Arroz Negro in Barcelona

Arroz negro with snails and some frizzante rosé wine on the terrace

Last week, we moved to Barcelona. We've got a lot of legal, financial, and repair work to do, so we haven't had a lot of time to cook (you can follow our adventures, starting with our move-in).  All of our cooking tools are on a ship somewhere between Baltimore and Barcelona, so we're improvising with what came with our apartment. But we can still whip up some dynamite meals. 

A couple days ago, we got some mussels from a local shop, and Irene cooked them with white wine, leeks, and so on -- very simple, very classic. With some country bread it made a good dinner. 

We had some extra flavorful liquid in the pot which we saved: we never through away flavor! I figured we could use it to make paella or something. 

Last night, after fixing things all day, we went out to Can Cargolet for a big pile of snails and a couple bottles of wine (36€=$36 for the entire meal). We couldn't finish them, and -- surprisingly -- they asked if we wanted them "para llevar", to take away; doggy bags aren't common here, but we couldn't let them go to waste.

When we went to the shop (Bon Preu, a rather nice grocery store a couple blocks away), we picked up some Bomba rice for paella, and asked one of the staff where the "tinto de sepia" was; the squid ink was in the frozen section, and was under 1€ for four sachets -- excellent. 

After returning from the urgent care, Irene picked all the snails out of their shells, and I simmered the shells in the mussel stock to extract more flavor. I sauteed 200g bomba rice in some olive oil, added a the strained stock -- reduced to 500ml -- and added the tinta de sepia. After 20 minutes, I added the reserved snails, and dinner was served. Quite a tasty dish, and as Irene says, "using things up". It's very similar to a paella, but looser, and we're not trying to get the crusty socarrat. Definitely worth doing again. 

Paella: In Search of Socarrat

Socarrat is the crunchy rice at the bottom of a well-made paella. While we've been happy with our paellas, we've never gotten the socarrat. Here we attempt to create that elusive texture.

Paella with snails, peas and yellow bell peppers; note crust around edges

This technique comes from the 2018 book Catalan Food: Culture and Flavors from the Mediterranean by Daniel Olivella. The main difference from what I normally do is that he adds the stock in three additions, around the edge, and watches for the crusty bits forming there to indicate the development of the socarrat; he also uses a bit more stock. We're doing this indoors rather than our usually BBQ technique so we can concentrate on that crunchy bit. I'm changing the sequencing a little from Daniel's recipe, since I think the saffron gets lost if added too early.

The flavors are up to you: you can use fish stock with shrimps and fin fish, or chicken stock with snails and rabbit, etc. You can top with red peppers or peas.  Just make sure the proteins and vegetables are cooked enough: brown things like chicken or sausage first, top with bell peppers in the middle, and add delicate shrimp near the end so they don't overcook.

This recipe, for a 10-inch diameter paella pan, serves two generously as a main course, or four as an appetizer.

5 C Stock
2 pinches Saffron, crumbled (about 1/4 tsp)

1 ounce Onion
1 ounce Green Pepper, preferably long, sweet and mild (not hot); Bell will work
2 cloves Garlic
1 ounce Tomato, grated
6 Tbs Parsley Leaves, fresh, minced

1 Tbs Kosher Salt

3 Tbs Olive Oil

4 ounces Squid, Chicken, Rabbit, Pork, Sausage or other firm protein which needs cooking
1 C Bomba Rice (this is important, but Arborio risotto rice works in a pinch)
1/2 tsp Pimenton (smoked Paprika)
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4 ounces Shrimp, Fish, Clams, Mussels, or canned Snails which need minimal cooking
1/4 C Frozen Peas
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into 8 strips
4 wedges Lemon

Warm the Stock and add the crushed Saffron to flavor it.

In a 10-11 inch diameter Paella Pan, saute the sofregit ingredients: Onion, Pepper, Garlic, Tomato, Parsley and Salt in Olive Oil until soft. Remove and reserve for a moment.

