Samfaina (Catalan ratatouille)

There are many variations on ratatouille. I thought I should memorise one, a Spanish version. Samfaina is a very versatile dish. Use as a sauce with cod fish or meat, eat on it's own with bread, couscous or rice.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil.
1 onion.
3 bell peppers (for best results use 3 different colors).
4 fresh tomatoes (or canned tomatoes).
1 eggplant.
saffron.

Cut onion in 2 cm stripes. Cut all other ingredients in 2 cm cubes. Fry the onion in the oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and fry for 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes with lid closed. Add eggplant and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt & saffron and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Optional: add a glass of white wine.

Paella Valenciana

Cooking paella on a charcoal fire is very rewarding. It took 1,5 hours to finish and because of the slow proces the paella was easy to tweak during the cooking process. Below quantities are supposed to be for 4 people. My small 28 centimeter paella could only take 150 grams of rice, which was barely enough for me and my parents. Adjust below quantities accordingly.

• 500g Rabbit

• 500g Chicken.

• 60 cl Extra virgin olive oil.

• 1 ripe tomato.

• 200g of green beans.

• 200g kg of garrofón (lima bean).

• 500g Bomba rice.

• 1.5 liters stock (rice stock ratio: 1:3)

• Sprig of fresh rosemary.

• Saffron.

• Salt.

• 10 pre-boiled snails (optional).

Method

Fry the meat (rabbit, chicken) in olive oil. When the meat is sealed and golden brown, add a peeled, ground tomato and the beans. I only got my hand on fresh flat beans. Fry until the tomato has dissolved.

Add the stock. I used chicken stock. Since I used one glass of rice (about 150 grams) I added 3 glasses of stock. Add a sprig of rosemary (which I couldn’t buy on a Sunday). Wait until the stock boils.

Paella Valencia has humble origins and it is hard to imagine the farmers were using stock during lunchtime in the fields. This dish was probably made with just rice, snails and vegetables. You can use water instead and boil the water a bit longer before you add the rice. Basically you are making a stock in the paella.

Add the rice, saffron (dissolve in lukewarm water) and salt. If you have snails, this is the moment to add them. Then let everything simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the rice has soaked up all stock and the paella is dry but not too dry. By this time the charcoal fire is probably not too hot anymore, which makes it easier to reach the perfect moment.

I have to say the result was very tasty. I didn’t peel the tomatoes and just chucked in the saffron, so there is room for improvement. Now a much bigger paella (pan) is on my list.

Paella sofrito

Another method would be to make a sofrito first by slow cooking onion, garlic and tomato en olive oil. You can make this separately and add a couple of tablespoons to the paella pan before adding the rice and stock.

Chickpeas, chorizo picante & spinach

One of my favourite one-pan recipes. The only problem is that you need to find chorizo which can be used for cooking - buy fresh chorizo and not the dry-cured version. I buy my Spanish ingredients at Pacomer Traiteur, Gerard Doustraat 66 Amsterdam.

Other than finding the proper chorizo this dish is easy. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and fry one onion. Add a cubed carrot, quartered tomato, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer for a few minutes. Add two chopped garlic cloves , quarter teaspoon cinnamon, a teaspoon smoked paprika and 200 gram of sliced chorizo. Fry until the chorizo releases its oils. Add cooked chickpeas, a tablespoon of (sherry) vinegar. Simmer for a couple of minutes and add 400 grams of spinach. Stir until the spinach has merged into the stew and taste for salt and black pepper.

Quick lunch at work.