Ingredients:
- Raclette cheese (sliced)
- small potatoes
- bratwurst
- pickles
- cocktail onions
- black pepper
16 July 2013
Recipe: Raclette
This is a classic Swiss dinner. Many people have heard of fondue, but few have heard of raclette. To eat the raclette cheese, you need to melt it. For people who eat this dinner frequently, they usually use a raclette grill like the one shown in the pictures below. If you do not have a grill, you can use a pan on low heat on the stove in the kitchen or a hot plate.
Ingredients:
This is a social meal if you have a grill to put at the table. Everyone can take a potato and cut it in quarters. Melt the cheese on the grill and pour it over the potatoes. Grind the black pepper over the cheese, put some pickles and onions on your plate, and start the feast!
Ingredients:
14 July 2013
Recipe: Paella Valenciana (Spain)
Paella Recipe
What is the authentic paella
There are many different recipes of paella. There are many rice dishes in Spain: Paella, Arroz a Banda, Arroz Reina, etc., etc. Paella is just one of them and not necessarily the best. Many people like other rice dishes better. Paella Valenciana is a dish originated in Valencia, in Eastern Spain, at the Mediterranean coast. However, contrary to common belief, Paella is an inland dish, created by farmers, not by seamen. Paella is not a seafood dish. Many people believe that a good paella is the one that has lots of expensive fish and shellfish. This is incorrect. Paella is an inland dish made out of meat (chicken and/or rabbit), vegetable and rice. The secret of a good paella is to get the meat and vegetable juices absorbed by the rice.
How to make a good paella
Many years ago I shared apartment with some guy from Valencia. We were both in Graduate school and did not have much time to party, but we thought we will set time aside every Sunday to cook some paella valenciana. My roommate used to enjoy saying that in order to make a good paella, you need to be from Valencia, or at least feel like if you were Valencian. One Sunday that he was away, I decided to still cook the paella by myself. Since I am not from Valencia, I could not expect much of that paella. However, as a matter of fact, it turned out that that paella that I cooked by myself came out awesome. Even my roommate couldn't help to admit it. The sad side of the story is that always since then I have tried to reproduce that result, unfortunately, with little success. To date, I still do not know what is that I did so very well that time that resulted in such an awesome paella.
I do not know what is the key for a good paella, but I have some insight. It is something about how you do the first steps: how you cook the meat and the first vegetables. Most reciepes stress the relevance of the last step: how to cook the rice. While it may ruin a good paella if you do not cook the rice well, the key for a good paella lies at the beginning.
What Paella pan should be used
Preferably you should use the widest pan available. It doesn't have to be the biggest, certainly not the deepest, but, in principle, the wider, the better. The reason why we want a wide pan is so that the rice doesn't pile up. In other words, the paella should be as short (in height) as possible. We want to make sure that the rice that lies at the top receives the same heat as the rice that lies at the bottom. If the paella is 'tall', rice at the bottom would overcook, while rice accumulated at the top would remain raw. Do not forget you are not supposed to stir the paella once you add the rice. So, you will not be able to use the simple trick of stirring the rice to ensure it cooks evenly.
There is however a caveat about using a wide pan. Probably, your stove's burner is of normal size, probably, much smaller that the width of the pan. Now, you face the risk that you will overcook the rice in the center, while the rest of the rice will remain raw. There are two options to overcome this problem. The first option is as simple as moving the pan around over burner to ensure that all parts receive the same amount of heat (this is only necessary in the last cooking stage: after the rice is added). The other option is to use some accessory attachable to the burner or some camping stove with a wider burner, so that the heat is spread out all over the pan's surface.
The Recipe
Ingredients:
- Rice
- Meat (chicken (thighs, drumsticks, wings), it is also possible to use rabbit, if you like it). One piece (thigh, drumstick, wing...) of chicken per person is a reasonable measure.
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves.
- 1 average size peeled tomato.
- green beans (a few per person (fpp), optionally white beans (fpp), a few stripes of red bell peppers.
- Optionally you can use artichokes, green peas, chopped green bell peppers, etc.
- salt, water and olive oil.
Directions:
Start frying the meat at high heat with very little oil and adding some salt to the pan and the meat. It may be a good idea to cut the meat in small pieces. The salt is supposed to draw the juice out of the meat. Similarly, I believe, too much oil while you fry the meat, may form a film around the meat and keep the juices to come out.