Saute any firm proteins in a bit more Olive Oil until mostly cooked, a couple minutes.

Add the Bomba Rice, and with high heat, stir until rice is shiny with oil. Add Pimenton, Black Pepper and the reserved Sofregit.

Add about 3 C of the Stock with Saffron around the edge of the paella pan, shake the pan to settle the rice as the stock begins to boil. Do not shake or stir later or the rice will become sticky and may prevent the formation of the socarrat.

First addition of stock

Turn heat to medium and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed; it should take about 10 minutes, and if it takes longer, crank up the heat. The rice should just begin to sizzle a bit "almost as if it is asking you for another drink". This indicates the socarrat is beginning to form. Add 1 C more Stock around the edges again so it seeps from edge to center.

Arrange delicate proteins like Shrimp, Shellfish or Snails around the edge, burying slightly in the rice. Simmer until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice starts to sizzle again, about 5 more minutes (adjust heat if needed).

Snails, peas and peppers added

Drizzle the final 1 C Stock around the edge. Scatter the peas and arrange the Pepper strips in spokes on top of the rice. Simmer until rice is just beginning to become tender, about 5 minutes more. Shrimp should be pink, peas warmed through, any clams or mussels should be open. Test the rice: it should be plump and tender but with a slightly firm center.

The edge of the paella pan should now have a dark rim of oily starch, indicating a crispy socarrat has forming below. To test, use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan: it shouldn't slide but push against rice crust which is starting to form. When the socarrat has begun, rotate the pan for even browning.

"The rice will talk to you as it cooks; the crackle will get faster as the rice dries out, then it will go silent when the socarrat is finished forming. Your nose will tell you if it's beginning to burn; just add a spoonful of stock to the scorching spot if so."

Serve the paella in its pan at the center of the table with spoons for guests to serve themselves, with lemon wedges.

Fideuà #2: Squid, Ham, Spaghettini

For a more traditional Fideuà than before, we broke up spaghettini. Using liquid from cooking octopus gave it a fantastic depth and richness. This improvised dinner was short on measurement but long on taste.

The finished dish

I used 225 g / 8 ounces spaghettini we had on hand. To break it into short pieces, I put them into a large ziptop bag, rested this on a towel, and whacked it about every 5 cm / 2 inch with the back of a cleaver. This worked pretty well: good breakage and no pasta sprayed across the kitchen.

Spaghettini, mostly broken into short pieces

We like the Catalan habit of combining shellfish and pork, so I used squid tentacles and some ham cut into fork-friendly pieces. The protein probably added up to 225 g / 8 ounces.

Mis en place by the side of the BBQ

I knew I wanted to toast the spaghettini but figured it would be finicky to remove from our paella pan later, so I started sautéing everything else first. Olive oil is traditional but I had some lovely bacon fat lying around that would amp the ham flavor. In a paella pan on the barbecue, I first sautéed a diced onion, several shaved cloves of garlic, and some diced small tomatoes from the garden. I then added the ham and squid. My fire wasn't as hot as I expected, so rather than browning well, the veggies and squid released a fair amount of liquid: this turned out to be a good thing. I pulled out the solids and poured the flavorful liquid into separate bowls.

Next, I added some more bacon fat and my broken spaghettini. I stirred this around until it started browning a bit, and getting a little aromatic. I used this opportunity to further break the now-fragile strands into smaller pieces with my stirring spatula.

Pan roasting the noodles in bacon fat

I then added the reserved liquid and maybe a cup of juice we'd saved when we cooked octopus sous vide; it was enriched with some roasted red pepper liquid from the previous cooking and had a great aroma.  This cooked a while until the spaghettini started becoming pliable, at which time I added back the meat and veggies, and topped with a gremolata of minced orange peel and parsley. It smelled divine.  When the spaghettini was al dente, I added a sprig of rosemary, covered with foil, and let it rest enough for the pasta to finish cooking.

