Category: Spain

John Hillerman’s Paella

Does anyone know / remember The Libertines song “Music When The Lights Go Out”?  The hook line in this piece of indie-pop boy love runs “All the highs and the lows and the to’s and fro’s, they left me dizzy”.   That is exactly how I felt when making John Hillerman’s Paella.  No doubt about it, this was a tough cook.  But oh boy did it pay off!

John Hillerman Paella 1

The Lows

  • Converted rice?  Not available for love or money.
  • Clams in clam juice ?  Nada.
  • Bottled clam juice?  No, nay, never.
  • Polish Sausage…probably could have bought some but I had chorizo in the freezer which seemed more paella-ish anyway

I made this during the height of the ‘rona lockdown. But I honestly feel that my inability to get hold of these ingredients were not limited to that insane time of food shortages. 

So, had this been one of my recipes?  I would have ripped it up and we would have never more heard of it.  But this was was not my recipe, this was John Hillerman’s Paella recipe that I was testing for Jenny for her Murder She Wrote Cookbook so onward and upward it was.

Paella2

The To’s and And The Fro’s

I didn’t have converted rice.  I didn’t have clam juice.  Which meant I could not follow the first step of the recipe.  

I had:

  • Bomba paella rice. 
  • Fresh clams. 
  • Frozen fish stock. 

This meant that if I found another recipe that got me through that first step of cooking the rice, then the rest should fall into place like one of those Rube Goldberg machines I have become obsessed with during lockdown. 

The recipe I used was this one.  I followed all the directions for cooking the rice per that recipe. But then switched back to John Hillerman’s Paella recipe from the step where he says to “saute the chicken in olive oil”.

Here is John’s recipe:

I was literally toing and froing between the two recipes and the pan and the ingredients, making sure everything cooked properly!

Paella3

The Highs

Have you seen the photos?  This dish was lush!!!  It was so pretty, so colourful, so full of joy!

It looked gorgeous, smelled like heaven and tasted even better.

John Hillerman’s Paella brought the smell and taste of Spain into a very grey wintery Melbourne day.  It was seriously like a ray of sunshine!

I LOVED this!!!!  So, so, so good!!!!!  The end result made it all worthwhile!!!

Paella4

Thank you Jenny for the recipe!  This is the best paella I have ever made and I will be sure to make it again!  When travel opens up and we can spend time together again, this definitely needs to be on our menu!  In my imagination, we are sitting in your garden with Mr R and Battenberg Belle and having a lovely long lunch of paella, great conversation, lots of vino, and some great tunes courtesy of Mr Rathbone. Some ’60’s bossa nova maybe?

Oh, also for those of you like me who do not know who John Hillerman was?  His best-known role was as the incredibly suave Higgins In Magnum PI but he also appeared in Blazing Saddles, Chinatown (high on my must-see list), Murder She Wrote (obvs), and A Very Brady Sequal among many, many other films and tv shows!  

Have a fabulous week friends! 

Stay safe, eat paella, watch John Hillerman on the tv and listen to The Libertines!

Sounds like a pretty good way to spend the weekend to me!

Sighs of a Nun

Hello, people of the internet!  I hope you are all keeping safe and staying indoors!   And whilst you’re indoors,  why not make these little Spanish treats called Suspiros de Monja aka Sighs of a Nun.

I love food with kooky names so as soon as I saw these I knew they would someday make their way to here.  I know they are not chocolate but consider them my Easter treat to you!

Sighs of a Nun 1 (2)

When I heard the name, Sighs of a Nun, I assumed it would refer to sighs of ecstasy over how delicious these are.  Not so.  They are delicious but the sighs are definitely not what I thought they would be!

The literal translation is Nun’s Farts as the sound of a dollop of uncooked pastry hitting the hot oil makes a sound identical to a nun letting off!!!! 

I have noticed that my Sighs of a Nun are flatter than the ones I can see on the internet.  I think that is because I pan-fried mine instead of deep-frying them.  Either way,  they were delicious!  I was dubious about how much use the lemon would be in this but there was a distinct lemon flavour which I liked against the creamy interior and the crispy outside.  

Sighs of a Nun 2

One of the best things about them, in these COVID times, is that you only pantry staples to make them. And, eaten while still warm?  They are comfort food on crack!!!  Like warm, creamy, lemony doughnuts!  Albeit slightly flattened doughnuts in my case!  

There is a recipe for Sighs of a Nun in the Goodhousekeeping World Cookery book which is where I first found out about them.  They say Sighs of a Nun originate in Portugal and I have also seen recipes that say they came from France.  I ended up using this recipe from The Spruce Eats so we are going with Spain!  

Sighs of a Nun are fairly rich so just one or two will be enough…okay maybe three.  Four will be fine.  Hey, we’re at home.  Who cares how many you eat?  

Sighs of a Nun 3

 Signs Of a Nun?

