I have made paella in the past, but dare I say I have (nearly) perfected my paella prowess. Nearly because I must work on “the crust” and perfected because after a recent dinner with a Spanish friend, who claims all food in America is horrible (no matter the origin or chef), had to concede that my paella was in fact, “just as good, maybe better, than some in Spain.” Because of her limited English skills I will simply understand that in her translation she actually meant “best ever.”

The key to perfection that was missing in my first paella was the paella pan. With a plethora of paella now under my belt, I realize this is key to near perfect paella. It may be difficult to justify purchasing a pan with one purpose, but if your goal is perfect paella, get the pan (a fairly inexpensive one can be purchased through Despana). (In fairness, a delicious rice dish is still possible without it, though it will not be true paella.)

After a good cooking vessel, it’s all about the ingredients. While I don’t think short grain rice is necessary– unless authenticity is your goal, using the proper stock builds flavor to an incredible degree. This, and the willingness to part with far more saffron than your pocketbook deems sane (look at this as a one-time splurge since most of us rarely use saffron).

A fish paella needs a fish stock. If your paella will have meat, a chicken stock will work. To build that perfect stock, I bought a cod fish head for about $2 at the fish monger. After purchase, I questioned my Spanish friend: What kind of fish should stock be made from? “Cod, of course.” Of course.

Pointer: fish stock is easy to make, but it is important to use non-fatty fish. Salmon is bad. Cod is good. One can also use shrimp shells or lobster shells. Another great thing about fish stock is that it takes about 15 minutes to make. Any longer will produce a bitter stock. Easy: Saute rough chopped onion and garlic, add fish head, bay leaf, add water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes, strain and set aside. In a pinch, bottles of oyster stock are okay, though overly salted, or some fish mongers have pre-made stock.

With the fish stock done, consider the types of fish to use. Again, nothing too fatty or oily as the flavor will overtake the dish. Nothing too flaky, as it will fall apart. With this in mind, you can play with sustainability issues in your neck of the woods. If you cannot afford lobster, monkfish is a good substitute (with okay sustainability). Neither is important in your final dish, but will add a nice meatiness to the final paella. Others to mix and match include shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels and scallops.

Now, nothing left to do but make paella. It is not as time consuming as it seems, nor as overwhelming, and the road to perfection is well worth the effort. D and I make a pan loaded with $30 worth of fish (approximately 1 pound of everything) and it lasts us a solid 5 days (10 meals). Price wise, you can’t beat that.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe found in the Cuisines of Spain cookbook by, Teresa Barrenechea. After the third paella, I stopped opening the book, but credit where credit due, no doubt.

(Perfected) Seafood Paella
Serving Size= 8 persons. Active time= aprx 45 minutes. Inactive time= 12 minutes.
1 dozen littleneck clams
2 tablespoons coarse salt
4 cups fish stock (see recipe above)
3 pinches + saffron
3-4 tablespoons olive oil (the Spanish love their olive oil)
1 Spanish onion, sliced thin
6 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 large red or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut lengthwise into narrow strips
1 pound monkfish, cut into 2 inch pieces
2-1/2 cups Spanish, short grain, rice
3/4 pound calamari, whole or rings
3/4 pound medium or large shrimp
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
salt to taste
1/4 cup parsley plus more for garnish
juice of 1 lemon, plus more for garnish

Clean clams under cold water. Discard any open clams, or those that do not close when touched. Place clams in a large bowl with the coarse salt and let stand for 30 minutes as you prep remaining ingredients. (Clams will release sand trapped in shells.) Keep stock at a simmer In a small sauce pot, keep stock at a simmer, add saffron and stir to dissolve. Add saffron and decrease the heat retain simmer.

Preheat oven to 500F. Heat olive oil in a large paella pan on medium heat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, until everything is soft. Turn heat to high, add monkfish and cook 2 minutes each side, until lightly browned and opaque. Add rice and saute for 5 minutes, stirring. Add 1 cup hot stock, scraping up any brown bits attached to the bottom of pan, and stir until soaked up. Fold in shrimp and calamari, add remaining stock, stir to incorporate, and bring dish a boil. Drain clams. Arrange the clams and mussels over top of dish, without pushing them too far under the liquid. Transfer uncovered pan to oven for 12-15 minutes, until rice has absorbed all liquid and clams and mussels have opened. Remove from oven and discard any clams that do not open. Fold in parsley and sprinkle lemon juice over top. Cover with a towel and let sit for 7 minutes. Serve with more lemon and parsley over top as garnish

The other week I mentioned my search for wontons in Chinatown that brought me to the treasured mangosteen. My desire for wonton soup must have been fate to find my true fruit love. But this pull must also mean that these little dumplings are truly blessed and a perfect treat for the Chinese New Year that started this past Thursday.

Where did this sudden desire for wontons come if not from the pull of the mangosteen?

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend in my Community Supported Agriculture group. Many of the members are currently in a winter share, comprised of storage vegetables like beets, celeriac, carrots and cabbage. It is amazing to have the opportunity to buy local and in season in the winter, but the real challenge is finding unique ways through 25 pounds of 5 or 6 kinds of vegetables! So when this friend mentioned she was making wontons, without asking what she put in them, my mind was working and I knew they were too good to pass up. Off I ran to pick up some no-hassle wonton wrappers.

These days, wonton wrappers are available in many specialty supermarkets in the refrigerated section. I go to Chinatown because they have a larger selection from various producers, as well as shapes (circular or square). For these wonton wrappers, I found a local New York City producer that only uses flour, water and eggs to make the noodle (no MSG or other hard to pronounce additives). In addition, I picked up a young ginger and some scallions to complete the flavor profile I was after.

While most supermarkets carry fresh ginger rhizomes (not roots), young ginger is harder to find, but well worth the effort. The taste is sweeter, less bitter and has less of an astringent bite compared to regular ginger. It is also less fibrous and can be slivered into soups or salads for an extra kick. Young ginger has a smoother skin and a pinkish hue (not to be fooled with the pickled ginger you get with your sushi). Regular ginger (non-powdered) you find in most supermarkets will work in this recipe.

I made these wontons with ground pork, but you can make them vegetarian or with beef just as tasty. For a first time go I think these turned out fabulous. 50 wonton wrappers come in (most) packs so as I made them I assembled them on a cookie sheet to freeze and store for later. Now, whenever D wants some wonton soup he boils these wontons for 10 minutes, adds a little miso paste and dried seawood and voila, instant hearty wonton soup!

This soup is totally no-hassle as long as you have a few key ingredients.

Instead of a chicken stock base (which would be equally delicious) I used organic red miso paste, available at most Asian markets and health stores. Miso paste is made from fermented rice, barley or most often, soybeans. 1-2 teaspoons per cup of water makes a great fast soup base, but you can also use it to pickle vegetables! Red miso paste has a stronger flavor than white (which is used in most miso soup at Japanese restaurants). It is great to have around for fast soups, but also because it seems to last forever. But again, chicken or vegetable stock would taste equally delicious.

When you buy miso paste, don’t forget to pick up some dried (or fresh) seaweed. Experiment with different types, some are better for sushi rolls, others are meant to be re-hydrated in soups or for salads. My local health store carries all sorts of Wikame Eden brand. One package has lasted as long as the miso! If you don’t like seaweed, try bok choi, or stir spinach or even lettuce in there before serving (hey, why not).

As for the wontons, I wanted to use some of my winter storage vegetables so this was a key ingredient. All the recipes I found for wontons contained a basic meat, ginger and garlic trio, most added some soy sauce. Play around and find a flavor combination that works for you.

Wonton Soup
Serving Size= 2. Active time= 5 minutes. Inactive time= 12 minutes.

• 6-8 wontons (see recipe below)
• 4 teaspoons miso paste (available at most Asian or health markets)
• 2 strands dried Wikame seaweed
• 1-2 scallions

1) Bring 4 cups unsalted water to a boil. While the water is coming up to temperature, prepare the bowls.
2) Slice scallion into 1/4 inch slivers and cut seaweed into 1 inch pieces. Divide the scallion and seaweed between the two bowls. Add 2 teaspoons miso paste to each bowl.
3) When water is boiling, remove 1/2 cup of the liquid and set aside. Add wontons to the boiling water, cover, and boil for 8-10 minutes. Divide the 1/2 cup liquid between the two bowls and use a spoon to help break down the miso paste. Make sure the seaweed is covered. Set aside.
4) When the wontons are done, divide them between the bowls and add the boiling water over top. Serve hot.

Pork and Vegetable Wontons
Serving Size= 50 wontons. Active time= 1 hour.
This was my first time making wontons and I found once I developed a rhythm I could stuff them a little plumper and work a littler faster. I followed a technique similar to the one in this YouTube video, but you can make them by a simple one fold method and not worry about getting fancy.

• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 celeriac, shredded
• 1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
• 4 scallions, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili flakes (optional, or what you think is best)
• 50 wonton wrappers

1) Peel the celeriac and carrot and use a food processor to shred these and the cabbage. Transfer to a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix the ingredients with your hands to evenly incorporate.
2) Assemble a cutting board in front of you, the wonton wrappers, a small dish of water and a cookie sheet (if you plan to freeze the wontons).
3) Assemble wontons: Place one wrapper on the cutting board. Dip your fingers in the water and rim the edges with a little water. Place one heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, fold in half once and push out the air and seal. Finish there, or push the center filling in slightly and fold two corners onto each other to form a sort of hat. Continue until all the wrappers are used, assembling them on a cookie sheet to freeze (eat remaining filling in a small burger!). Once the cookie sheet is filled, cover and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer storage bag for a tasty wonton treat (steamed or boiled) whenever you’re in a pinch for time!
Note:See the YouTube video link above for a step-by-step video of the process (not mine), but it is easier to visualize- sorry, I didn’t have additional un-porked hands to handle the camera!

Here again, is that lovely beet gnocchi. Its magenta hue is so stunning that in any application, it creates a dish worth discussing. This dish looks like all the care in the world went into making it, but it is really, well, it’s as simple as making gnocchi (which really is too simple for something so delicious). When I mention it, peoples’ eyes light up, Oh, really?! Will you bring some over?

Sorry to say, it has all deliciously departed. We had the gnocchi as shown above, with a simple grating of Parmesan and cardamom, and tossed gently with olive oil, salt and pepper. I can also imagine tossing these in an olive tapenade, an herbed pesto, or with a medley of colorful summer squash.

The beet brings out a wonderful earthiness in the dish that really deserves highlighting. Of all the dishes, this was my favorite. The mushrooms, cooked down in rosemary, added a great forest bramble quality to the dish. The goat cheese added a grassy compliment. Together, this dish was like the marriage of forest and pastoral life.

The sauce can easily be replicated for any pasta dish, but I think really, a colored pasta will highlight it best– which is great because there are many on the market. (Although you will be hard pressed to find any as fabulously pink as the beet.)

Beet Gnocchi with Goat Cheese Mushroom Sauce
Serving size= 4 persons. Active time=8 minutes. Cook time= 20 minutes.
1 medium sized white onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 quart button mushrooms (mixture, or favorite work too)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
4 ounces goat cheese
1 pint heavy cream
4 servings beet gnocchi or pasta1) Put salted water on high heat and bring to a boil. While warming, in a large skillet set over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil.
2) Add onion and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms, saute 10 minutes, until mushrooms brown, release liquid and reduce slightly. Add rosemary and a pinch of salt, allow flavors to emerge.
3) Cook pasta. Gnocchi just takes a few minutes and is ready when it begins to float on the surface.
4) Add goat cheese and heavy cream to the mushrooms. Stir to warm and break down goat cheese. When just boiling, turn heat to medium-low and keep warm until pasta is ready. Serve.