Samphire and salmon risotto

More samphire! I didn't use up my entire supply in the salad I made, so in it had to go into another marine-themed dish. Why take it out of its natural environment? I'm sure it would perk up pork or beef up beef (sorry), but anything that grows by the ocean would have to be married to fish. It would be a saline match made in heaven.

This particular vegetable would take a particular type of fish: a rich, creamy foil to samphire's snappy saltiness. Luckily, salmon is not only alliterative but is also stocked at my local grocery store. The secret is to add the salmon at the last minute and just barely cook it through so it retains its unctuous texture.

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. It's simple, easy to make (confession: I don't stand there stirring continuously. Yes, I may be banished from the halls of great risotto-making, but it still tastes pretty good), and is the perfect foil for almost any ingredient you can think of. All you really need is a shallot, some rice, and some wine or stock -- you can even skip the parmesan (though why would you?) -- and it's already a complete dish. But gilding the lily: some fish, some greenery, and a zesting of lemon makes this recipe a big fish in a little pond.

Samphire and salmon risotto

1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 C. arborio rice

2+ C. vegetable stock

8 oz. salmon fillet, cut into small pieces

Approx. 1/2 - 1 C. samphire

1/4 C. grated parmesan

Lemon (juice and zest)

Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and cook gently for a few minutes, then add rice and cook, stirring, for another few minutes. Start to add warm stock, 1/2 C. at a time, waiting between each addition for the rice to absorb the liquid as it cooks. Stir frequently (or just enough).

When the rice is nearly cooked, stir in the salmon with the final addition of liquid and let it just cook through. Add samphire and parmesan at the end, stirring through, and finish with a sprinkling of lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some cracked black pepper.

Serves 2

Paella

Cooking is a family affair, and although I don't live with my family, my mother still sends me recipes, my grandmother searches out quinoa or spelt when I recommend them, and even my father gets in on the game.  This particular recipe comes courtesy of a guest appearance by my mother, who cooked up a paella recipe that has been making the rounds of my family.  It looked so good when she brought it to the table that my father made her take a picture and send it to me to post here.

Paella is a perfect dish for a crowd (even of just two).  It's one of those recipes that -- if you're willing to break with tradition -- can be made with any number or combinations of vegetables, meat, and seafood.  Like risotto, the basic concept lends itself fantastically to whatever ingredients you might have on hand.  Seasonal vegetables, chicken, chorizo, shrimp -- they all mingle with the saffron and paprika in a melting pot of Spanish deliciousness.  With all these variations, there's something for everyone.

Paella

1-2 T. Olive oil

½ yellow onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, red, green, yellow or mixed half and half, cut into strips

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. turmeric

¼ tsp. cayenne

¾ C. or 150g Paella rice

1/3 C. or 100ml sherry

1 tsp saffron strands

2 C. or 500ml boiling water or vegetable stock

Sea salt

12 mini plum tomatoes

4 small canned or frozen artichokes, thawed if frozen, quartered

10 pitted Kalamata olives

2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

4 lemon wedges, to serve

 

Heat oil in a large frying pan (or a Paella pan), then saute the onion for five minutes. Add the peppers and cook over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the spices, cook for a minute, then add the rice and cook, stirring, for another two minutes.

Add the sherry and saffron, boil down for a minute, then add the stock, the bay leaves, and a third of a teaspoon of salt. Reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove the pan from the heat. Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and olives over the rice, cover the pan and leave to rest for 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings, then sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 2 very generously, or serves 2 for dinner plus lunch for one lucky person the next day.

Wild rice, mushroom and turkey soup

For me, the best part of cooking a turkey is not the juicy dark meat (yes, I am firmly on the dark side), the crispy skin, the unctuous gravy, or even the primeval and promethean thrill of cooking a very large animal (at least as large as most of us will ever cook), but rather the best part is the turkey stock I make after I finally give up trying to pull those last bits of meat off the carcass.  Rich, golden, and with a deep flavor, this is the sort of stock that jells in the fridge and is practically a meal in itself.

My secret weapon this year was saving the tops of the leeks from the big turkey day, the carrot peelings, and the slightly wilted stalks of celery from the stuffing.  Into the pot they went, with the bones, some bay leaves and peppercorns, and a few hours later, with practically no work, the mixture turned itself into liquid gold.  The alchemists were on to something after all -- they were just using lead instead of turkey.

In this soup, I like to start the rice in water first, since it absorbs so much liquid that I would rather save my precious turkey stock for the soup itself.  My wild rice takes about 45 minutes to cook, so I add it first, then the brown rice 15 minutes later.  Only when the water is mostly absorbed do I add my stock, but it is of course easier and delicious to use all turkey stock and just add it all at the beginning.  It just depends on how much of a miser you are with your stock.

1 leek

1 carrot

2 stalks celery

6 C. turkey stock plus 2 C. water

1/2 cup wild rice

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 C. dry white wine

1/2 C. dried mushrooms

1 C. shredded turkey.

parsley

Chop carrot, leek and celery and cook in a large stock pot until soft.  Add water, wine, mushrooms, and rice according to instructions above.  Once water is absorbed, add the stock and turkey and simmer for a final 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and all the flavors have come together.  Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve with a good sprinkling of parsley.

Serves 4.

Mediterranean rice salad

I almost always have some sort of grain lurking in the fridge.  Whether it's leftover rice from dinner, extra couscous, buckwheat, or some pasta spirals that couldn't quite fit onto our plates, these can form the basis of a filling salad.  I love using the nuttier grains like brown rice, which absorbs the flavors around it as it sits in the fridge.  Brown rice also holds its texture well, and fills you up without causing an energy spike.  The post-lunch snooze is all too inevitable without inviting it on.

1/2 C. cooked brown rice

1 tomato, chopped

1 T. small capers, rinsed

1/4 C. Kalmata olives, halved 

1/2 C. cannellini beans

1/2 - 1 C. chopped fresh spinach

1 T. olive oil

1 Tsp. sherry vinegar, or to taste

salt and pepper

Mix oil and vinegar, then stir through remaining ingredients.

Serves 1.