Bear Cuisine

Paella

Paella is one of those dishes for which there are hundreds of recipes or , more accurately, variations. This is a much-loved dish in our household, but we reserve it for special occasions-- those celebratory moments when you want to mark the event with something extra-special from the kitchen. The best set of guidelines that I have found for Anglos is in The Spanish Table Cookbook. Here, you have a template for paella which will serve you well as you construct a meal fit for all the royalty you entertain at your table.

THE SPANISH TABLE'S CLASSIC PAELLA

(The measurements listed are for one person. Use this list as a multiplication table.)

1. 1/2 cup uncooked Valancian rice per person ( I find that this enough rice for 2 people. You be the judge.)
   
2. 1 cup chicken stock, clam juice or water per 1/2 cup rice, more is using Bomba
   
3. 5 threads saffron per person,dissolved in 1/2 cup white warm dry white wine.
   
4. 2 tablespoons olive oil per serving capacity of the pan, enough to completely cover bottom of the pan when it is cool. The oil will expand as it heats.
   
5. 1 piece chicken, such as a thigh, per person
   
6. 1/2 to soft, cooking, Spanish style chorizo
   
7. 1/2 teaspoon bittersweet pimenton
   
8. 1 clove garlic, per person finely chopped
   
9. 1/4 cup chopped onion person
   
10. 1/8 cup tomato, grated per person
    
11. 2 shrimp and/or prawns per portion
    
12. 2-4 small clams and/or mussels per portion
    
13. Vegetables may include the following:
    

• red piquillo peppers cut in strips
  
• peas, green beans and/or artichoke hearts
  
• Lemon wedges for garnish
  
• Minced parsley for garnish
  

ORDER OF COOKING

Warm saffron gently in a small pan. When aroma is released, add white wine. Allow to come to a near boil then remove from heat.

Coat the bottom of paella pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add chicken and fry, turning, until golden brown.

When chicken's juice rungs clear, add garlic and onions and saute until translucent.

Add the chorizo and cook until heated through and begins to sweat fat.

Add the rice and pimenton, stirring until well coated with oil (about one minute).

Add the grated tomato.

Add the liquid, stock or water and the saffron steeped in wine.

Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of pan, and adjust heat to maintain a simmer.

 Add the seafood and the other pre-cooked vegetables you are using.

When cooking time since adding the liquid totals 25 minutes, check to see if the rice is done.

At this point, it is traditional to let the paella, rest for 15 minutes while the cook has an aperitif. 

( I will already have been working on that.) Cover loosely  with a sheet of aluminum foil.

 

The Lobster Hut

One of the advantages of vacationing more than once in the same spot is that you develop favorite activities to do and places to go. One of my favorites on the South Shore is The Lobster Hut in Plymouth, MA. This is an unpretentious restaurant with absolutely some of the best seafood I have ever enjoyed. Legal Seafood may be more sophisticated, but it can't top this local favorite. The seafood is fresh and perfectly cooked. I love anything they fry. The food is lightly battered and is never greasy--tender and full of flavor.

Located on Town Wharf, there is plenty of parking. the Pilgrims might have fared better if there had been a Lobster Hut at the end of their journey.

The dining rooms are large and comfortable. There is also seating outside.

Fried Oysters

Fried Shrimp

These are some of the best onion rings I have ever put in my mouth.

So, if you find yourself anywhere near Plymouth--let's say within fifty miles--make a detour and enjoy a terrific meal.

Lobster Hut

25 Town Wharf

Plymouth, MA

505-746-2270

Portuguese Fisherman's Stew

There is a substantial Portuguese population in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and these folks have long been part of the fishing industry here. Many of them are wonderful seafood cooks and this stew shows off one of their signature ingredients--Linguica. This is a mild sausage with just a bit of spice and I have never found it outside of New England. Since we were right there, I decided we could honor all the great fresh seafood and this distinctive sausage by preparing this dish. We loved it!

