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Fish & Sea Food

Pasta Paella (Fideuà)

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PASTA PAELLA (FIDEUÀ)

Pasta Paella, called Fideuà, is a Spanish dish similar to paella but made of thin noodles instead of rice. The pasta is fried, then soaked in stock with monkfish, clams, veggies and a touch of saffron. The Mediterranean coast of Spain has a gastronomy of their own, and one of its most distinctive dishes is the Pasta Paella (Fideuà). It’s similar to seafood paella but made with a noodle called Fideus. Usually served in a paella pan, this dish is more complicated than a standard paella! A professional Fideuà has the pasta straight up, like a porcupine presentation. To make this effect happen is an art! This version is a simplified home version. However, I’ll tell you how to nail a professional-looking Fideuà in the post. Let’s dive deep into this Mediterranean dish. General View The small 1 cm long and thin piece of noodle is similar to the ones we put…

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Fish & Sea Food

Mar y Montaña Stuffed Squids

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Fresh Squids stuffed with cured pancetta, rice, onion, garlic and mini bell pepper dices on a wine-paprika tomato sauce. The Catalan gastronomy has a ton of “surf and turf” traditional dishes for example the meatball with squids, the chicken and crayfish, the mar y montaña paella, etc. They call it : Mar y Montaña which translate to sea and mountain. This recipe is inspired by the Catalan surf and turf, although instead of using the traditional ground meat I’ve used a stuffing of rice, cured pancetta, onion, garlic and bell pepper dices. The sauce is an easy traditional one of fried tomato paste, garlic and paprika with a touch of white wine (or water) and a few flat leaves of parsley for the final touch. This recipe is my personal twist on the Catalan Surf and Turf, it’s not a traditional dish, however similar in taste. A Catalan Tradition The Catalans are the kings at mixing up sea…

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Desserts

Pine nuts and coconut Panellets

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panellets pine nuts marzipan almond catalan

Panellets, little breads in Catalan, are little confections made for the All Saints day  (1st of november) and the day of the dead (2nd of november). They are traditional sweets made in Catalonia region, Spain, with an almond paste (marzipan) and a topping of your choice; it could be pine nuts, coconut, almond, coffee, etc. The pine nut one is by far the most popular, although the base stays the same; an almond paste. You can make them with or without potato, they say the best ones are made without, although to make the pine nuts stick to the balls, I believe the potato version is better. Another important point is to make the almond paste rest in the fridge for a day before forming the panellets. This way the oil from the almond flour make the paste bind perfectly together. This recipe makes nice little treats for christmas also,…

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Main Meals

Rabbit with Chocolate Sauce

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chocolate rabbit

A braised Rabbit with Chocolate Sauce and red wine served on a thick mashed potato bed. A traditional recipe of Catalonia called Conejo al chocolate. Catalonia Flair This creation was inspired by a Catalan dish called Conejo al chocolate, which means Rabbit with Chocolate Sauce. This version is slightly different than the traditional recipe from Catalonia, Spain. I know the Basques have their version also, with brandy instead of wine. In Catalonia, they use fortified wine called “Rancio” to make it, similar to Porto. I’ve used an everyday wine to make this recipe easier to reproduce at home, but a Porto would do too. It makes the dish, in the end, a bit less sweet, which I prefer. Rabbit recipes are great but often underrated because, just like chicken breasts, the meat is so lean… cooking it the wrong way will dry it out fast and ruin it. No worries; this recipe is a stew…

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