Paella Valenciana

This is my version of one of my favorite dishes, Spanish paella. When I visited Barcelona, Spain, it was the one dish I had to try, and I was not disappointed. The best paella I ever had was in Barcelona. Paella is a one-pan rice dish, and there are many different variations for making it. Many versions include seafood, but mine is just meat: chicken and chorizo. 

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked short grain white rice (I prefer the Spanish bomba variety, as it is typically used in Spanish paella)
1/3 pound chicken, dark meat bone-in, washed and cut into 1-2 inch chunks
1-2 chorizos (Spanish sausage), sliced into 1/3 inch slices
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1/4 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1/4 cup white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup frozen baby green peas
2 tablespoons Goya Sofrito
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tablespoon paprika
6-7 saffron threads (optional)
Olive oil
Salt, to taste

Start by making the saffron broth: steep the saffron threads in about 1/4 cup hot water (optional). Set aside. Place a paella pan (or large frying pan) on the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil and then the chicken pieces, Season them with salt, and fry until they are golden brown (seared) and almost cooked through. Move the chicken to the sides of the pan. Add another tablespoon of oil, followed by the onion, garlic, poblano pepper, and chorizo. Fry them for about 5 minutes, then season with about 1/2 tablespoon of paprika (more if you are not adding the saffron) and a pinch of salt.

Frying the meats

Then add in the Sofrito and red bell pepper and mix well.

With red bell pepper and Sofrito added

Add in the white wine, and simmer until the alcohol is cooked out (about 1-2 minutes). Next, add in the rice and saffron broth.

Rice added

Add the chicken stock and stir. Cook on high for about 5 minutes or until it begins to boil. Throw in the peas and stir, then reduce the heat to medium.

Cooking with the chicken stock and peas

Cook for about 10-15 minutes, without stirring. Once the paella is cooked, remove it from the heat. Sprinkle the fresh parsley over the top, cover with a towel for 10 minutes. When you are ready to serve, garnish with a fresh lemon wedge, and enjoy!

Homemade Apple Cider

It's almost apple season! This is one of the things I am grateful for being back In New York for. New York State apples are delicious, fresh, and in abundance this time of year, so I usually like to put them to use in baking. For some reason, I have been craving some ice cold apple cider this year, and as it is not quite yet fall, apple cider is impossible to find in the supermarkets in New York City. So what did I do? I researched and made my own! It turned out to be super easy and most importantly, amazingly delicious and fresh!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of fresh apples (makes ~4 cups of apple cider)

You will also need:
Cheesecloth
Food processor

Note: Different varieties of apples make slightly different flavored apple cider. If you prefer a more tart cider, add in one or two tart apples, such as the Granny Smith variety. The sweeter apple varieties are Red Delicious, Gala, and Fuji. Mix and match until you find the flavor that suits you!

Method:
Wash and roughly chop the apples into 1-2 inch cubes. Remove any core, stems, and seeds, but leave the skin on. Also remove any spots that look brown or discolored. Pulse the apple pieces in the food processor until they are chopped finely, and then blend until it is almost pureed. Put a double layer of cheesecloth over a clean medium-sized bowl. Pour the pureed apple into the cloth, and then continue processing the rest of the apple pieces. Once there is a good amount of pureed apple in the cheesecloth, twist the edge of the cloth together and squeeze out the juice, being careful not to let any of the pulp through. Discard the pulp and repeat with the rest of the apple puree. You may run the end product cider through a fresh piece of cheesecloth once more to make sure it is fully smooth, if you wish.

Apple pulp in the cheesecloth, ready to be squeezed.

You may then heat the apple cider over the stove to ~160F to pasteurize it (will make it last longer, up to a week). However, we have always finished my apple cider within 2 days so I have always skipped this step.

Store the apple cider in an airtight container in the refrigerator, Enjoy!

Nutritional tidbits:
Apples are known for being a healthy fruit ("an apple a day keeps the doctor away"), but why is that? First of all, apples have plenty of fiber, which help to prevent atherosclerosis, as well as provide bulk to keep waste moving in the intestinal tract. Apples also contain many vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, A, potassium, and folate (a B vitamin). Be sure to eat the apple with its skin, as that is where much of the vitamin content is located. 

Sicilian Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is an offshoot of a type of gratin that originated in Sicily, Italy. I haven't yet had the chance to try it in Italy (will be sure to when I go again!), but I did try a version of it at The Smith, a restaurant in the Upper West Side of New York City. It seemed like a simple roasted cauliflower, but I was intrigued at the variety of ingredients added in. The capers were an interesting surprise, as were the raisins and sliced chili peppers. My version is made the same way, with a few additions that pulled off the very same complex flavors I was looking for.

