Spanish Farro – An Ancient Recipe for an Ancient Grain

Spanish Farro – An Ancient Recipe for an Ancient Grain

Grains Rice Spanish Cuisine

Spanish rice was one of the first recipes I made for my parents after returning home from my first semester at culinary school. Ironically, I didn’t learn the recipe in class, but rather at a Mexican restaurant I worked at part-time.

I don’t remember much from that job, or decade, but I’ll never forget how that rice was put together, and that’s exactly how we’re doing it here – except for one minor detail. We’re not using rice.  

I really love farro, and have used it in various rice preparations, always with great results. This was no exception, and maybe my favorite so far. This larger, meatier, “ancient” grain pairs perfect with the spices, and I find it even easier to cook perfectly than rice.

If you don’t have a pan like the one used in the video, simply prepare everything in a skillet. Once your broth starts to boil, transfer it into a 2-quart casserole dish, wrap with foil, and proceed as directed. Either way, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!  

Ingredients for 6 portions:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely diced onions

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder, or other dried, ground chili

1 teaspoon chipotle

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup “pearled” farro, rinsed, drained well

2 cups chicken broth

- Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes, or until farro is just tender

Eggplant Escabeche – The Second Best Way to Eat Eggplant

Eggplant Escabeche – The Second Best Way to Eat Eggplant

Appetizer Dips Side Dish Spanish Cuisine Spicy Vegetables

The best way to eat eggplant is fried, which I’ll hopefully prove to you one day with a video recipe. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for the second best way, which is this eggplant escabeche. It’s cold, refreshing, vibrantly-flavored, and I’m guessing, very healthy. 

This was inspired by a visit to a restaurant in San Francisco called Lolinda, where Chef Alejandro Morgan serves a simple, but incredibly delicious Argentinian-style eggplant escabeche. I won’t go so far as to say it came out as good, but the noises of pleasure Michele made while eating this were very similar. 

If you didn’t get the #dotsnotslots reference, I explained how to tell a “male” from “female” eggplant in a old video, which involves looking for a dot shaped mark at the end, and not a slot shaped one. This indicates a “male,” which generally has less seeds.

By the way, “male” is in quotations because eggplants don’t actually have different genders, but apparently some are less pregnant than others. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to eggplant sex, but I’ll go with that until I hear otherwise. I really do hope you give this fabulous eggplant recipe a try soon. Enjoy! 

 
Ingredients for about 2 pints:
3/4 cup sliced roasted sweet and/or hot peppers
1 large eggplant, halved, cut in 1/4 slices
1 large zucchini, halved, cut in 1/4 slices
tossed with 2 tablespoons kosher salt 
1 cup white wine vinegar 
2/3 cup water 
1/2 cup olive oil 
2 cloves finely crushed garlic 
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano
1/4 cup reserved vinegar cooking liquid
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
.

Spring Vegetable Tartine with White Anchovies – Food Wishes and Little Fishes

Spring Vegetable Tartine with White Anchovies – Food Wishes and Little Fishes

Appetizer French Cuisine Sandwiches Seafood Spanish Cuisine Vegetables

It’s not unusual for me to borrow ideas from the various restaurants I visit, but they’re normally tweaked, altered, or otherwise adapted. This time, however, I just blatantly stole this spring vegetable tartine with white anchovies, as it. Why mess with perfection?

Yes, this spring vegetable tartine, featuring the awesomeness that is the white anchovy, was lifted almost verbatim from SHED, which is my current, “favorite place to eat.” If you’re ever anywhere near Healdsburg, CA (like within 500 miles), you simply must visit this amazing store/café/charcuterie/restaurant hybrid.

Now that I’ve offset some of my guilt for stealing this recipe with such a glowing recommendation, I can move on to this intensely tasty tartine. This would be incredibly delicious with just the aioli and vegetables, but when you add the “boquerones,” this goes from great sandwich, to memorable experience.

Even if you think you hate anchovies, which you really don’t, you may still love these, since they are so completely different. They are very mild in flavor, but still extremely savory. I was going to say they're a little bit like pickled herring, but that probably won’t help. Regardless, I hope you give this spring vegetable tartine a try very soon. Enjoy! 

Ingredients for 4 generous servings:

For the aioli:

1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

pinch of cayenne

The rest:

4 large thick slices day-old French bread, toasted

16 white anchovy fillets (aka boquerones)

* 2 cups thinly peeled, sliced, or shredded fresh vegetables, moistened with a splash of lemon juice, and drizzle of olive oil.

edible flowers, optional

* Carrots, fennel root, radishes, celery root, asparagus, artichoke hearts, peppers, endive, micro greens, and any/all kinds of sprouts would work beautifully here.

Sausage & Shrimp Paella – Before You Run, You Walk, Or In This Case, Crawl

Sausage & Shrimp Paella – Before You Run, You Walk, Or In This Case, Crawl

Pork Rice Seafood Spanish Cuisine Spicy

When I first do a version of a classic dish like paella, I try to use a minimum of number of ingredients and steps so we focus on the technique. So, while you experienced paella makers will probably find this quite unremarkable, it really is intended for the first-timer. 

Real paella is not baked, but cooked on top of a fire, which results in a similarly textured rice to what you see here, except a layer caramelizes onto the bottom of the pan, and those gloriously crunchy bits are considered the best part. So, basically I’m telling you we left out the best part.

The trade-off is that this method eliminates most of the finesse and monitoring required by the traditional method. Consider this a gateway paella, and the first step to a serious, lifelong addiction. Besides the method, ideally you’ll use a wider variety of ingredients; things like clams, mussels, squid, chicken are all very commonly used, and will make your rice that much more interesting.

No matter how you cook you paella, one thing you must try to include is the saffron. Besides the short-grain rice, this is probably the most key addition. Unfortunately, the flavor and aroma are almost impossible to describe, so you really need to experience it yourself to fully understand. I’ve heard it described using things like “earthy metallic honey,” and “rusty champagne,” but these really don’t do it justice.

Anyway, if you’ve never tried to make paella before, I really hope this inspires you to give it a go. The Arborio we use here is easy to find in the big grocery stores, and as long as you stick to the liquid/rice ratio, there’s not a lot that can go wrong. And like I said in the video, stay tuned for my future attempt at a more classic version. In the meantime, I hope you give this quick and easy paella a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

(best to use a 12 or 13 inch wide skillet)

For the saffron broth:

2 tsp olive oil

reserved shrimp shells from 1 pound of jumbo shrimp

1/2 to 1 tsp saffron threads, depending on how strong you want the flavor

2 1/4 cups chicken broth

*Simmer for 20 minutes, strain and reserve. Be sure to season generously with salt, or your rice will be bland.

For the paella:

1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz sliced chorizo sausage, or any smoky, spicy sausage

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/3 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup green peas

1 tsp regular or smoked paprika, optional depending on how much was in the sausage

2 cups (exactly) hot saffron broth, or just plain hot chicken broth

1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp

1 sweet red pepper, cut into thin strips

salt and cayenne to taste

garnish top with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and freshly chopped Italian parsley

lemon wedges, optional (some love lemon, I prefer without, but give it a try and see)

*Bake at 425 degrees F. for 20 minutes, then finish over med-high flame until rice is just tender. It will be firm and slightly sticky. Don’t burn it, but you can leave it on the flame a little longer to try and get the rice to caramelize and crust onto the bottom of the pan, like the classic version. Be careful.