Sunday Paella

Nothing says “Welcome to Summer” like a giant pan of Paella shared amongst friends. I spent Sunday afternoon prepping the mise en place, all the while drinking a bottle of Tempranillo. As every Chef knows, you must have access to wine just in case to have to deglaze the pan … My recipe follows, enjoy!

PAELLA

Serves Four in a 16” Paella pan

* 4 1/2 cups chicken broth; more if necessary
* Pinch saffron threads (about 20 threads)
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 chicken thighs, chopped in half across the bone with a meat cleaver
* 4 duck legs (optional)
* 20 medium sized Shrimp, peeled & deveined
* 12 Scallops
* 1 link of Spanish (dried) Chorizo
* 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut in 1-inch wide strips
* 1 small whole head garlic; plus 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
* 2 artichokes, trimmed down to the hearts and quartered (optional)
* 1/2 onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater
* 1 tomato, halved horizontally and grated on the largest holes of a box grater to get a coarse purée (discard the skin)
* 1 tablespoon Pimentón; more if desired
* 1 1/2 cups Bomba or Valencia (medium grain) rice
* 1/4 cup cooked or canned chickpeas, drained (optional)
* 4 lemons, cut in quarters, lengthwise

Heat the saffron broth: In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil; lower to a simmer. Toast the saffron gently in a dry skillet or toaster oven (just until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes; don’t let them burn). Crumble the threads in a mortar or between your fingers, and add to the broth. Taste and add salt if necessary (it should be very well-seasoned, salted as if it were a soup). Remove from the heat until you’re ready to add to the rice.

Saute the chicken and vegetables: Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper. Pour the olive in a 16-inch paella pan. Over medium high heat, sauté the chicken until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with duck legs.

Reduce the heat to medium low. In the paella pan, cook the red pepper and head of garlic until the peppers are completely limp but not brown, 15 to 20 min. Transfer the peppers to a plate (leave the garlic in the pan) and cover with aluminum foil. Add the artichoke hearts (if using) to the pan, and after 5 min. Sauté until the artichokes are tender, about 10 min.

Transfer the artichokes to a plate.

Make the sofrito: Increase the heat to medium and sauté the onion until softened, about 5 min. Add the tomato, Pimentón, and the six garlic cloves, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has darkened to a deep burgundy and is thick like a tomato paste, 15 to 20 min. If it starts to stick to the pan or burn, add a little water to the pan. If not cooking the rice immediately, remove the paella pan from the heat. (This tomato-onion-garlic mixture, called a sofrito, is the flavor base for the paella.) You may make the paella several hours ahead up to this point.

Add the rice and cook: About a half hour before you’re ready to eat, bring the broth back to a simmer and set the paella pan with the sofrito over your largest burner (or over two burners) on medium high heat. Add the rice, stirring until it’s opaque, 1 to 2 min.

Spread the rice in the pan, put the head of garlic in the center, and pour in the hot broth. Shake the pan a bit to make sure the rice is evenly distributed. Arrange the chicken, artichokes, red peppers, and green beans in the pan. If using chickpeas, distribute them on top. Do not stir the rice from this point on. Simmer vigorously, moving the pan over one and two burners to distribute the heat and to cook the rice as evenly as possible. When the rice is at the same level as the liquid, after 8 to 10 min., reduce the heat to medium low.

Continue to simmer more gently, rotating the pan as necessary, until the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 min. more. Taste a grain just below the top layer of rice; it should be al dente, with a tiny white dot in the center. (If the rice is not done but all the liquid has been absorbed, add a bit more broth or water to the pan and cook a few minutes more.)

Create the Socarrat: Increase the heat to medium-high and, rotating the pan, cook for about 2 min., until the bottom layer of rice starts to caramelize, creating the socarrat. The rice will crackle, but if it starts to smell burned, remove the pan from the heat immediately.

Let the paella rest: Remove the pan from the heat. Cover loosely with foil or a clean kitchen towel and let the paella rest for 5 min. to even the cooking and let the flavors meld.

Serve! Set the paella pan in the center of a round or square table. Remove the foil and invite people to eat directly from the pan, starting at the perimeter, working toward the center, and squeezing lemon over their section, if they want.

Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannann, meaning "white-headed cabbage") is a traditional Irish dish. Colcannon is traditionally made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time it was a cheap, year-round staple food, though it is usually eaten in Autumn/Winter, when kale comes into season.
An old Irish Halloween tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with Christmas pudding. This is still done today and small amounts of money are placed in the potato.
The dish of course, is the inspiration behind the traditional Irish song by the same name, "Oh weren't them the happy days when troubles we knew not and our mother made colcannon in the little skillet pot". This is the basic recipe, but you could also stir in a little bit of wholegrain mustard to add an extra bite to it!


Serves 4 portions
1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup savoy cabbage, finely sliced
1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup of milk
A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper


1. Add the peeled and diced potato to a pot of cold water, cover, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Place a metal steamer into another pot, add a little water and bring to the boil. Place the cabbage into the steamer and steam cook until it is tender.
3. When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat, drain into a colander, then add back into the pot with the butter and milk. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. You may want to add a little bit more or less milk and butter, it is up to you!
4. Add in the spring onion, steamed cabbage, sea salt and black pepper and stir through with a spoon until evenly combined. Serve the colcannon straight away with a little extra butter and sea salt if you want.

Posole

Posole (Indian Stew)
(Yields 4 servings)

Ingredients
1 ½ Cups dried Posole (Hominy) Corn
5 Quarts Chicken Stock
2 Cups Pork Loin, diced into 1” cubes
2 Dried red New Mexico Chiles, seeded, stemmed and torn into thirds (6 pieces)
1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons oregano, chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon Cumin seed, toasted & ground
1 pinch Saffron
1 Pound Kale leaves, with midrib removed and torn into strips
Cilantro, chopped for garnish
Red Radish, julienned for garnish

1. Cover the posole with water and soak overnight.
2. Drain and discard water, rinsing posole 3 times.
3. Add 5 quarts of chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for approximately 4 hours, until the kernels pop and are puffy and tender.
4. Add more water if necessary to cover the kernels.
5. Add pork loin, red chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cilantro, cumin & saffron and simmer for another 1 ½ hours.
6. Add Kale leaves; continue simmering for 10 minutes until kale has wilted.
7. Season with salt & pepper as desired.
8. Garnish with cilantro and red radish.

Sunday Cupcakes ...

After visiting Georgetown this weekend with my family and seeing the buzz at Georgetown Cupcake, I decided to throw my hat into the ring. As much as I hate to admit it, this is based upon a Martha Stewart recipe. They turned out fabulous!




Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
Makes 9 Large Cupcakes or 18 Regular Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Mint Buttercream Frosting (Recipe Follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, water, and peppermint extract, and beat with a mixer on low speed until smooth.

2. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in tins on wire racks for 10 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks, and let cool. Undecorated cupcakes will keep, covered, for 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months.

3. Spoon buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain tip. Pipe small mounds on tops of cupcakes. Flatten mounds with an offset spatula.

Mint Buttercream
Makes 3 1/2 cups.

2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1. Whisk together yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring milk, vanilla, and mint leaves just to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Whisk about 1/3 of milk mixture into yolk mixture. Pour yolk mixture back into pan with remaining milk mixture, and whisk to combine. Place over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until custard registers 185 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat; strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Set bowl in ice-water bath, and stir until cool.

3. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add chilled custard to butter, and beat until incorporated.

4. Heat whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisking constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips). Attach bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Starting on low, and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form.

5. Add egg-white mixture to butter mixture, switch to paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in peppermint extract. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. (Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth.)