BTW, if you ever try to Google this recipe, Google has a bad habit (😃) of thinking you want to know about the signs of a nun…

If you were inadvertently directed here because you are trying to decide if you want to be a Bride of Christ…I’m sorry.  I’ll try to keep the blasphemy and general debauchery down to a minimum.  Sorry about the fart talk above.  Given we are living in plague times, now more than ever I do not need the wrath of anyone’s God smiting me down.  

Having said that, potential novitiates block your ears.  

I can’t remember if I told this story at the time (it seems so long ago, for being less than a month!!!!),  But when we were in the Uber on the way home from seeing New Order my friend Claire and I got an absolute earful from the driver who was a total God botherer. He kept saying to us  “You people put your faith in science.  What is science doing to stop this disease?” 

Ummm….well…I don’t know EXACTLY.  But I’ll put my money on science coming through with a cure before any type of divine intervention!  And whilst we’re on that subject?   When that cure comes, I certainly hope all those anti-vaxxers are going to politely wait at the back of a social isolation distance correct line while the rest of us get the jab and can give each other a big old hug!!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!

 

Brazo Di Gitano – The Gypsy’s Arm

Cross my palm with silver and I will tell you tales of magic and wonder.  Or just keep reading ‘cos I cooked something really good!

GypsyI see, in your future a little taste of Spain….because today in a final piece of birthday indulgence, I bring to you The Gypsy’s Arm…aka The Brazo Di Gitano.

And what you may ask is the Brazo Di Gitano?  Well remember back at Christmas when my family took against me for bringing a Potato Salad Roll  to our Christmas festivities?  I felt then that despite their negativity it was my duty to bring the PSR to the world.  This did not start well.  My St Patrick’s Day Corned Beef PSR was an mitigated disaster.  But redemption is at hand with The Gypsy’s Arm. 

I LOVE this recipe.  And yes, I am yelling at you because it’s that good. It’s like someone took every lovely taste of Spain and mixed it together and then wrapped it up in potato.  And mayo.

Gypsy's Arm
Gypsy’s Arm

 Why a Gypsy’s Arm?  I have no idea.  But when something tastes this good why question it?  I found the original version of this recipe in Anya Von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table which I thought was an amazing book even before I discovered it had a potato salad roll.

New Spanish TableSo what’s so good about this recipe?  Well, potatoes and mayo…

 But also tuna, tomatoes, olives, capers, red onions and anchovies.  And to make things even better, I added some avocado to mine, hence the greenish tinge. 

Gypsy's Arm2The flavours of this dish took me right back to a trip to Barcelona a few years ago.  It really is Spain on a plate.  And so easy.

Make your mashed potato and spread out on a tray.

 Gypsy's Arm3I left mine a bit chunky so it was still a bit like a regular potato salad.  Then put your tuna filling on  top.  Spread to the edges.

Gypsy's Arm4Then, shake, rattle and roll!!!

Gypsy's Arm5Don’t worry if it cracks a little, or a lot, you can just press it together.  Plus you will shortly be adding your mayo (and avocado topping) so small cracks won’t matter.

Then, channel your inner Gaudi and decorate the outside of roll as you see fit. 

Gypsy's Arm7
Gypsy’s Arm7

 Trim the edges so you have a nice clean line before serving. 

Gypsy's Arm6Eat and transport yourself back to the streets of Barcelona…

Enjoy!

Barcelona Barcelona4 Barcelona Gaudi Barcelona1 Barcelona - Casa Batllo 4 Barcelona - Casa Batllo Barcelona3 Barcelona2Have a great week!  And there are only 2 days to go for the Birthday giveaway.  Subscribe or get one of your friends to subscribe to win a fabulous vintage cookbook.  Prize drawn on Monday!

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Ole, Ole Ole, This Soup is Hot, Hot, Hot (Daring Kitchen)

Hola and Olé friends…and that’s the extent of my Spanish done!

Vintage Spain
Vintage Spain

Let’s talk about soup, baby….ok…I’m stopping with the bad music puns.

Right here.  Right now.

Or..Maybe not…

Green Asparagus Soup

Green Asparagus SoupOur November Daring Cooks’ hostess was Begoña, who writes the beautiful blog, Las recetas de Marichu y las mías. Begoña is from Spain and didn’t want to go with the more common challenges of paella or gazpacho, she wanted to share with us another very popular recipe from Spain that we don’t see as often called Sopa Castellana which is a delicious bread soup!

I chose the Green Asparagus version as not only is it my second favourite vegetable ( behind the far less exotic green bean) but also, currently in season here in the Southern Hemisphere..

Just look at how gorgeous it is!

Green Asparagus Soup Ingredients
Green Asparagus Soup Ingredients
Asparagus
Asparagus

And the soup was pretty awesome too…I love the combination of egg and asparagus and I also love a poached egg in a soup…so, so good.

And saffron in anything just makes it awesome!

Try it, it may just get you dancing just like this!

flamenco 002
flamenco 002

Have a great week!

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