Mejillones a la marinera: "Sailor-style" Mussels

I haven't posted in a long time. That is an understatement. In two days I leave for Europe for (hopefully) my final dissertation research. The preparations have consumed whatever mental energy might have been directed towards this blog. So today's post is a simple and fast dish of mussels. "Sailor-Style" is a common mussel preparation in Spain. I've embellished the traditional dish with some sauteed jamón.

Mejillones a la Marinera ("Sailor-Style" Mussels)

Serves 1-2 depending on appetite

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup jamón or other cured ham, minced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 tsp. sweet pimentón, or other paprika

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/4 cup white wine

2 lbs. mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1/4 cup parsley, minced

bread for soaking up the delicious juices

Method

1) Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sautee until crisp. Add garlic and pimentón and cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook until starting to break down, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer.

2) Add mussels and cover. Cook, shaking every so often, until mussels open. This will take 3-5 minutes. Remove mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

3) Taste juices and, if necessary, add salt. Add parsley. Return mussels to pot, stir, then pour into bowl and enjoy with bread!

When Local Just Won't Do #2: Pimentón de la Vera (Spanish Smoked Paprika)

I began my series on essential non-local ingredients with salted anchovies.  Although anchovies show up in numerous Spanish preparations, they are hardly unique to Spain.  In contrast, today's ingredient is one of the most unique ingredients in the Spanish kitchen: pimentón.  Spanish smoked paprika appears in countless signature dishes, including chorizo, pulpo a la gallega (Galician octopus with potatoes), salsa brava, etc...Penelope Casas Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain contains over 50 recipes (out of approximately 300...1/6 of ALL her recipes and not even counting those incorporating it stealthily in chorizo) that require the smoky/earthy/ruddy spice.

To put it bluntly, there is no easier way to add a Spanish flavor to your cooking than by adding a spoonful of pimentón to your dishes.  Mark Bittman has raved about it and admits to a near obsession.  Pimentón is made by smoke-drying red chiles of various heat levels and then grinding them into powder.  Spaniards hold the highest quality pimentón from the la Vera region in such regard that they have granted it the much-coveted Denominación de Origen status.

Luckily for lovers of Spanish food, pimentón is easily available and highly affordable.  A standard-sized tin should run you less than $7.  If you decide to stock up on all 3 varieties (dulce or sweet, agridulce or bittersweet, and picante or hot), you'll still have change leftover from a $20 bill.  More importantly, you'll have an invaluable ingredient for a plethora of traditional and improvised Spanish dishes.  For today's recipe, I've gone the improvised route: a quick pasta sauced with jamón (cured ham), yellow bell peppers, tomato paste, and (of course) a healthy dose of pimentón.

Linguine with Jamón, Peppers, & Pimentón

serves 2-3, depending on appetite

Cost: ~$3.50

Ingredients

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, sliced thin

2-4 oz. jamón or other cured pork product, in small dice

1 yellow or red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 tbsp. pimentón, heat level by preference

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. parsley, minced

1 cup aged cheese, grated (manchego would be wonderfully Spanish, parmigiano would work fine, but I happened to have some Vella Aged Jack in the fridge)

10 oz. linguine (or other strand pasta)

Method

1) Bring at least 4 quarts of salted water to a boil over high heat.

2) Heat the olive oil in a  12" skillet (non-stick is fine) over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the jamón, onion, and bell pepper.  Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the mix becomes tender.

3) Reduce heat to low.  Add  the tomato paste and pimentón.  Stir thoroughly and add salt to taste.

4) Cook the linguine in the salted water until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.  Using tongs, transfer the pasta directly to the skillet with the pepper mixture.  Drain some of the water but don't be too thorough.  The starchy water will help create a nice saucy consistency.  Toss the pasta with the pepper mixture.  Add the parsley and 3/4 cup of the cheese.  Toss again, adding reserved pasta water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.  Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

5) Transfer to serving bowls, top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, and enjoy!

Putting Hair On My Chest: Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Lamb and Black Beans

Although Spanish cooking is my greatest interest, I love to cook dishes from all of the world's great cuisines. I am especially drawn to Asian (especially Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese) cooking because of its astonishing array of ingredients, textures, and flavors. As an added bonus, Asian cooking has three practical advantages for me: 1) it helps me increase my intake of vegetables 2) it allows me to use up any leftovers easily and 3) it allows me to experiment with all sorts of "exotic" ingredients.

Last night, my wife and I ate at Barcelona. Barcelona is a great example of the upscale faux-Spanish restaurants that are common across America. Now don't get me wrong, my braised Colorado lamb shank with cheesy risotto was delicious. Memorable even. It just doesn't remind me of anything remotely resembling Spanish cuisine, traditional or nueva. Simply put, it is the type of dish any trendy American restaurant might serve.

Diatribe against American attempts to replicate Spanish food aside, my leftover lamb shank inspired me to try a classic Hunanese dish I've been thinking about for awhile. For months, I've spotted the gnarled and wrinkly bitter melon at the Asian grocery. After reading an old post from Kian at Red Cook, I finally decided to give it a shot.

Bitter melon is, well, bitter. Fiercely bitter. Will-put-hair-on-your-chest bitter. This is not for the squeamish. For some reason, bitterness is the one flavor that will cause otherwise adventerous American eaters to balk. Exactly the sort of challenge I love. The key to succeeding with bitter melon is to pair it with something equally bold. The gamy Colorado-raised lamb was the perfect ticket. Cooks in Hunan province often pair bitter melon with fermented black beans. The complex sweetness of the beans goes a long way to balance the bitterness of the melon. Surely the lamb and beans together would be enough for my first foray into bitter melon cooking...

WARNING: This dish is incredibly bitter. Bitter melon is not a joke or euphemism. If you serve this dish to a child, expect an immediate visit from Child Services!

Stir-Fried Bitter Melon with Lamb and Black Beans

Inspired by and adapted from www.Redcook.net

Serves 2 (or 4 as part of a traditional multicourse Chinese meal)

Cost: Tough to say...let's estimate $10 since leftover lamb shank is hardly commonplace

Ingredients

1 tbsp. fermented black beans, roughly chopped

2 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine

2 tbsp. neutral oil (I used corn)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. ginger, minced

1-2 dried Thai red chiles (optional)

1 bitter melon, sliced lengthwise seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups leftover lamb (or other full flavored red meat!)

1 1/2 tsp. Chinese light soy sauce

1/4 ground pepper (white is traditional but all I had was black)

Method

1) Soak the black beans in the rice wine

2) Heat the oil in a 12" non-stick skillet or wok over high heat. When the oil is getting hot (but not yet smoking), add the garlic, ginger, and chiles. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the bitter melon and cook for an additional 1 minute.

3) Add the water, black beans, and wine to the skillet. Cover and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, shaking occasionally, for 2 minutes.

4) Uncover and add lamb. Cook for 2 more minutes until heated through. Add the soy sauce and pepper, toss, and transfer to a bowl. Serve with white rice.