From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Only serendipity can explain how this treasure made it from Latin America to my permanent recipe roster. About a decade ago I was asked to participate in a cooking demonstration for folks receiving food stamps. The dish, obviously, had to be inexpensive and easy to prepare, but I also wanted to come up with something that fell outside the pale of the usual "101 Ways to Cook" recipes. I was thumbing through an unfamiliar magazine looking for inspiration when I stumbled on this recipe by Sarah Jay. It is a no longer buried treasure, and that unfamiliar magazine went on to become a must read --- Fine Cooking. I've served this dish to friends and family for years now, and chances are if you've eaten at my table you've had this at least once. One caution - be sure to remove the skin from the chicken. While the bones help define the shape of chicken pieces, exposure to steam and stock will cause the skin to become limp and unappealing. Arroz con Pollo stole the show at the demonstration and it has remained a favorite of mine. All the ingredients are readily available and it is still inexpensive to prepare. I know you'll like this one. It's great family fare.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A friend, who traveled with me through Spain and Morocco, sent me this photo over the weekend. I pride myself, often to a fault, with being an unobtrusive traveler. It appears I don't always practice what I preach. Given what I'm carrying and the paraphernalia I've draped over my body, the only possible tourist identifier I'm missing is a visible display of my passport in one of those horrid necklace thingies. I can just hear the locals whispering, "Here come the Americans". I really dropped the ball here, but the picture reminded me of a soup we shared the day it was taken. I enjoyed the soup enough to search out a recipe for it, and while it is a bit more involved to make than many of the soups I feature here, it truly is worth the effort. Those of you who enjoy new flavor pairings will really enjoy the eggplant and pepper combination. I have no real cautions to share with you regarding its preparation, save for the need to strain the soup before it is served. The texture of the pureed soup is decidedly grainy and may be off putting to some. Staining solves the problem. Do give this a try. This is the type of soup that is served as the last meal of the day in Spain and Morocco, so despite the spice mix it is easy to digest. Here is how it's made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a simple recipe meant for those who enjoy chicken wings but would like to find a healthier way to prepare them. The wings are marinated and baked in a typically Spanish fashion and they are almost effortless to prepare, especially if you have your butcher break down the wings for you. The wings are at their best when allowed to marinate for eight hours or more before they go into the oven. They do not have the heat of Buffalo wings, but they are enormously flavorful and can be served with a hot sauce if that is more to your liking. I do hope you'll keep this recipe on your radar. Those of you who make the wings will not be disappointed. They would be great for a game day get-together. Here is how they are made.
This was the kind of day that begged for soup or stew. My larder was better stocked for soup, so soup became the order of the day. That decision give me the chance to play with a Spanish-type bean soup that I knew would be warm as well as filling. I had a large ham bone in the fridge and butterbeans (lima beans) in the pantry, so I set about re-creating a soup we had in Spain. I almost nailed it. This is almost, but not quite, like a soup we had for lunch in Seville. It is warm and filling, and if you serve it with fresh bread and a crisp salad you have the makings of a Spanish late-night supper. This recipe works best if you have a really smoky ham bone to work with. If yours needs some help, add a half teaspoon or so of liquid smoke to boost the flavor. What makes this soup Spanish? The paprika of course. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how this cold weather soup is made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is, arguably, one of the easiest of all tapas dishes to prepare. It has the added advantage of being one that can be made well ahead of serving and I really think you'll enjoy the Spanish version of roasted peppers. Because less vinegar is used in their preparation, the peppers are not as harsh as their Italian counterpart and I think you'll find many uses for them as you become more interested in Spanish cooking. In Spain, the peppers are charred over and open flame, and while many cooks use that methodology, I prefer to roast, not broil, peppers in the oven. It's a much cleaner way to blister them and it frees the hands for other tasks. Once skin, ribs and seeds have been removed, oven roasted peppers freeze well and the homemade variety is much cheaper than any commercial product you may find. I do hope you'll give this recipe and roasting technique a try. Here is how the tapas version of spicy roasted peppers are made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple chicken dish is packed with Spanish flavor and while it lacks the bells and whistles associated with a company meal, I think you'll find it's perfect for a family supper. In Spain, this meal would be served with French fries, crusty bread and a ubiquitous iceberg salad that seems to accompany all Spanish meals, save for breakfast. While the chicken is simple to make, it requires time to marinate, so if you decide to give this recipe a try keep that in mind. I love the lemon flavor in this dish and to heighten it even further, I use a lemon flavored olive oil for frying the chicken and assembling the salad. The salad is a bit unusual, but it's a great way to use the last of the tomatoes from the garden and it adds some wonderful color to the plate. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how this unusual chicken is made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Spain is a nominally Catholic country. While better than 70% of the population is Catholic, only 20% of that number consider themselves to be practicing Catholics. That being said, the entire country loves a parade and the number of people who turn out to observe religious processions far exceeds the number of those who actually practice the faith. We happened to be in Granada on the 12th of October, a day when many events are celebrated, among them the Feast of the Virgin of Pilar. Part of the celebration is, of course, a procession in which a statute of the Virgin is displayed on a float that's carried on the shoulders of penitents who, throughout the year, practice the cadence necessary for smooth movement of the float through the streets. It is fascinating to see the footwork required to keep the float balanced and on keel. The event, which closes streets in the downtown area, normally occurs in the morning, but on the day of our arrival it was delayed because of rain. By late afternoon the skies had cleared and the procession began its march along the appointed route. As luck would have it, our group, which was a bit behind schedule, hit Granada just as the city streets were closed. That meant our Spanishly late dinner would be even later than usual and the cooking class I had scheduled months earlier was in serious jeopardy. While there wasn't enough time to cover what we had planned to do, we were able to meet with the instructor and some of her friends for a discussion and recipe exchange. It turned out to be a great, if late, night, and many of the recipes, including the one I'm featuring tonight, are the result of that evening. While I may not be able to claim "the dog ate my homework", I think my excuse for missing class is far more original and I know those of you who try this very simple recipe will really enjoy the mushrooms. Here is how they are made.
