Turkey, Artichoke and Green Bean Paella

A while back, I made a Turkey Paella for Clare and her parents.  It was a wonderful combination of turkey thighs, turkey sausage, artichokes, roasted peppers and other ingredients.  Ever since that time, I have wanted to make a Paella for my parents.  Recently, when my parents were visiting us, I had the opportunity to make the dish for them.

I came across an article about Paella written by Mark Bittman, a food columnist for the New York Times magazine.  Bittman opened the article by noting that he had been accused of making arroz con cosas -- rice with things -- by the Catalans who lived near Valencia.  The accusation seemed serious, given Valencia is the home of paella.  It was also somewhat obnoxious, evincing an "air" that anything different that what may be produced over coals within the geographic boundaries of the Spanish is necessarily inferior.   

Mark Bittman appeared to be non-plussed by the critiques.  His response ... "paella really is just rice with things -- as is risotto, as is pilaf." 

More importantly, Bittman provides some useful insight and guidance into paella.  First, one needs rice, preferably short grain rice (such as risotto, but it should be Spanish bomba rice or Valencia rice).  Second, one needs olive oil.  Third, one needs vegetables.  After that, there are options.  The New York Times produced a very interesting graphic to depict the many options that are available to the cook:

Photograph by Sam Kaplan for The New York Times. Food stylist: Suzanne Lenzer. Prop stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.

This graphic is very helpful, although I did not follow it all for this paella.  Instead, I decided to make another turkey paella, but I decided to go a different direction with the recipe.  I found some grilled artichokes, which would help to provide some smoky flavors to the dish.  I also decided to use some green beans in place of peas.  The combination -- turkey, artichokes and green beans -- are all stuff my beautiful Angel loves to eat and, together, they made a great paella for my parents.

Bittman provides more advice.  He notes that water is most often used in paella, but stock is also acceptable.  Bittman suggests chicken stock or seafood stock.  While chicken stock would work, I found a turkey stock.  I felt that the turkey stock would help to deepen the turkey flavors in the stock.

Finally, Bittman notes that the one unusual aspect to paella is that the paella is not stirred.  The reason is that you want to achieve a browning of the bottom of the rice.  The Valencians have given a name to that browning ... "soccorat."  It is the signature feature of paella.  Bittman concludes, "should you achieve it, no one will say you've made arroz con cosas."

Needless to say, the Turkey, Artichoke and Green Bean Paella was excellent, except that I did not achieve that socarrat.  I guess that there is always the next time.

TURKEY, ARTICHOKE AND GREEN BEAN PAELLA

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds of turkey, cut into even sized, small pieces

1 pound of artichokes

1 pound of green beans

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper minced

1 tomato, seeded and minced

1 garlic clove minced

2 cups of Spanish Bomba rice (or Arborio rice)

4 cups of turkey stock

1/2 cup of dry white wine

1 pinch saffron

1 bay leaf

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the ingredients.  Heat the olive oil in a the paella pan.  Add the turkey in batches and cook until browned on all sides.  Remove and set aside.   Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the green beans.  Blanche the green beans for a few minutes and then remove to an ice bath to cool.  Drain and set aside.  Rinse the artichokes

2.  Make a sofrito.    Add the bell pepper, onion, tomato and garlic and cook until soft. 

3.  Add the main ingredients (other than the rice).   Add the turkey, artichokes and green beans to the pan.  Add the wine and allow it to reduce by half, about 1 minute.  Pour in the turkey stock and bring it to a boil.  While the stock comes to a boil, add the saffron to some hot water to rehydrate and then add the saffron and water to the pan, along with the bay leaf.  Season with salt. 

4.  Cook the rice.  Add the rice, taking care to spread it evenly around the pan.  Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, which should take about 15–20 minutes, although it may take longer.   Also, if you pan is like mine, which is larger than the burner, rotate the pan every few minutes to make sure that different parts of the paella are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly.)  Cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente. Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

Turkey Paella

A few years ago, we got a paella pan as a wedding gift.  Making paella has been on my short list of things to do, but, I have had a hard time deciding on which recipe to make.  Basically, there are three types of paella: (1) Paella Valenciana; (2) Paella de Marisco; and (3) Paella Mixta.  There are, however, many more paella recipes that use a wide range of ingredients, including some that I have been wanting to cook with for a long time, such as rabbit.  That variety left me thinking and overthinking my first foray into paella.