The meat has to be well done, well golden. When it is done, push it aside and add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic at low heat. Add the chopped peeled tomato. You can add more olive oil if you want (around three tablespoons). I believe the longer you cook the tomato the better. Make sure you set the heat really low and you can keep it for hours. Do not worry if it starts taking a really dark color. After you add the tomato, you will also have to cook the rest of the vegetables (green beans, artichokes, white bean, peas, bell peppers... depending on what you prefer). At the end you can also add some 'pimenton' (or Spanish paprika). Keep the heat low after you add the paprika, if you allow the paprika to get burned, your paella will be ruined
In theory, you will pour water on the pan as soon as you add the vegetables. Many people think it is easier and yields the same results if you only pour the water after you add the rice. It may also be a good idea to use chicken broth instead of plain water.
There are a lot of theories on how much rice to use and what is the exact proportion of rice and water. Some people will go as far as to say only water from Valencia will work. As a basic rule, add a little cup of rice per person. It is recommended to use high-quality rice that will not overcook. At the end, rice should be tender, but not overcooked (think al dente like correctly cooked pasta).
As a general rule, you should add a little bit more than twice as much water than rice. If you poured the water right after the vegetables, you should use more water than this rule prescribes, because you will lose quite some water before you add the rice (that is why it is easier to pour the water after you add the rice). In any case, the level of water should be such that all the rice is well covered by the water. You may want to test for salt, in case you need to add some
Finally, raise the fire to high heat, add a bit of saffron and cook the rice, vegetables and meat at high heat for ten minutes. After this time, the water should barely cover the rice. Some rice should start popping out. If you have too much water, let it cook a little longer on high heat to reduce the amount of water. Possibly, increase the heat. If you have too little water and the rice is still pretty raw, you may want to add some water.
After the first ten minutes at high heat, turn the heat low, cover the pan with tin foil and let it cook for ten more minutes. If everything goes well, after this second period of ten minutes, all rice should be evenly cooked (but not overcooked) and there should be barely any water left. If you run out of water before the rice is cooked, you used too little water. keep the pan covered with foil and try to have the rice finish cooking on low heat). If you have much water left by the time the rice is cooked, you used too much water. Uncover the pan, increase the heat and try to evaporate some water. A little excess of water in the paella is not such a big deal anyway.
After finishing cooking the rice, leave the paella sit for five minutes and eat right away. Paella is not supposed to be reheated, so after all that work, make sure you do not leave anything on the pan.
Photos:
*read the directions above thoroughly. The directions provided with the photos are not really sufficient to make a good paella. They are only there to help you understand the photos.
- Rice
- Meat (chicken (thighs, drumsticks, wings), it is also possible to use rabbit, if you like it). One piece (thigh, drumstick, wing...) of chicken per person is a reasonable measure.
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves.
- 1 average size peeled tomato.
- green beans (a few per person (fpp), optionally white beans (fpp), a few stripes of red bell peppers.
- Optionally you can use artichokes, green peas, chopped green bell peppers, etc.
- salt, water and olive oil.
Directions:
Start frying the meat at high heat with very little oil and adding some salt to the pan and the meat. It may be a good idea to cut the meat in small pieces. The salt is supposed to draw the juice out of the meat. Similarly, I believe, too much oil while you fry the meat, may form a film around the meat and keep the juices to come out.
The meat has to be well done, well golden. When it is done, push it aside and add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic at low heat. Add the chopped peeled tomato. You can add more olive oil if you want (around three tablespoons). I believe the longer you cook the tomato the better. Make sure you set the heat really low and you can keep it for hours. Do not worry if it starts taking a really dark color. After you add the tomato, you will also have to cook the rest of the vegetables (green beans, artichokes, white bean, peas, bell peppers... depending on what you prefer). At the end you can also add some 'pimenton' (or Spanish paprika). Keep the heat low after you add the paprika, if you allow the paprika to get burned, your paella will be ruined
In theory, you will pour water on the pan as soon as you add the vegetables. Many people think it is easier and yields the same results if you only pour the water after you add the rice. It may also be a good idea to use chicken broth instead of plain water.
There are a lot of theories on how much rice to use and what is the exact proportion of rice and water. Some people will go as far as to say only water from Valencia will work. As a basic rule, add a little cup of rice per person. It is recommended to use high-quality rice that will not overcook. At the end, rice should be tender, but not overcooked (think al dente like correctly cooked pasta).
