Fried potatoes with "things"

If, as Mark Bittman reports, a poorly done paella is "rice with things", does that make my play on patatas bravas "potatoes with things"? I used to love getting a little bowl of the classic Spanish snack at The Astoria in Fort Collins, that crusty old Cuban bar on College Ave. that really had the whole "decaying Havana" look down.  It was a perfect tummy buffer after too many cocktails, but sadly, The Astoria is no more, and now I must make my own comforting potato dishes at home. I didn't actually whip this up in a drunken stupor, though the leftovers could certainly serve that purpose; I made it to go with black bean tacos, and the leftovers worked equally well with fried eggs for breakfast. I added some vegetables, because I usually do, and that is how my patatas bravas became "Potatoes with Things".

Potatoes with Things

Serves 4 as a side

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium Russet potatoes, thinly sliced and cut into thumb-sized pieces

1 packet Goya Sazón

1 small yellow onion, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

1 small zucchini, cubed

½ cup frozen or fresh corn kernels

1 small serrano chile, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Black pepper to taste

Sour cream and lemon wedges for serving

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes and the Sazón and stir to combine and coat with the oil.  Add about 1/8 cup of water to the pan, lower the heat to medium-low, and cover.  Cook until potatoes begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, serrano, and remaining vegetables, stir, and cover again; cook another 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Season with cilantro and black pepper and serve hot with sour cream and lemon wedges on the side. 

I tried Mark Bittman's Paella Master Recipe. It was OK.

Bittman's paella from NYT

I referenced Mark Bittman's latest cookbook, Kitchen Matrix, less than a month ago in this blog, and I still say it's a great book. It is written as a set of master recipes and basic techniques with ingredient options to cater to your tastes.  I have long admired Bittman's pedagogical approach to food writing, whether it's in the New York Times, his classic handbooks, How To Cook Everything and How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, or delivered charmingly on his various PBS shows. He is practical, flexible, and incredibly clear in his directions, and his recipes always turn out as promised (for me). So when I saw that Matrix contained a paella recipe, I jumped on it.  I remembered having it on various occasions during sea-faring vacations and loving it, but I have always been too intimidated to try to make it at home.  Partially because I live in a very landlocked place, and partly because I (therefore) have no experience cooking a good many of the creepy-crawlies that go into the dish, I never thought I should try it, until I saw Bittman's inviting instructions taking up no more than a page. So I got a packet of mixed frozen seafood and got to work.  

If you don't have access to Kitchen Matrix, you can also read his Paella Master Recipe on the New York Times site here. Basically, as he explains it, paella is rice and things, but what truly makes it paella is the lack of stirring, so that a crunchy, browned layer forms at the bottom of the pan. I followed his recipe, with this exception: instead of saffron, I used about half a packet of Goya sazon to season the rice.  I stand by that decision, as I really like the flavor, and it's way cheap, while saffron is far to precious for my taste. I also used water instead of stock, with a splash of red wine.

My flavoring agents were as follows: that mixed seafood packet, which contained mussels, shrimp, squid, and clams; a drained can of tomatoes, chopped Kalamata olives, half a zucchini, and some frozen peas; a chopped vegetarian sausage (why, you ask, when I'm already eating seafood? CANCER, that's why!), and of course the bell pepper and onion.  I also threw in  two minced cloves of garlic, because it's garlic.

As for the crunchy bottom, mine got a little closer to the black side of the spectrum, after having to add more water a couple of times until the rice was tender enough.  I probably should have lowered the heat more, and sooner; the rest of it I blame on the higher elevation (approx. 4700 feet above sea level), which can make cooking rice a little tricky. But again, a lower temp would have done the trick, so that one's on me. 

The result was...OK.  The shrimp were very rubbery and overcooked, but the rest of the seafood was a good consistency.  Everything else worked the way it should have.  It was a bit bland, and I found that generous squeezes of fresh lemon and hot sauce (Tapatio has a great chili flavor) helped, but I think that the nature of paella is actually to be quite bland.  So, in my cobwebbed memories of this dish, I think it was an accurate rendering, but I also discovered that, once the novelty wears off, it's kind of a boring meal. If you think you would like a very mild, tomatoey rice dish with bits of seafood and vegetables in it, this is a very user-friendly recipe to try.  If you want something truly exotic and/or brightly flavored, I would recommend Bittman's take on Asian dishes in the book, which are much more interesting and equally accessible to the home cook. 

My paella from Greeley, CO

A Salvadorian Feast!

Why?  I don't know...I thought it would be a good excuse to fried up some bread with things stuffed into it.  Doesn't that sound delicious?  I did get some help from my new friends at http://www.pupusarecipe.com with the basic technique, and the traditional accompaniments, salsa rioja and curtido, are two new staples in my fridge.  Enjoy!

