
Alex moves among us, deglazing our pans with white wine and repeating, “guys, this is love and wine, love and wine.” He chooses our dish for demonstration. Taking our wooden spoon, he says’ “Now, I‘m gonna be doin’ diz, I’ma gonna make a hole in the center, and my dear you’re gonna help me out. Olive oil goes to the center, now dis is spices, dump them in the center and wit the tip of the spoon we’re gonna mix it up nice and easy in the middle, right there, nice and easy very gentle, an ina bout 5 secons your gonna starta smellin’ all the benefits. We call dis bloomin’ de spices”.
Rice is added and fully mixed into the safrito, followed by fish broth. And then we wait, stirring in a small circular motion across the paella pan. When the mixture becomes thick and gelatinous, we take the handles firmly and “shakea shakea” for 60 seconds. Then, we wait again. The smoke begins to smell like burnt toast as the rice caramelizes, and we’re left with a perfectly crusty crispy layer of “socarrat”.
Below is a recipe from class. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 395 degrees. Dry rub your meat with salt , tapioca flour and sweet paprika. Set aside.
Heat a 16″ paella pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic clove and rosemary sprigs and sauté until golden. Remove and reserve for later. Sear the meat for 4-5 minutes on each side and remove.
To begin the sofrito, add a little more olive oil to the pan. Finely mince the sautéed garlic clove. Add onion and garlic and cook until caramelized. Add the scallions and cook 2 or 3 minutes, constantly move your ingredients around to evenly distribute the heat.
Move the ingredients to the side of the pan, add more oil if necessary, and add the mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes. Mix all of the ingredients together.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomatoes and allow the mixture to reduce until it reaches a jam like texture (2 minutes). Bloom your spices by making a small well in the center of the mixture, add a little olive oil and place the saffron powder and remainder of sweet paprika into it. When the spices begin to bubble and become fragrant, incorporate them into the sofrito.
Add in the rice and combine and cook in the sauce for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and mix well, and slowly take the temperature up to a medium heat , making small circular motions across the circumference of the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes. When the starch has been extracted from the rice, the mixture will become thick and gelatinous.
Using the handles, keep the pan firmly on the stove top and shake it slowly for 60 seconds until the mixture is evenly spread out across the pan.
In order to achieve the crispy layer of rice “socarrat”, leave the pan on the stove on a medium heat. The smoke released from the center of the pan will indicate that the rice is caramelizing properly. When the smoke begins to smell like burnt toast, turn the heat off. Place the meat very delicately on top of the rice, do not press into the rice or stir it.
Cook the paella in the oven at 395 degrees for 15 minutes.
Drizzle olive oil and serve.
North Alabama weather can be pretty unpredictable. Maybe its 90 degrees in October and we’re all wondering where fall is? Or maybe it’s just June and already a stifling 100 degrees outside. Either way, when it’s simply too hot to turn the oven above 275 …
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Strawberries and pepper? Sugar, eggs and cream transformed into a velvety delicious custard. Cold crystals of strawberry balsamic ice flakes infusing a slight tartness blended with sweet. I think for me, the fascination with food comes in how it can delight all the senses. Alabama farmer’s markets in May are a sea of bright red strawberries spilling over the edges of their round plastic baskets and southern cooks stocking up to make jams and jellies when the berries are at their peak. During the short season for these heart shaped treasures, we delight in ways to enjoy their abundance. James Beard recalls “a very unusual way of serving strawberries” – Strawberries Carcassonne. Carcassonne is a double walled hill top city in the south of France. We spent a night there once, passing through on the way from Barcelona to Paris, staying just outside the city ramparts at the modern Carcassonne Hotel de Chateau. This dessert has a lovely combination of flavors and is easily made ahead to assemble quickly after dinner.
Gently fold over with a spoon to combine flavors. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
Strain the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve or chinois. Add orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and balsamic. Stir to combine. Pour into ice trays or a loaf pan and freeze for 2 hours. Remove from freezer and scrape across the top with a fork to create the ice granita. Return to freezer and scrape again before serving.
Bowl of ice (for cooling the anglaise)
In a medium sauce pan, bring cream to a boil, and then add the vanilla bean. In a medium bowl whisk sugar and egg yolks.
Temper egg mixture by slowly whisking in hot cream until all is incorporated.
Return mixture back to pot and cook on medium heat until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Strain through a sieve into a bowl and place bowl of anglaise on ice, stirring until cool.
Add the Chambord and mix well.
Using a small bowl or plate, begin with 2-3 spoonfuls of the raspberry creme anglaise, followed by 5-6 strawberries, and top with the strawberry balsamic ice. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
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A long drive in professional golf is what she’s hoping for as she gazes down the fairway from the tee box, searching for that perfect landing spot. But during her years on tour, a long drive could mean something else entirely.
When the tour traveled through the Southeast, sometimes the shortest long road lead home to Alabama for an off week. She’d arrive exhausted with golf clubs, suitcase, and laundry in tow. This is the breakfast smoothie she loved to come home to.
Cold and creamy, with blueberries, banana and a handful of greens from the garden, it became part of those brief stretches at home before the bags were packed, the clubs loaded, and she was back on the road again.
Put all ingredients into the NutriBullet. Blend. Enjoy! Adjust the liquid if necessary.
Of all the highlights and “take-aways” from a week of Cooking at Home with Patricia Wells in Provence, the first thing I wanted to make after returning home was this fabulously refreshing fragrant rosemary infused sorbet. So delicious. So easy. Everyone around the table will …
