The inevitable attempt at paella

We had some friends over recently, guests from Gibraltar and others from nearby La Linea. I wanted to make paella however felt a little trepidation seeing as our guests would know how a real paella should taste. Still, not being one to run away from a challenge I gathered the ingredients together and started to work.

There are many variations of this dish however I chose to make a mixta being a combination of meat and sea food. The ingredients I used are listed as follows;

Fresh chicken pieces, enough for each guest to have one piece;
Fresh mussles;
Fresh calamares (or prawns if you prefer);
1 large onion, chopped;
2 cloves of garlc;
One large green pepper;
One cup of garden peas;
Paella rice;
Paella seasoning*;
Salt and pepper to taste; and
One and a half pints of chicken stock.

* This admittedly is a cheat however the local Spanish supermarket, Mercadona sells a ready made seasoning mix which is just perfect for the job. If you can't get this where you are email me on recipes@burningdownthekitchen.co.uk and I'll send some to you (for a small fee of course :-)

As with most dishes, start by slowly frying the onion in olive oil until transulcent adding a little water from time to time to prevent the onion from drying out and burning. After about five minutes add the chicken pieces, salt and a large teaspoon of paella mix. Fry the chicken until the outside begins to brown.

Looking good and should smell delicious but we're not there yet. Slice and dice the green pepper and add this to the pan along with the crushed and finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the chicken stock. Bring this to the boil and then add the peas.

For the rice quantities I usual allow two handfuls per person and then two for the pot. Some may not agree with this in fact I've heard so many different ideas on how to cook rice that I've lost count of them all. Frankly though, I don't give a chuff. This works for me but if you prefer to work out the quanities your own way then this is also fine. Add the rice and let the dish cook for 15 to 20 minutes adding a little water from time to time if neccessary.

Now its time to add the calamare and mussles.

Firstly the mussels should be cleaned with the beards removed. If you have not used mussels before you will find that they have something which resembles hair that they use to attach themselves to rocks etc... Be firm and give it the American treatment (give it a yank) and the hair will come off.

The mussles should all be closed. Any that are open before cooking should be discarded. Place the mussels in the pan and let the boiling liquid and steam do their work. You should find that after a few minutes the mussels will open up. Any that don't open with cooking should be discarded (they're bad).

Leave the dish to cook for a few minutes until everything is thoroughly hot throughout. At this point I like to remove the mussels and de-shell them prior to putting them back in the dish. This is up to you if you want to do this or if you prefer to leave them in their shells for your guests to extract.

Serve the paella in generous portions with fresh bread, olive oil and olives. Fantastic.

As mention at the begining, I attempted this with some Spanish and Gibraltarian dinner guests and to my surprise they loved it.

Casino Chicken

A few of us were chatting at work about quick and easy things to cook when you either don't have much time or the inclination. The following was mentioned. Apparently this is an old Gibraltar recipe.

All you need is;
Chicked breast or pieces;
Two cans of condensed chicken soup;
Curry powder; and
Boiled rice.

So you begin by frying the chicken in oil.

When the chicken is sufficiently cooked add the tins of condensed soup as they are. Don't add water. Then add a generous table spoon of curry powder and stir thoroughly.

Yes I know it looks like something that's first passed through the cat's digestive system but stay with me. It will be worth it.

Continue to cook the mixture stiring regulary until the sauce is hot throughout and then serve on a bed of boiled rice.

And there you have it. It's very similar to Coronation Chicken only it's not. Its Casino Chicken.

By the way, if you're wondering why the rice is yellow I always add a little saffron and turmeric to make it more colourful.

I hope you try it and like it. Let me know (that's what the comments are for).

Steve

Thai style curry

Ok I know. It's not exactly a Spanish dish but still one of my favorites and very quick to make.

All you need is;
Meat of your choice (chicken, beef, pork, lamb or even fish. Actually, this works well with baby squid);
Stir fry vegetables, (I used onions, green pepper, mushrooms, beansprouts, Courgette - spring onion also works well as it adds to the colour and tastes great);
Vegetable oil;
Fish sauce;
One teaspoon of ground corriander;
One teaspoon of Ground cumin;
Soy sauce;
Coconut Milk (400g);
2 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped);
2 (or 3 if you dare) Red or Green chillies; and
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Prepare your meat and vegetables in advance and chop into chunky pieces. the onion should be chopped as small as you can. Once ready heat up the oil in a large pan or wok and add the onion. Cook for a couple of minutes then add your chosen meat.

