Paella with Rosa-Mari

When the outdoor thermometers are pushing 40°C, spending an hour over an open-flame in a basement doesn't sound like much fun; but, it was. I was lucky enough to get a master-class from my friend Rosa on her family's paella recipe; which is fantastica.

serves 7-ish (55cm diameter paella)

1 free-range chicken; cut into pieces

½ rabbit; cut into pieces

100ml olive oil

2 garlic cloves; finely diced

2 medium ripe tomatoes; grated, skins discarded

1 tbsp pimenton dulce

400g runner beans

400g fresh garrofon/ butter beans

1 sachet of colourant or safron

3 litres Valencian water :-)

750g Fallera rice

9 pork balls

4 pinches of dried, ground rosemary & ajedrea (savory) mix

salt

1. Start your fire. Place the paella on its stand and check to make sure it is level.

2. Heat the oil in the paella and add the chicken and rabbit pieces: season well.

N.B. Paella is the name of both the dish and the pan you cook it in.

3. Brown the meat well; and then cook it for a bit longer. Reduce the flame a little.

4. Move the meat to one side and add the tomato and the garlic. Cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, until the tomato darkens a little: be careful not to burn the tomate frito.

5. Add the pimenton with both types of beans and cook for 5 minutes.

N.B. Add artichokes when in season; quartered.

6. Pour in the water to a level that is just over the handle rivets. Adjust the salt, bearing in mind the reduction in the water and the rice: It should taste well-seasoned at this stage.

7. Increase the flame; bring the mixture to a rolling boil and maintain for 20 minutes: until the garrofon are soft.

8. Incorporate the colourant.

9. Pour the rice in the form of the cross; and add the pork balls. Using a round spatula, distribute the ingredients evenly throughout the paella.

10. Cook over a high heat for 10 minutes before reducing the heat for the final 5 minutes.

11. Remove from the heat and add the herb mix.

12. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

N.B. If the rice is still a little hard, you can cover the paella with newspaper for the rest period. This stops the residual moisture from escaping which the rice then absorbs.

P.S. Only add lemon juice to bad paellas: some chefs will take offense if you ask for a lemon wedge.

Arròs al Forn / Arroz al Horno / Oven Rice

serves 5

for the pork meatballs

20g pine nuts

400g minced pork

40g Oscar Mayer bacon

1 small egg

a pinch of ground Cinnamon

1 ground clove

200g breadcrumbs

a little flour

Maldon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

for the pork meatballs

1. Slice the bacon very finely and in a large bowl, season and mix in with the other ingredients. 

2. Roll into small balls ( 5cm diametre), roll and lightly coat with the flour.

3. Chill 9 for this recipe and freeze the rest.

3 strips of thick panceta, rind off

300g meaty pork ribs, 2.5cm
9 Pork meatballs

4 small morcilla de cebolla

250g potatoes/ swedes

2 large Valencian tomatoes

2 x 100mg sachets of saffron or 1 sachet of colourant

3/4 tsp pimentón

1 medium ripe tomato, grated

2 cloves of garlic

1 head of garlic

175g dried chickpeas

450g short grain rice

900ml good stock*

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in about 500ml of cold water.

2. Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to saucepan with double the amount of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and reserve the liquid.

3. Cut the panceta into 2.5cm strips.

4. Heat the oil in the terracotta dish.

5. Season the meat and brown well, remove and put to one side.

6. In the same dish, salt and fry off the swede (needs longer) and potato to give them a colour and soften them a little; adding a little more oil if necessary. Remove and put to one side.

7. Finely chop the 2 cloves of garlic and gently fry, then add the pimenton followed by the grated tomato. 

8. Put the stocks into a saucepan. Correct the seasoning, if necessary, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the saffron. It will need 15 minutes to infuse well.