As a general rule, you should add a little bit more than twice as much water than rice. If you poured the water right after the vegetables, you should use more water than this rule prescribes, because you will lose quite some water before you add the rice (that is why it is easier to pour the water after you add the rice). In any case, the level of water should be such that all the rice is well covered by the water. You may want to test for salt, in case you need to add some
Finally, raise the fire to high heat, add a bit of saffron and cook the rice, vegetables and meat at high heat for ten minutes. After this time, the water should barely cover the rice. Some rice should start popping out. If you have too much water, let it cook a little longer on high heat to reduce the amount of water. Possibly, increase the heat. If you have too little water and the rice is still pretty raw, you may want to add some water.
After the first ten minutes at high heat, turn the heat low, cover the pan with tin foil and let it cook for ten more minutes. If everything goes well, after this second period of ten minutes, all rice should be evenly cooked (but not overcooked) and there should be barely any water left. If you run out of water before the rice is cooked, you used too little water. keep the pan covered with foil and try to have the rice finish cooking on low heat). If you have much water left by the time the rice is cooked, you used too much water. Uncover the pan, increase the heat and try to evaporate some water. A little excess of water in the paella is not such a big deal anyway.
After finishing cooking the rice, leave the paella sit for five minutes and eat right away. Paella is not supposed to be reheated, so after all that work, make sure you do not leave anything on the pan.
Photos:
*read the directions above thoroughly. The directions provided with the photos are not really sufficient to make a good paella. They are only there to help you understand the photos.
Prepare the chicken legs and thighs. We take off the skin, cut some of the meat off the bones, and salt the meat thoroughly.
You can boil the tomatoes to take off the peel. This is not obligatory, but a good idea.
A lot of garlic is used (but never onion!). You can mince very finely, or even just put through a garlic press.
Use very little oil when you start with the chicken.
Put the chicken in the pot when the oil gets hot enough. Put the skin, bones, meat - everything. You can take the skin out later, but putting it in at the beginning adds a lot of flavor.
Once the chicken has browned a little you can add the minced garlic.
Peel the tomatoes and chop finely on a plate to retain the liquid.
Add the tomatoes to the chicken and garlic. You can move the chicken over to the side so the tomatoes get thoroughly cooked. You may even want to take it out. In our case we left it in for a little while with the tomato, but eventually took it out when we were going to add the peppers.
Chop the bell peppers. We chop the green bell peppers into small 1cm cubes, and the red bell pepper are 1cmx3 or 4cm long.
Add the bell peppers to the pan with the thoroughly cooked tomato. In our case we took the chicken out.
Prepare the green beans. We cut them about 3 or 4cm long.
When the peppers are partially cooked, add the green beans.
Once the veggies are cooked, you can add the meat back into the pan (if you took it out). Then you can add the smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton).
Because it is easier for us and we do not like to use up too much propane with our big paellero (a big pan for cooking paella), we usually cook everything in a smaller pan on the stove first. Once all the vegetables and meat are cooked, we then move it into the paellero. Probably this is not common. It is absolutely fine to cook everything in the big pan. Most people will not have a paellero, so they will need to cook everything in one big pan on the stove.
Now everything is in the pan, we are adding water, and we are waiting for it to simmer.
Once simmering, separate the vegetables and chicken to make a wall of rice in the center. You can then mix it with everything else. Make sure to read thoroughly the instructions on cooking the rice above. This is the most delicate part of making a paella!
!!DONT FORGET THE SAFFRON AROUND THIS TIME!!
After you have simmered the rice for a while, you will cover the pan and turn down the heat. It takes time to learn this process and get the cooking of the rice correct. Don't worry if you overcook the rice the first time you make this. It takes practice!
Check the rice after a while and if it is ready turn off the burner. Let sit for a few minutes.
Enjoy!
04 July 2013
Glacier National Park: The Spanish Summit
During my final semester of university, I was introduced to a Spanish post-doc who worked in forestry. At a Sunday lunch me and Javi hosted, we discussed with him the possibility of traveling to Glacier National Park together. Several weeks passed, school finished for the semester, and summer commenced. We still had not made good on our plan.
I had just started a new job with the BLM. I was occupied during the week and exhausted during the weekend. When Independence Day was just a week away, we finally made plans to go up to the park.
We planned to leave in the middle of the week. In the end it was four of us; a visiting professor from Barcelona also joined. We left midday and started the drive up through the Flathead to the park.
The first place we visited inside the park was Apgar Village. On the shore of Lake McDonald, this town is where my grandfather and his siblings grew up. During the late 40's and early 50's my great grandfather worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. From the stories my grandfather tells about growing up in Apgar, these seem to be some of the most memorable years of his childhood.
Apgar:
This is the one room schoolhouse that my grandfather and his siblings attended school in.