Keep turning the meat with the onions until cooked then add a splash of water followed by your seasonings. First add the ground spices, the chillies, the garlic, salt and pepper and stir into the meat.

Next, add a tablespoon of fish saurce and a table spoon of soy sauce and stir into the mixture. The remaining vegetables can then be added and stir fried for 2 minutes. Finally add your coconut milk.

Cook for a further 5 minutes then serve on a bed of boiled rice or with some noodles.

Enjoy. We did!

Steve

Sunday Lunch

After the breadsticks and sardines (which were yummie by the way) prepared by Louise we come swiftly on to an alternative for the good old chicken Sunday lunch. Here's how it works;

Part One - The Chicken.

Chicken pieces (drumsticks, wings, breast... whatever you fancy);
2 cloves of garlic;
6 large mushrooms;
1 large onion;
Salt and pepper to taste;
Olive oil;
250ml cream; and
One cocktail consisting of pineapple, gaseosa (cream soda) and vodka.

So, first chop the onion into tiny little pieces, slice the mushrooms and chop up the garlic.

Get a largish oven dish with a lid and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with the onions then place the chicken on top. Next sprinkle the chicken with chopped garlic and cover with the sliced mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste then pour the cream over the top and you should have something that looks like this;

Now cover the dish with its lid and bang in the oven on about 200 degrees for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Part Two - The Vegetables.

1 large onion;
1 courgette;
1 aubergene;
1 green pepper;
2 cloves of garlic;
2 tomatos;
Tomato juice;
Olive oil;
Salt and pepper (to taste); and
grated cheese.

With the exception of the aubergene roughly chop all the vegetables into chunky pieces. Take up a large oven dish and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Place the vegatables in the oven dish then cut the aubergene into slices and layer on top. Add salt and pepper to taste then pour in the tomato juice. Scatter the grated cheese over the top and you should have something like this;

As with the chicken, 200 degrees will do only the vegetable will take about half an hour or so. When done the vegetables will be soft and juicy but the cheese should be crispy on the top.

Serve the chicken and the vegetables together for an alternative approach to Sunday lunch in a Spanish style.

Try it, enjoy it and post a comment.

Steve

Giovani's chicken - 'eat it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday...

We recently spent the evening with our friends Giovani and Carmena. Giovani is from Sicily hence the vague Godfather reference in the title. While we were there Giovani served home made ravioli and an amazing chicken dish. It was so good that I had to have the recipe. Needless to say, I now owe Giovani 'a favour'.

Anyway, here it is and it is simplicity itself.

4 chicken breasts
6 to 8 large closed cap mushrooms
200gm butter
250gm cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast into pieces and peel and slice the musrooms. Place a large frying pan on a moderate heat and melt the butter. Once melted add the chicken and mushrooms. You should have something like this.

Fry the chicken turning occasionally (turning the chicken that is, not you because that would be silly) until done but not overdone. It should be just enough for any pink to disapear and for the chicken to turn white. Next add the cream and cook for a few more minutes, again turning the chicken in the cream to ensure all of it is covered. You should have something like this.

When the cream is bubbling away, add the salt and pepper and continue cooking to make sure eveything is thoroughly cooked but don't allow the cream to dry out.

Then serve with a side of your choice. Giovani served this with fresh bread and peas with a tomato sauce. I was pealess (is that a word?) and so made a brie and butter sauce (by melting brie and butter then adding a bit of cream) and mixed it with pasta. The results are below;

This dish takes about 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish and tastes fantastic. The only negative is that you wont be earning any gold stars at Weight Watchers. As for me, I have a party coming up in a few weeks for which I need to squeeze into a DJ I haven't worn for... a few years. With this in mind, the next few recipes are likely to be butterless.

Try out the chicken and if you like it give me some feedback.

Steve