This already delectable dish is more complex with the addition of a sprig or an infusion of rosemary while the rice is cooking. The traditional Valencian paella is made with chicken, rabbit and haricot beans. (Makes my nose twitch just thinking about it!) Then there is paella. Many restaurants convert the stripped twigs themselves into aromatic kebab sticks, and even the stove on which the meat is grilled may be fueled by rosemary wood. In Spanish cooking, rosemary is used judiciously to season chicken, game and lamb. In my hodgepodge herb garden, it is the only plant that never runs down, that always needs cutting back, that the cats cannot flatten and destroy. With its needle-like leaves and violet-blue flowers, it spreads and blooms and pushes skyward, its pungency tempered by sweet-smelling lavender and not-quite-so-bitter thyme growing nearby. Rosemary evokes the very essence of the Spanish countryside. It also is super-healthy, as parsley is an excellent source of vitamin C and other antioxidants. Either way, the deep green mixture is buenísimo–very good indeed. It’s fine to leave this sauce chunky blend it for a smoother texture. One aderezo typically drizzled onto grilled fish and seafood, is made by blending chopped garlic and parsley in extra virgin olive oil. For other dishes, the herb is pounded with other ingredients using a mortar and pestle to form a majado (a paste) or aderezo (dressing) to be added after cooking. It adds zip to grilled fish and meat, salads, and vegetable dishes with its bright color and taste.Ĭhopped parsley can be added at the last minute, as with mushrooms sizzled in garlic and white wine. This is always the flat (also known as Italian), not the curly, variety. Perejil is the most widely and abundantly used of all the hierbas aromáticas. In Spanish cooking, almost all dishes require a generous pinch of chopped herbs or a dash of spice, but the resulting flavors are subtle and delicate, and only rarely blow-your-taste-buds-off hot. As for dried herbs and spices, every canny shopper knows that the best place for these is at an old-fashioned supply store, where, like rice, beans and other staples, they are still scooped up from tubs and giant cookie jars. Rosemary and thyme you easily can pick on the hillside, grow in your garden, or occasionally buy in bunches at the market. The butcher and greengrocer give away parsley as a matter of courtesy. To understand how important herbs are in the Spanish kitchen, you need only see how they abound–in the countryside, in the shops, at market stalls. After 20 years of living in Spain, I’ve learned the secrets of the Mediterranean diet and know that as long as I have plenty of olive oil, a head of garlic, and a handful of essential herbs and spices, I can conjure up dishes as delicious as they are healthful. Once upon a time, I would look in the larder and wail, “We don’t have anything to eat.” Now I know better. Vegetarian Lentils ( Lentejas Vegetarianas).Spicy Sizzling Prawns ( Gambas Pil-Pil). Potatoes with Rosemary ( Patatas Al Romero).
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