It took a very stressful period at work to finally push me into making a paella.  Clare's parents were visiting and, given everyone eats turkey, I decided to make a paella.  Although I spent a lot of time thinking about making a true Spanish paella (focusing particularly upon a Paella Valenciana), I did something very un-Spanish.  I made a turkey paella.

The turkey is the centerpiece of this paella.  I used turkey thighs, because I think the darker meat has more flavor than turkey breast.  I also used a turkey sausage, which was made in a mild Italian style, in the place of chorizo.  Finally, I decided to use turkey stock rather than chicken or seafood stock.  The 1-2-3 combination of turkey thighs, sausage and stock guaranteed that the paella would have a good solid turkey flavor.  To round out the dish, I decided to use some traditional paella ingredients, such as roasted peppers, artichokes, and peas.

One last note: Paella is traditionally made with a particular type of rice, like Valencia or bomba rice.  However, if you are like me, you might not have that rice in your pantry.  A good substitute is arborio rice, which is the same type of rice you would use to make risotto.  Although you would normally stir arborio rice a lot when making risotto, the rice does not have to be stirred when making paella.   

TURKEY PAELLA

Recipe adapted from Saveur

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 to 2  pounds boneless skinless turkey thighs, cut into 2" pieces
12 ounces of turkey sausage, cut into 1/3 inch slices
3 medium tomatoes, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 box of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
8 ounces of fresh or frozen peas
3 jarred roasted red peppers, torn into ½"-thick strips
30 threads saffron, crushed (a scant ½ tsp.)
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
3 dried bay leaves
7 cups of turkey broth
2½ cups short-grain rice, preferably Valencia or bomba
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the base of the rice.  Put the saffron and ¼ cup hot water in a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Season turkey thighs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 16"–18" paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey thighs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove the thighs and add the turkey sausage.  Cook the sausage, turning occasionally, until browned for about another five minutes.  Add the turkey thighs back to the pan and then add the paprika, garlic, bay leaves, tomatoes, and onions.  Cook all of the ingredients, stirring often, until onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add reserved saffron mixture and broth.  Season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.

2.  Cook the rice and remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle in rice, distribute evenly with a spoon, and add artichokes, peas, and peppers. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, which should take about 15–20 minutes, although it may take longer.   Also, if you pan is like mine, which is larger than the burner, rotate the pan every few minutes to make sure that different parts of the paella are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly.)  Cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente. Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Overall, this paella was very delicious, and it paired very well with a good white wine, such as the Las Colinas del Ebro Garnatxa Blanca from Catalonia.  The use of turkey made for an interesting twist on a traditional Valencian dish.  It also provides an interesting inspiration for what to do with leftovers from Thanksgiving.  But, that will be left for another post.

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Greece

The eighth stop on my culinary adventure is Greece.  While Ethiopia may have been the birthplace of mankind, Greece is, in some ways, the birthplace of cooking.  In 320 B.C., Archestratos wrote the first cookbook.  Ancient Greek cuisine focused typically on wheat, olive oil and wine.  The use of meat was not common; instead, fish was the principal protein, which is to be expected given the large amount of coastlines and islands that are a part of Greece.  Oregano, parsley and dill are the principal herbs used in Greek cuisine.  Over time, more spices were introduced into Greek cooking, principally because of the country's geographic position between Europe and the Middle East.

THE APPETIZER

Returning to the present day, my personal challenge requires me to prepare a main dish; however, I wanted to make a Greek meal.  I decided to begin with a mezze, which is an individual plate designed to each provide a different eating experience.  Normally, one would have a couple of mezzes; however, given I have to make a main dish for my personal challenge, I decided to make only one.  The mezze is Domatokeftedes, a dish from Santorini of fried tomato fritters.  

DOMATOKEFTEDES

Adapted from Whats4eats.com

Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 cup of fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 bunch of parsley, chopped
1/4 bunch of mint, chopped
2 scallions, minced
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper to taste,
Olive oil for frying

Directions:

1.  Prepare the batter.  Mix the tomatoes, herbs, scallions, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Adjust seasoning to your tastes.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together, then stir into the tomato mixture to make a batter.  If the batter is too thick, add a little water.  If it is too thin, add a little flour.

2.  Fry the Domatokeftedes.  Heat the olive oil on medium-high.  Drop small spoonfuls of the tomato mixture into the oil and flatten slightly. Watch for splattering.   Fry on one side until brown and then flip to brown on the other side.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve either immediately or at room temperature.

To accompany the Domatokeftedes, I decided to make some Tzatziki, which is a cucumber/yogurt sauce or meze that is typically identified with Greek cuisines (although there are variants of this sauce in Bulgarian, Turkish and Persian cuisines). The Tzatziki was a great dipping sauce for the Domatokeftedes.