Lake McDonald:
We continued our first day in the park by venturing up the Going to the Sun Road. This road is very famous. Constructed on steep cliffs, it was made with only one switchback called "The Loop" - quite an achievement in engineering.
At the top of the road is Logan Pass. There is a very beautiful hike to Hidden Lake at the pass. This trail is incredibly crowded with tourists, but once you get past the overlook it gets quieter.
Logan Pass:
Hidden Lake Overlook:
There are serious issues with wildlife becoming habituated in the park. This marmot must have had some very strong association between humans and salt. When this marmot saw us it came running out of the rocks at full speed to our friend's bare legs. It began to lick the salt off. When we tried to get away it would chase after, or hold onto his shoe. The marmot had absolutely no fear of humans.
Once we finished our hike to Hidden Lake, we went to find a campground. We saw on the notice boards that most campgrounds were full. It was the 4th of July weekend, remember? There was one site which still had open spots - an isolated and undeveloped site called Cut Bank. We found a spot there after dark, set up our tents, and cooked some ribs on the fire.
The next morning we packed up and headed south to the Two Medicine area. Our idea was to hike the Dawson Pitamakin Loop trail, and then spend the night at the Two Medicine campground. We found a campsite when we arrived and got ready for the day-long trek.
Dawson Pitamakin Loop Trail (17 miles): in Two Medicine
You hike along the lake and ascend to this ridge. You follow the ridge for quite some time before you descend back towards the lake.
We don't have photos of it, but when we were almost back to the campsite we saw an enormous grizzly bear heading up the valley adjacent to the trail. It seemed on quite a mission - cruising at a brisk pace. We could see it stop after a while and start digging up a rotten log. There must have been some delicious treats there.
The long hike along the loop was tiresome, and we were all happy to finally reach the campground after dark.
The next day we set off to the Many Glacier area. We wanted to hike up to Grinnell Glacier. In the end we were only able to hike partway up the trail. There was still snow on the last half, so we could go no further.
Grinnell Glacier Trail:
I had just started a new job with the BLM. I was occupied during the week and exhausted during the weekend. When Independence Day was just a week away, we finally made plans to go up to the park.
We planned to leave in the middle of the week. In the end it was four of us; a visiting professor from Barcelona also joined. We left midday and started the drive up through the Flathead to the park.
The first place we visited inside the park was Apgar Village. On the shore of Lake McDonald, this town is where my grandfather and his siblings grew up. During the late 40's and early 50's my great grandfather worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. From the stories my grandfather tells about growing up in Apgar, these seem to be some of the most memorable years of his childhood.
Apgar:
This is the one room schoolhouse that my grandfather and his siblings attended school in.
Lake McDonald:
We continued our first day in the park by venturing up the Going to the Sun Road. This road is very famous. Constructed on steep cliffs, it was made with only one switchback called "The Loop" - quite an achievement in engineering.
At the top of the road is Logan Pass. There is a very beautiful hike to Hidden Lake at the pass. This trail is incredibly crowded with tourists, but once you get past the overlook it gets quieter.
Logan Pass:
Hidden Lake Overlook:
There are serious issues with wildlife becoming habituated in the park. This marmot must have had some very strong association between humans and salt. When this marmot saw us it came running out of the rocks at full speed to our friend's bare legs. It began to lick the salt off. When we tried to get away it would chase after, or hold onto his shoe. The marmot had absolutely no fear of humans.
Once we finished our hike to Hidden Lake, we went to find a campground. We saw on the notice boards that most campgrounds were full. It was the 4th of July weekend, remember? There was one site which still had open spots - an isolated and undeveloped site called Cut Bank. We found a spot there after dark, set up our tents, and cooked some ribs on the fire.
The next morning we packed up and headed south to the Two Medicine area. Our idea was to hike the Dawson Pitamakin Loop trail, and then spend the night at the Two Medicine campground. We found a campsite when we arrived and got ready for the day-long trek.
Dawson Pitamakin Loop Trail (17 miles): in Two Medicine
You hike along the lake and ascend to this ridge. You follow the ridge for quite some time before you descend back towards the lake.
We don't have photos of it, but when we were almost back to the campsite we saw an enormous grizzly bear heading up the valley adjacent to the trail. It seemed on quite a mission - cruising at a brisk pace. We could see it stop after a while and start digging up a rotten log. There must have been some delicious treats there.
The long hike along the loop was tiresome, and we were all happy to finally reach the campground after dark.
The next day we set off to the Many Glacier area. We wanted to hike up to Grinnell Glacier. In the end we were only able to hike partway up the trail. There was still snow on the last half, so we could go no further.
Grinnell Glacier Trail:
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