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
10-12 saffron threads (optional)
1/2 shallot, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of pine nuts
1 tablespoon capers, drained
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries (golden raisins work very well here too)
2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 450F. Chop the cauliflower into 1-2 inch florets, and wash. Shake the excess water off and drop them onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle the saffron threads over them (optional). Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over the cauliflower, then gently toss them spread the seasoning. Bake for about 30 minutes.Pour in a little boiling water (about 1/4 cup) over the cauliflower, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and golden on the edges.

Once the cauliflower is roasted, toss it in a bowl with the cranberries (or golden raisins) and set it aside.

Roasted cauliflower with cranberries

Heat a small pan with about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot, and fry for about a minute, or until the shallot is translucent. Add the pine nuts and capers, and fry for another 2 minutes or so. Add in the chopped parsley, mix, and then turn off the heat.

Shallot, garlic, pine nut, caper, and parsley mixture

Toss this mixture into the roasted cauliflower and serve warm. Enjoy!

Nutritional tidbits:
Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that are often overlooked. White veggies are often thought to have less nutritional value than their colorful counterparts, but cauliflower definitely is an important part of a healthy diet. It contains nutrients such as vitamins (including choline, a B vitamin), indole-3-carbinol, and sulfuraphane. These nutrients have been shown to help prevent diabetes, becoming overweight, and certain cancers (cervical, prostate, and ovarian cancers).

Pan Seared Salmon with a Light Lemon Sauce

This recipe was created out of my desire to eat healthy, but in a very delicious way! This method of cooking allowed for a tender, flaky salmon that was just so perfectly moist. The sauce is light, and simple, but brings some wonderful flavor without overpowering the fish. I hope you will try it out, it is unbelievably delicious!

Ingredients:
1 pound of wild salmon fillet, cut into 3-4 oz. pieces (with skin)
1/4 shallot, finely diced
1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Wash the salmon pieces with half of the lemon and some cold water. Pat the salmon pieces dry, and place on a plate, skin side down. sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper.

Seasoned salmon fillets

Place a skillet on the stove over high heat. drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on the pan. Once it is heated, place each salmon fillet, skin side down, on the pan. The pieces should begin to sizzle. The goal here is to render some of the fat on the skin, and sear the skin, leaving it nice and crispy. Cooking with the skin also helps to keep the fish a little more moist.

Pan searing the salmon

Cook the salmon on high-medium heat for about 4 minutes, and then flip it over. Cook the second side for another 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Be careful not to overcook the salmon, or it will become too dry. Remove the fillets from the pan and set aside.

In a small pan or saucepan, add about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the heat on to about medium. Add the diced shallot and fry for about a minute or so, until the shallot becomes translucent, and then add the wine and the juice of the other half of the lemon. Simmer the sauce until it has reduced a bit (about 1-2 more minutes), and then stir in the butter. Once the butter has melted into the sauce, add a little salt (to taste) and turn the heat off. Throw in the parsley, and then pour the sauce over the warm salmon fillets.

Garnish with a slice of lemon and enjoy!

Pan Seared Salmon served with Sicilian Roasted Cauliflower and Steamed Green Beans

Nutritional Tidbits:
Salmon is one of the most heart-healthy fish you can eat! It is loaded with omega 3-fatty acids as most people know, but it is also a great source of protein, potassium, selenium, and vitamin B12. It has been observed that diets high in omega 3's tend to help prevent heart disease, but now there is even research that it may help to prevent certain cancers and certain chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
(Side note: It pays to opt for wild salmon instead of farm-raised salmon, as the wild variety has a better nutritional profile than the farm-raised. The wild salmon is also safer to eat, as it has lower amounts of pesticide residues than the farm-raised.)

Hi Again!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

So it's been quite a while since I've had the time to post, although I have come across many culinary discoveries during that time. Now that I have a chance to breathe a little, I decided that I would finally take some time to document my endeavors. That being said, I decided to place a little more emphasis on healthy (not diet!) foods, and you will notice that I will have a little section at the end of some of the recipes with some notes on the nutrition in those particular dishes. I myself am starting something of a diet (I could never go on a full-blown diet; chocoholic here!), so I have paid a little more attention to the nutritional value of the food I am eating. I am focusing on eating proteins with good nutritional value and less saturated fat, a variety of vegetables with a wide range of vitamins and minerals, and a small amount of whole-grain carbohydrates. (I won't be giving up my desserts! However, I will try to limit my portions there :) )

Just to reiterate, the dishes I post as healthy are not necessarily diet or low-calorie, but they are packed full of nutrients that are great for your body!