9. Preheat the oven to 220ºC

10. Add the rice, combine well and gently fry until almost translucent.

11. Add the chickpeas and combine.

12. Distribute the meats evenly throughout the rice mixture.

13. Cover with the swede, potato and halved tomatoes. 

14. Gently press the garlic head into the centre.

15. Pour over the hot, infused stock; which should barely cover the ingredients. Place in the top third of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

16. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

17. Serve and enjoy.

* For the stock I used a mixture of homemade chicken stock (400ml), stock made from serrano ham (300ml) and the chickpea soaking liquid (seasoned)(200ml).

Old-School Cottage Pie

serves 7

1 kg potatoes such as Maris Piper

150g butter

100g Manchego Cheese

2 onions

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery

1 tsp thyme

600g beef minced (once)

a good splash of sherry or fino

500 ml good quality beef stock

1 tsp cornflour

Worcester sauce

Maldon Sea Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC

2. Cut the potatoes into small evenly-sized pieces. Put in a pan with cold salted water*. Bring to the boil and simmer till tender.

3. Dice the vegetables. Heat the butter in a pan and cook the vegetables over a moderate heat until soft.

4. Add the thyme and beef . Brown the beef. Add the sherry or fino a stir for a minute to remove the alcohol. Add half the stock. To the other half, whisk in the cornflour before adding it to the beef. Add a good dash of Worcester sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Drain the potatoes; mash in 50 g of butter and the Manchego cheese. Season to taste.

6. Taste and season the meat. If the liquid has been reduced too much, add a little water.

7. Reserve about 250 ml of the liquid to use as a pour-over gravy.

8. Transfer the meat to a baking dish and top with the mash. Run a fork over the mash and dot with the remaining butter.

9. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until the top is crisp and golden.

10. Serve with an extra helping of gravy...

* For veg that grows under the ground; start from cold. For things that grow above ground add to boiling water.

The Best Cottage Pie

serves 5

for the filling

1 large onion - chopped

1 tin Heinz baked beans

1 tin plum tomatoes

5 mushrooms - finely chopped

1 large carrot - grated

1 sachet of taco seasoning

700g mined beef

Maldon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

for the topping

5  large potatoes

a good knob of butter

a few gratings of nutmeg

milk

2 tbsp Mature cheddar cheese

3 tbsp Parmesano

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C 

2. Heat a little oil in a large pan and gently cook the onions for a couple of minutes, then add the mince .

3. When the mince is browned stir in the mushrooms and carrot.

4. Add the baked beans and the tomatoes; and stir in the taco seasoning.

5. Season and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, put a large pan of water on to boil, peel and evenly cut your potatoes into small pieces. Boil until soft; then drain and leave uncovered.

7. in a large bowl mash the potatoes with butter and milk, before adding the cheese and seasoning.

8. Transfer the beef mixture to a caserole dish and top with the cheesy mash.
9. Bake in the oven for  about 35 minutes until golden brown.

Paella Valenciana

serves 7

1 free-range chicken - in pieces

half a rabbit - in pieces (optional)

3 tbsp olive oil

400g tomato - triturado

600g green beans and butter beans (garrofón)

3 artichokes - quartered

1 sachet saffron

1.5 ltr chicken stock

~750ml water

1 tbsp pimentón de la vera

Maldon sea salt

1 sprig rosemary

1. Heat the oil in the paella (pan). Season the chicken pieces and over a medium heat, cook for a good 10 minutes until the meat is well browned and the skin is crispy.

2. Add the artichoke quarters to the mix and stir; cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Now it's time to add the garrofón and green beans. Stir in and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Stir in the tomato before adding the water and the pimentón. Now add the stock and saffron fronds and stir in.

5. Increase the heat to a rolling boil and continue until everything is cooked.

6. Using a little extra water or stock bring the liquid up to the level of the handles (the 2 rivet-like studs on the inside of the paella).

7. Mark out a cross in the pan and clear the vegetables and chicken from that area. The trick with the rice is to pour it (from the packet) in the form of a cross; and when the resulting mound reaches the surface ... stop.

