tattum's kitchen

Fideua

I've been living in Spain for 20 years now, and , in a culinary way, there are many things that I never felt like making. I mean, spanish traditional dishes. I never felt like learning to prepare them.Why? I don't know, maybe because, deep down on me I'm a little neurotic.
My neurotic side, doesn't let me cook spanish food, (apart of the dishes I specially  like, like paella, or gazpacho) no "Tortilla Española", no "Lentejas" ,  no "Cocido" , no "Callos" , I just let my dear husband cook them. Maybe one day I'll tell you why. 

In Andalucia, where I lived, we had the "ferias". They are the village's festivity, it's during one week once a year. During that week, we danced "sevillanas", we had "fino", tapas, every girl dressed like "flamenca" and we had a lot, a lot of fun. 
But I never got dressed like a flamenca, never, in 20 years. My friends were always dressed with those lovely dresses, and I always went in jeans. Why? Maybe because I'm a little more neurotic than I thought, or maybe because I always felt that it was like wearing a costume. For my friends , it wasn't that, they learned since they were kids to dance " sevillanas" and the dress was something that went with it, so it was the complement of the dance. But me, I learned "sevillanas" dancing in the feria, not in the dance classes, so in my head I always saw that not permited sign.
Oh! If you can travel in the week of June  11th to Spain, make a stop in Marbella, 2 days is enough(if you can stay more , fine, you can go to the beach) and visit the "feria" , it starts at noon, in the town center,  and ends at 7pm. After that you have the night feria, it's fun, but it's much more fun for the kids and teenagers. And of course, you have the "Feria de Sevilla", in April, but I don't recommend it. Too many people, and the "casetas" are mainly private, so you have to be invited to access to one of them. So start with Marbella, and if you like it, you can always come back to Spain the following year and visit Seville.

Ok let's start with the fideua. Fideua is a paella but made with pasta instead of rice. You must find a short but thick pasta to make it. Like the one from the photo.

500gr short pasta
1 big onion chopped
1 clove garlic,minced
100gr grinded tomato
15gr saffron
2 fish consomme cubes
10-12 shrimps peeled (but don't throw the heads and shell away, keep them apart)
400gr clams
400gr squid rings
1l boiling water

First of all you need to make a fish stock. Fry the chopped onion in a deep saucepan, add one head of the shrimps,and squash it quickly, so that all the juices come out and mix well, do this with each shrimp head, after that add all the shells and the tomato. Stir well.

Add the hot water, the consomme cubes, and saffron. Take to boil and reduce the heat to medium. (This will taste even better if you prepare it a few hours before making the paella/fideua)

Once you are ready to make the fideua, lets say, 20 min before you want to eat, take a nice cup of white wine. For me the perfect is Barbadillo . It's really fresh, not too sweet, and a bit dangerous, because after a while  it's like water. ;)

Now, here is where my dear friend Paz can take that huge paella pan, and invite us all to eat. ;))

No, really, take a paella pan, or a big flat saucepan. Fry the minced garlic (take care  it doesn't burn), add the squids rings (I cut the rings in strings of 2cm large)  and after a few minutes they should look more white than transparent. Add the clams and cover the pan, wait till they are open. By now you should have  a base of liquid,  wait till it evaporates. Add the pasta around the pan and mix well. Add the half of the fish stock, and without mixing, reduce the heat to medium. Wait for the stock to evaporte, and add some more.

Once the pasta is done, and there's  still liquid , add the shrimps. Once they are done, put out the heat, and settle for 5 min. Just serve!

Hope you enjoy it!

Truffles and Funghi Risotto

My Argentinian side, has that strange mix of nationalities, French , Italian, Spanish...all latin, all special. This mixture, and many more, has made Argentina a rich and complex country, with different people, with different customs, all living together, and feeling like true Argentinians. In the culinary side, Argentina is not only the place where  you can find the best meat (I may say the best of the world?), but its mixture of cultures, has made it also rich in an innumerable variety of dishes.
My Italian side, has made me a lover of pasta, and in many ways, also a lover for all that has to do with Italy. The risotto is one of them, I think it's absolutely delicious.
The risotto is so special, it's creamy, never dry, full of new sensations and flavors, and it gives you the possibility of  adding like a million of different ingredients.
This time, I made it with funghi and truffles, but I was thinking of making one with pumpkin, or  with asparagus,  or with   chicken liver, or with calamari, or with what your imagination suggests.

Now for the recipe you will need:
serving 2

250gr arborio rice (though I've done it a dozen of times with basmati)
1 big onion chopped
1 1/2 liter of chicken consomme
2 teaspoons of grinded saffron
1 cup of white wine
2 tablespoons of butter
30gr dried funghi
2 truffles
200gr grinded Parmesan cheese

In a deep saucepan, add the butter and wait till it's melted, add the onion and stir. Once the onion is transparent, add the rice and move well, so that it doesn't stick to the bottom.

After 2 or 3 min, add the wine and wait till it has evaporated. Meanwhile add the saffron to the consomme.

After the wine add the half of the consomme and reduce the heat. Wait till the rice has absorved the liquid and add the half of the consomme that you have left.

And after it has reduced add the rest of the liquid left.
Once you notice the rice done, and the liquid has evaporated completely, add the funghi and the parmesan cheese. Move well and remove from fire.

Wait 5 min for it to settle and serve with the laminated truffles on top  and a little of parmesan.

Hope you like it!