Black Bean Pupusas

Makes about 36

Filling:
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoon salt
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped onion

In a blender, blend beans; add water a little bit at a time if too thick.


In a large frying pan over medium heat,  heat the oil and saute onion, garlic, and salt until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Lower to medium low heat, add beans, and cook for about 1 hour, or until beans have thickened up. Let cool; beans should look like playdough. If beans are too runny, cook longer.

Dough:

6 cups of "Maseca" corn flour (used to make tortillas and tamale filling)
4 cups of water

Mix the flour and water in a large bowl, adding flour little by little mixing until the dough is plyable. Dough should be thick enough to make a smooth ball. If flour sticks to your hands, add more water.

Make Pupusas!


Preheat a flat pan on medim heat.  Pan is hot enough when drops of water bounce in pan.  Make a ball of dough the size of a plum and mold it to resemble a little "bowl".



Put 2 tablespoons of mixture in the center of the "bowl".  Close the dough carefully making sure all the mixture is covered.






Flatten with a tortilla press (can be purchased or improvise by using 2 plates). Make sure pupusa is no thicker than 1/2 cm.  Add a little canola oil to the  hot pan and cook for 4 minutes each side.

Salsa Rioja

Makes about 2 cups

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Serrano or jalapeño chile pepper, chopped 
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chile and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.  Stir in the tomatoes and oregano and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.  Puree the tomato sauce in a blender until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in cilantro if using and serve.

Curtido (cabbage salad)

Serves 4

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated
1 quart boiling water
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Combine the cabbage and carrot in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over the mixture. Allow the mixture to steep for 5 minutes; drain well. Return the cabbage and carrots to the bowl. Mix in the green onion, vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, and oregano. Toss until all ingredients are combined. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.

Eating tapas across the street from Macy's

Ondo’s Tapas Bar at Cherry Creek

Just a half-story beneath the street is a calm, chic haven from the shopping madness that is Cherry Creek.  Its spare, boldly colored décor and flamenco guitar music, while corny-sounding, is rather pleasant, and the wall fountain cleverly disguising the concrete wall that lines the front “patio” is as inviting an eating area as anything I’ve experienced in Denver. Ondo’s offers a menu exclusively comprised of tapas, heavy on the Northern Spanish culinary influence, carafes if homemade sangria, and clever twists in classic cocktails.  Sounds like a nice place after a long work week to gather with friends, right?  It is.

Cute patio at Ondo's.

Happy hour, which runs from 4-6:30pm weekdays, is worth going early: half-off sangria and 2$ pintxos (individual portions of tapas) served under glass domes at the bar encourages the spirit of taking you time and sampling at a great discount.

Northern Spanish cuisine is not exceptionally bright or spicy in flavor, but what Ondo’s does with mild staple ingredients like potato and egg is well-balanced and finely executed.  It really is a lot of egg and potato, though.  And lots of ham and cheese, as well.  I found the tapas I tried to be satisfying, but nothing knocked me over the head or caused obsessive research on my part to find out how to recreate the recipe.  I ate egg and potato torta on a piece of bread, Serrano ham and manchego cheese, Monte Enebro cheese with quince paste, pecans, and honey (that was a good one!),  and chick peas in a mild broth with little bits of charred chorizo.  They were all tasty, but I think I can make them at home.  That is not to say you shouldn’t go to Ondo’s; there is certainly a value in appreciating someone else’s high standards and letting them do the dishes.  I’m just warning you that you will not learn new truths about the universe from anything you try here.

Our exceptionally competent waitress (really--whoever you were serving the girl with the glasses and her bald husband, you deserve a raise) informed us that Ondo’s is particularly known for their cured meats and croquetas, and I appreciate the tip.  Their lomo (salt-cured pork) had a salty, briny taste you cannot easily pick up at Safeway, and the croquetas were a marvel of creamed spinach and pine nuts encased in the most delicate batter I have ever seen, deep fried to crisp perfection.  If I can amend my previous statement, that was the one recipe that boggled my mind, for sheer execution alone.  These were definitely the two stars on our table.

Serrano ham and manchego cheese tapas

The sangria was fine; the red wine is freshened with sparkling water and has some chopped green apple in it.  I always prefer harder stuff, but it seemed more socially acceptable before a long drive back to Greeley, and it complimented everything I ate just fine.  Everything we ate was well prepared with high-quality ingredients.  It was dressed up comfort food, to my taste, but along with the clean, urban atmosphere and peaceful, very knowledgeable service, it was a nice night out.  And we still made it home in time for Law and Order.