TZATZIKI

Adapted from About.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of vinegar
1 clove garlic, diced finely
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of white pepper
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, strained
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cucumber, diced and seeded
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill

Directions:

1.  Combine the olive oil, salt, garlic, vinegar and pepper in a bowl.

2.  In a separate bowl, blend the yogurt and sour cream with a whisk.  Then add the olive oil mixture and stir well.

3.  Add the cucumber and dill.  Continue to stir and then refrigerate for at least two hours.

THE MAIN DISH

For the main dish, I decided to make Psari Spetsiotiko or Fish Baked with Tomatoes and Breadcrumbs.  This dish is supposed to have originated in Spetses, which is fishing town southwest of Athens.  It is a simple fishing village food consisting of fish baked with breadcrumbs and a tomato sauce that includes parsley, honey and a few other ingredients. 

PSARI SPETSIOTIKO (FISH BAKED WITH TOMATOES 
AND BREADCRUMBS)
Adapted from Whats4eats.com
Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 pound of fish fillets

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1/2 lemon, juice only
1-2 garlic cloves, diced finely

1 cup of crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon of honey

1/8 cup of chopped parsley

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the fish.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spread the half of the olive oil in a baking dish large enough to hold all of the fish in a single layer.  Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the dish.  Lay the fish over the breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle the lemon juice over the fish.

2.  Prepare the sauce.  Heat the remaining olive oil over medium.  And the garlic and saute briefly for one minute.  Add the tomatoes, honey, wine, parsley, salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.  

3.  Cook the fish.  Pour the tomato sauce over the fish and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs.  Bake in the oven until the fish is cooked through, about fifteen to 20 minutes, and the breadcrumbs have formed a golden crust.

THE SIDE DISH

Finally , I decided to make a vegetable side dish to accompany the Psari Spetsiotiko.  I wanted to challenge myself with the side dish, so I decided to make something with artichokes.  Artichokes have their place in Italian cuisine and I have read a lot about the use of artichokes in recipes.  They also have their place in Greek cuisine.  So, for the side dish, I decided to make Aginares Latheres (pronounced ahg-kee-NAH-rehs lah-theh-RES) or αγκινάρες λαδερές. 

AGINARES LATHERES (ARTICHOKES WITH VEGETABLES)

Adapted from About.com
Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 carrot, cut in to thick slices

1-2 potatoes, cut into cubes

1 bunch of scallions (or 1 onion), chopped

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of fresh dill, finely chopped

1 1/2 lemons, juice only

1/2 tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 to 1 1/4 cups of water

Directions:

1.  Prepare the artichokes.  Clean the artichokes by removing the outer leaves and the stems.  Cut off the top (down to just above the choke) and scoop out the choke with a spoon.  Trim off remaining leaves around the sides to leave just the pale colored heart.  Rub the artichoke hearts with lemon as soon as each is cleaned and immediately place the hearts in a bowl with water and half of the lemon juice.  This will prevent the artichoke hearts from turning black.

2.  Saute the vegetables.  In a soup pot, saute the scallions or onion until translucent.  Add the carrots and potatoes and continue to saute for about 5 minutes more.  Thereafter, add the artichoke hearts, dill, celery, salt, and pepper, continuing to stir.

3.  Add liquid and flour.  Add the remaining lemon juice to about 1/2 cup of water.  Add flour and continue to mix until smooth.  Add the mixture to the pot, stirring until it is mixed well with the vegetables.  Add the remaining water to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.

4.  Finish cooking the vegetables.  Then reduce the heat so that the vegetables simmer.  Cover and let cook over low heat until the vegetables are done, after about one-half hour.

*     *     *

Overall, the Domatokeftedes (along with the Tzatziki) and the Psari Spetsiotiko were very good and I would definitely make these dishes again.  The Agineres Latheres did not turn out well, primarily because of my inexperience with cooking artichokes.  I did not include any pictures because I was not happy with the final product.  I included the recipe, which was reduced for two people, for anyone who wanted to try it.  You can also click on the about.com link to get the full recipe. I definitely intend to try cooking with artichokes in the future, but I think I need to do more preparation before attempting this Agineres Latheres or any other dish featuring artichokes in the future.

In the end, this may not have been my best meal (although I have to say again that the Domatokeftedes were very good), I think that it was definitely a good experience.  Well, until next time....

ENJOY!

To learn more on Greek cuisine, check out Wikipedia or Greek Food.