PORTUGUESE FISHERMAN'S STEW

(serves 4 as a main course)

1. 1/4 cup olive oil
2. 4 small dried bay leaves
3. 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4. 1 tablespoon minced garlic
5. 1 medium onion (5 ounces), thinly sliced
6. 1 medium red or green bell pepper (6 ounces), cored, seeded and thinly sliced
7. 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed (1 tablespoon)
8. 1 teaspoon saffron threads, chopped
9. 1 14-oz can whole tomatoes in juice,drained, juice reserved, cut into strips
10. 1 cup dry white wine
11. 2 cups Fish Stock, clam juice or chicken stock
12. 4 ounces chouricio or linguica sausage, casings peeled off and cut into 1/2" thick slices*
13. 8 littleneck clams,scrubbed and rinsed
14. 10 ounces fatty fish, such as bluefish or mackerel, with skin removed; cut into 4 pieces**
15. 10 ounces lean fish filets, hake, cod, halibut or striped bass, cut into 4 pieces
16. 10 ounces mussels, scrubbed, debearded and rinsed
17. Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
18. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
19. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a 6-to-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the bay leaves and red pepper flakes and saute until they sizzle and the bay leaves begin to turn brown. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and thyme and saute,stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the saffron and saute for 1 minute more.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, the white wine, and fish stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice.

Stir in the sausage and clams and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Add both kinds of fish and stir to submerge them. Simmer slowly for 5 minutes. Add the mussels, leaving them on top of the stew, without trying submerge them (the seam will cook them), and simmer for 3 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the stew to sit for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Distribute the fish and shellfish evenly among four soup bowls. Return the broth to the stove, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the parsley and cilantro. Ladle the broth into each bowl of fish.

*  I doubled the amount of sausage.

** Neither bluefish or mackerel were available so I substituted salmon. That worked perfectly.

(adapted from Jasper White's Summer Shack Cookbook)

Eating Steamers

Several readers suggested that I add some instructions for eating steamers to my previous post.

"After all," they say,"not everyone grew up eating these things as you did." I have to protest and say that this is a skill acquired later in life. I was, however, an exceptionally quick study.

Ok, here's how it's done. 

1. Take the calm in one hand and with your other hand remove the clam from its shell. It should come out easily; if it does, this means that it hasn't been sufficiently cooked.

2. Remove the covering from the siphon(that's the small protrusion/neck of the clam). 

3. Dip the clam in the broth and then in the butter.

4. Devour.

That's all there is to it. If you eat your first soft shell clams with an experienced consumer, you will learn very quickly. Not only will you be able to emulate your mentor; but you will realize that if you don't master the technique , you won't get your fair share.

Steamers

We have just returned from a wonderful vacation on the East Coast. Part of that time was spent in Duxbury, MA , most notable in our lives for being the birthplace of Lacey and Marco, our two corgis.

It is also the home of fabulous seafood.

When I inquired here in New mexico about steamers, the fish monger said that they were too fragile to ship. These soft-shelled clams are one food that has to be eaten in the place where it originates. So, I lost no time in finding a local seafood market and we marked our July 4th celebration with boiled lobsters and steamers. Cooking lobsters has been described elsewhere in this blog. Steamers have this post all to themselves.

Jasper White defines the cooking of New England and I turned to his Summer Shack Cookbook for a refresher on cooking these mollusks.

STEAMERS WITH DRAWN BUTTER

(serves 4 as an appetizer)

• 3 pounds medium steamers ( 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)
• 2 cups water
• 1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Fill two large pots with cold water. Gently place the clams in one pot, discarding any dead clams or clams with cracked shells. If a clam looks shriveled up, poke the siphon; if it doesn't retract into the shell, the clam is dead. Swish the clams gently in the water and let soak for a few minutes, then lift them out with wire-mesh skimmer and place them in the other pot of cold water. Rinse out the first pot and and fill it again. Swish the clams around again and let soak briefly, then transfer them to the clean pot. Swish and repeat with successive batches of clean water until the water is perfectly clear.

White says to to do this 4 or 5 times; I found that 9 times were required for the water to be completely clear. Drain the clams and set aside.

2. Set up your steamer pot. Add the water, celery, onion, and pepper, cover and turn the heat on high. When the pot has a full head of steam, ad the steamers and replace the lid. Steam for 4 minutes. Uncover the pot and stir once gently Cover and continue to seam until the clams are completely open and somewhat firm, 4 to 5 minutes for medium steamers.

3. Melt the butter to make drawn butter.

4 Remove the pot from the heat and gently transfer the steamers to a large bowl with a wire-mesh skimmer. Drain the broth through a fine strainer into four small bowls.

5. Serve the steamers withe bowls of broth, drawn butter and lemon wedges.

DRAWN BUTTER

• 2 tablespoons ( 1 ounce) unsalted butter per person
• Kosher or sea salt

Put the butter in a small pot and place over a medium heat. Stir the butter often as it melts. Before the melted butter comes to a boil, season to taste with salt. then keep stirring until it boils--it should be cloudy, almost emulsified. Divine among small bowls and serve at once.