For service, we portioned it out and topped with a fiercely garlicky toum (my new favorite condiment) and a squirt of lemon juice. It was pretty excellent.

Served with toum and lemon juice

There were some strands of spaghettini that didn get completely cooked; I expect that they were so long that they never got immersed in the broth.  I recall the fideuàs I've had around Barcelona had a slight crunch to the noodles, perhaps they finish over a very hot flame to develop a crust, a socarrat; maybe they finish under a broiler to crisp the top. We'll work on these next time.

Daily Dinner #6 with Paella

We're extending our month of daily dinner postings, but petering out a bit as I've been working stupid long hours on a deadline here.  We did a couple Spanish things this week including another fideuà and a fishy paella.

2015-08-17 Chicken and Endive

We had left-over chicken breast from the bird we roasted. We were thinking of doing a cold salad, but I decided I preferred it warm.  Irene made chicken stock from the carcass and cooked bones, some onion and garlic. We had the rendered fat -- schmaltz (I wonder what they call it in Spain) -- so I sautéed some endive until softened, then warmed through the chicken, and moistened with some of the stock.  Irene crisped up the skin until is was shatter-y and we crumbled it on as a garnish, and used a large piece as a decorative "sail".  Really easy, and quite good. 

2015-08-20 Fideuà with Mussels

Bummer, no photos of this one. While I toiled away, Irene made a fideuà of mussels she got at the grocery store on her way home from Spanish class; they were some ridiculous price, like only €2 for a half kilo or so. Unlike the farmed American ones, these were sandy and fully bearded, so it took a while to clean and prep them. Quite  a few of them were broken; I do recall that's how mussels used to be, before farmed mussels became the norm in the U.S. 

She also got our first decent stick of bread at the grocery store.  We need to find a source of two essentials we're missing here -- good bread, and good coffee.

2015-08-21 Paella with Shellfish and Squid

We got proper "Bomba" rice from the store (very affordable here) and Irene hit up her favorite fish monger in the Mercat de Sant Antoni for some fish on her way home from Spanish class. After inquiring what Irene was making and for how many, she recommended four giant prawns, for giant crawfish-like beasts, and a squid. She cleaned and cut the squid for Irene; the entire batch of fresh fish cost under €8. 

After a grueling day working, I needed to relax with some cooking. Paella's just the thing; I'll step through the process here. Off camera I cut up some "xoriz fuet" (an intense sausage, sold naked and hanging loose in the store, unrefrigerated), and sweated some bulbing onion with a big red bell pepper and some garlic. We used more of Irene's chicken stock, enriched with some Ñora chilis and some saffron.

I then sauteed the rice in a bit of olive oil: 

Added the stock:

 Some flat beans, which we've found need a fair amount of cooking, so I started them early rather than waiting until the end as I usually do when cooking at home:

And here are our "bugs" and squid.  We don't have beasts like this in our stores in the States. We've got your basic shrimp (almost universally from far east farms run by slave labor -- look it up). Here we've got a range that we simply don't have names for.

 First the big ones, since they'll need a bit more time to cook:

Then the smaller ones:

And finally the squid, which is very thick in body, more like what I'd call cuttlefish at home:

 A dusting of charcoal salt flakes for flavor and contrast and we're done.

The rice came out beautifully, fully cooked with individual grains, not a gummy mess, the squid was tender, and the big shrimpy-things were cooked through. The crawfish-like things were, perhaps, a bit overcooked. Next time, we'd cut through the shell of the crawfish to make it easier to get in -- those shells are tough!

2015-08-22 Spanish Carbonara

Casting around in the cupboards, not much came to view. Frozen chicken breast, a couple eggs, one endive, a bit of red pepper, and some cheese.  Irene started out making a version of Mac'n'cheese but the lack of a suitable pan for browning the top (teflon's a no-no at high temperature) changed the end result. 

Boil some pasta, sauté some veggies, grate some cheese, beat up a couple eggs, and there you go -- carbonara, after a fashion.