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.

The Italian Feast

Five courses created in a tight deadline of two and a half hours? Here's how its done. Firstly, grab a large G and T then read on.

Nothing like fresh ingredients

Antipasti.
This bit is simple. Lay the table with parma ham (or in my case fine Iberico ham), fresh bread, goose liver pate, olives and breadsticks. It just starts things off nicely and keeps the guests occupied while the next course is being prepared.

The next courses rely on advanced preparation. This is where the 2 hours prior to the guests arrival come in. The cooking is done while they are eating the first and preceeding courses.

Ready to go.

Primi.
Cook pasta and stir in pesto sauce. The pasta I selected was the little twists (fusilli). To make the pesto sauce you need the following ingedients.

About 40 fresh basil leaves;
4 cloves garlic;
50g pine kernals;
1 teaspoon of sea salt;
Olive oil; and
50g parmesan cheese.

Mix the ingredients together with a pestle and mortar until a smooth paste is achieved. You could use a food processor if you prefer however since I don't have one a pestle and mortar will have to do.

Frittelle di zucchini.
I did this as a little rest gap before the main course. These are courgette fritters and are easy to make and fantastic to eat.


Fritter mix



750g grated courgette;

1 crushed clove of garlic;

3 eggs;

2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese;

sea salt;

black pepper (ground);

Half a teaspoon of nutmeg;

5 tablespoons of flour;

A handlefull of fresh chopped mint leaves; and

Olive oil.

Beat the eggs then pour in a bowl with the courgette, flour, salt, parmesan, nutmeg, pepper and mint. Crush the garlic and throw this in too. Mix it all together thoroughly. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then fry heaped spoonfulls of the mixture in the pan. Fry until one side is done before turning over (or attempting to turn over) to fry the other side. The result is a courgette fritter.  

Fritters afritting

Secondi.
For this you need a beef steak/beef medallians for each person. The beef is simply fried in olive oil until done depending on how you like your steak. The beauty though is in the sauce.

How do you like your meat?

500g of mixted mushrooms (closed cap, oyster, shitake, porcini - whatever you like);
1 large onion finely chopped;
1 clove garlic (chopped);
1 red chilli pepper (chopped);
1 tablespoon each of basil, sage and chives (all finely chopped);
Sea salt;
100ml beef stock;
70g butter;
100ml cream; and
A dash of Fino de Jerez (Optional as not in the original recipe but who cares).

Meat, mushrooms and er... monions?

Fry the onions, garlic and chilli in the butter until soft. Throw in the chopped herbs and stir in cooking for about a minute. Add the mushrooms and salt and stir into the mixture. Pour in the beef stock and sherry then cook for about 3 minutes.

Place the beef on the plate then top with the sauce.

To accompany this I roasted vegetables together in an oven dish. Aubergines, courgettes, garlic, onions, tomatoes and green peppers with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and olive oil. Parmesan cheese can be sprinkled over the top about 2 minutes befre serving. I also served peas in tomato pulp.

Result. And it was a beauty.

Dolci.
I cheated here as one of our guests brought a fruit crumble which was served with ice cream. Marvelous!

One the next blog we must get round to the subject of wine but for now that's all folks.

Steve

...and we're back.

Yes indeed after a prolonged absence due to work, exams, foreign travel and other assorted excuses the blogging resumes.

Way back in the summer I promised an Italian feast. This was somewhat hampered by the fact that Louise threw my home cured olives away by mistake however I am about to make good on my promise starting right now. Yes you read correctly. I am in the kitchen as I write surrounded by fresh ingredients and with a tight deadline. Guests arrive at 6:30 for 7 so here goes.

I'll be posting live updates on Twitter so keep following.

Steve

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

We interrupt this blog for a public service announcement

If you live or work in Gibraltar please help find a missing dog named George. He went missing a week ago and was last seen in the town area! He is chipped!

If you see George or can help locate him please let me know and I'll pass the information to his owner.

Thanks for helping

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

Bronte's Yummie Marshmallow Bites.

To make these yummie treats you will need:

125 g / 4½ oz milk chocolate, broken into pieces
40 g / 1½ oz mini marshmallows
25 g / 1 oz chopped walnuts (i use hazulnuts)
25 g / 1 oz ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped

·First, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. I put the heatproof bowl in the microwave for 1½ mins.
·Next, put the marshmallows in with the chocolate and stir.

TIP: You don't have to buy mini marshmallows. I bought normal ones and cut them up. And you don't have to buy the nuts and apricots all ready chopped. I chopped them myself.

·Once you have mixed all the ingredients, line a baking tray with baking paper and put spoonfuls of the mixture on it in bite sizes (or a bit bigger if you prefer) and then put the tray in the fridge. Let the chocolate freeze and then dig in.
Yummie Marshmallow bites for everyone!!!!!

Bronte Griffiths