8. Mix the rice in well and then leave it alone. Cook over a moderately high heat for 10 minutes before reducing to a simmer for the final 8 minutes. During the last 2 minutes I use only the centre ring on the lowest setting. This will help to form the lovely "socarrat".

9. Remove from the heat and cover with newspaper for about 10 minutes; this will finish the cooking with the remaining moisture.

Marisa's Holland Road Pollo with seed and pomegranate salad

serves 5

a little olive oil
5 pieces of chicken
5 onions red and white
3 large carrots
2 tomatoes grated (no skin)
12 new potatoes
1/2 bottle decent white wine
3 garlic cloves
3 cloves
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

mixed leaves
pomegranate seeds
mixed seeds:-
poppy, sesame, pumpkin, etc
fresh lemon juice
good olive oil
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat a little oil in casserole pan and brown the chicken. Roughly chop the onions and add them to the pot. Add the rest of the veg, season and sweat them down a little before adding the wine and the remaining ingredients. Top up with water to cover the mixture and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

for the salad

Dry roast the seeds a little. Put all the ingredients in a suitable salad bowl and dress with salt and pepper, a good glug of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice.

Roast chicken with boulangère potatoes

serves 5

for the roast chicken
2kg free-range chicken
5 sprigs of thyme
25g butter

for the boulangère potatoes
7 potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
5 small onions, peeled and sliced thinly
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
500ml chick stock

for the salad
half a shallot, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp good olive oil
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 little gem lettuces

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Rub the butter and thyme into the chicken skin. Mix the potato and onion together in a bowl and season to taste; transfer to a butter oven dish and pour over the stock.

Put the potato dish below the chicken in the oven (so any juices drip into the potatoes). The chicken should be put directly onto the rack:- you can put a sheet of aluminium foil (with holes in it!) beneath the chicken, if you like. Roast for 1.5 - 2 hours until the chicken is cooked. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For the salad; whisk the shallot, mustard, vinegar and olive oil together in a bowl until well combined.Season to taste. Rinse and spin the lettuce before dressing.

Cuca's lasagne alla cacciatora

This started off as a homage to my ex-next door neighbour, who provided the wild rabbit. He came to my door one day and asked if I liked rabbits; yes I said ... cute fluffy creatures that they are.
The following day Cuca was standing at my door holding 2 dead examples by their ears.
They were delicious.

Serves 7


2 packets of precooked lasagne sheets (Italian made if possible)

Shredded meat (I used about about 700g) from:
1 roasted free-range chicken
2 roasted wild rabbit
Parmesan for grating
2 Mozzarella
a handful of fresh sage
olive oil

for the tomato sauce
olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
a sprig of fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
3 tins of good quality tinned, plum tomatoes

for the white sauce 
1 litre fresh milk
a sprig of fresh parsley
a pinch of nutmeg
half a peeled onion
7 black peppercorns
80g butter
70g plain flour
150g freshly grated Parmesan
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Once you have roasted your meat and it has cooled sufficiently, shred it - discarding bones and skin...

Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and gently fry the garlic till lightly coloured. Add the tomatoes, rosemary and bay leaves and simmer for about 30 minutes - with the lid on - we don't want a reduction...
Add the shredded meat and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes then remove the rosemary and bay leaves.

For the white sauce; put the milk, parsley, onion, nutmeg and peppercorns into a pan and gently bring to a simmer. In another pan; melt the butter and stir in the flour. Mix well, then using a sieve add the milk one ladle at a time, mixing well until you have a creamy, thick sauce. Simmer fro a couple of minutes, then remove from the heat and add the Parmesan.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Butter a large baking tray (mine:- 36x26cms). Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of pasta (straight from the packet!), followed by a layer of the tomato sauce, then the white sauce. Repeat these three layers until you run out of tomato sauce. Keep enough white sauce in reserve for the top; cover with Parmesan and tear over the mozzarella. Finish with the fresh sage leaves and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown.