things we eat and drink, at home and out and about
This is one of the most surprising Valencian dishes I’ve learned about recently.
It uses just a few humble ingredients to deliver way more flavour than you could possibly expect. And it uses a sweet ingredient (raisins) on a savoury dish—not a typical feature of dishes that side of the world!
Continue reading “Arroz al horno con pasas y garbanzos / arròs al forn amb panses i cigrons (oven baked raisin and chickpea rice)”
I got a bunch of broad beans (the ones you have to pop out of their shells) in the veggie box delivery this week, but since the weather has turned a bit cooler, I didn’t want to make them into a salad. So I first used half of them in an omelette. What else could I use them for?
Well, clearly: a rice that combines various types of legumes—hence the ‘mixed’ in the title!
Continue reading “Arròs de mescleta (“mixed” rice)”
Paella is a very simple dish that Valencian peasants would cook using cheap, fresh and widely available ingredients. Yet despite its innate simplicity, people repeatedly misunderstand and complicate it, causing us Valencians a great deal of stress in the process, because we know it could be so much better and yet people keep insisting on bastardising our national dish in every possible way! ?
Also if you, like me, do not live in Valencia and hence do not have access to some of the “niche” local ingredients, I will also provide acceptable replacements that follow the original spirit. I live in the UK, so my suggestions will reflect what I can find in local markets and supermarkets. If it’s not in my list, it quite probably is not acceptable, so don’t add it ?
Hope you enjoy it!
Continue reading “Paella (traditional Valencian style)”