Rabbit and artichoke paella

I think there are hundreds of versions of Paella and for sure every family will have its own way of making it.  My son's girlfriend went to eat at a friends house, where the father made the Paella and he even had a special jacket he wore when he made it!  The combination of rabbit and artichoke is said to be one of the original ways of eating this dish of Spain and for me my personal favourite.

Paella can be made in advanced and covered with foil and a heavy tea towel and be kept warm in this way for quite a while.  There are not any fancy ingredients in Paella, it is peasant food and would normally be cooked by the grandmother for the rest of the family.  The important ingredient in this version is to have a good quality Spanish smoked paprika.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 rabbit

2-3 artichokes (depending on size)

3 garlic cloves

3 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika

chicken stock

600g of paella rice (bomba)

Olive oil

salt and pepper

How to go about it

Prepare artichokes, chop in half and peel off outer leaves.  Peel stalk and cut in quarters, carefully take out the hairy choke and discard.  If you don't want them to discolour put them in some water with the juice of half a lemon or a sprig of parsley.



Chop the rabbit in small pieces and include the liver, heart and kidneys.

In a paella pan or large shallow pan put in 2 tablespoons of oil and add whole, unpeeled garlic cloves and rabbit and sauté for 10 minutes on gentle heat.  Turn pieces, then add artichokes and continue to sauté for 5 minutes more.  Add a bit more oil and put in rice and paprika, season with salt and fry until the rice is starts to colour and it is coated in paprika.  Add enough stock to so the liquid comes about 2 cm over the rice. Cook on a medium heat. 

The rule is with paella is that you can stir for the first few minutes and then don't touch.  It forms a film on top of the liquid that acts as a lid and helps to cook the rice evenly.  When all the liquid is absorbed, turn it off and cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Artichoke and black pudding Pasta

When you grow your own veg, you don't always have the choice of what you are going to eat.  It's a question of what needs harvesting in the garden and how am I going to cook this.  This is a recipe that works with different combinations of early Summer vegetables.  I bought these artichoke plants about 3 months ago and was told that they didn't need cutting down to the ground at the end of May and they wouldn't be any artichokes till the following Spring, so I was surprised to see these artichokes in June!

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 artichokes
bunch of swiss chard
1 courgette
handful of broad beans, fresh or frozen
2 black puddings
olive oil
salt and pepper
400g macaroni pasta

For the sauce

100 dl olive oil
100g parmesan cheese
1 lemon
fresh basil
3 cloves fresh garlic
small bunch of basil


I had in my garden an enormous plant which I knew to be of the onion/garlic family but was told by a neighbour it is what they call french garlic and it is used to make allioli (Catalan garlic mayonaise) as it is milder.

How to go about it

First make the sauce by finely chopping garlic and basil, add olive oil and the juice of lemon and parmesan, mix with a fork.

Put a saucepan of water on to boil for pasta.

Prepare artichokes, discarding outer leaves and cut into eights, fry in olive oil.  Wash and separate stalks of chard, chop stalks and add to artichokes.  Finely slice courgettes in semi circles and add to pan.  Fry on low heat for 5 minutes.  Add chopped chard leaves and broad beans and fry for another 5 minutes.  While this is cooking, put pasta on to cook.  Follow cooking instructions on packet.  Drain but DON'T RINSE.   Add a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Cover and keep warm.

Slice black pudding and gentle fry on both side for a few minutes. Remember that black pudding is already cooked so it just needs to be heated through and browning a bit. 

Mix pasta into veg, then mix in sauce.  Serve in bowls or on plates and arrange black pudding on top.

Broad bean, pea and artichoke orzo

When I look at this selection of vegetables I automatically think of 'Risi e Bisi' but I have no risotto rice or even bomba (Spanish paella rice).  I could make a 'Vignole' but I had that last night with black pudding.  I have a couple of artichokes in the fridge, a courgette and half a tin of anchovies.  I search through the cupboard and come across a packet of orzo.  A pasta that resembles barley, which is what its name means in Italian.  I ponder for a moment on how to go about it, I don't want a glutenous mush at the end , yes it is possible to cook it in the same way as a risotto.  So in the selection of vegetables I have the following

handful each of rocket, spinach, broad beans and peas 
sprig each of fresh parsley, rosemary and mint. 
2-3 fresh, green garlic,chopped
wild asaparagus, chopped
2-3 artichokes, prepared and cut into small pieces
1 courgette, finely sliced
olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
2 dried cayenne peppers
parmesan
1 onion, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
300 g orzo

Firstly, make a vegetable stock from all of the vegetable trimmings, strain and have at a simmer at the side of frying pan for cooking the pasta.  Gentle fry onions in olive oil, when they are soft add artichokes and courgettes and continue cooking for 5 minutes, pour in lemon juice.  Add garlic, anchovies and dried chillies, fry for 2 minutes then add pasta.  Gentle fry pasta for a few minutes until it is coated in oil and starts to take colour, add laddlefuls of stock little by little with a pinch of salt.  Cook for 3-4 minutes then add the broad beans, peas, rocket, spinach and aparagus, add another laddle or two of stock, stir in parmasan, turn of  heat and cover with a tea towel for 5 minutes before serving.