Parsnip-Cauliflower Soup & Sopressata Flatbread Twists

Episode Three! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Parsnip Cauliflower Soup and Sopressata Flatbread Twists from Ross Cauvel on Vimeo.

INGREDIENTS

For the soup:

2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
6-8 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1 head cauliflower, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
1 box low-sodium chicken broth
juice of half a lemon
2 cups lowfat milk
fresh chopped parsley

For the Twists:

1 ball pizza dough (mine was homemade, from Emeril's by-hand recipe), rolled out and sliced into 1-inch wide strips
1 egg beaten with 1 T. milk
5-6 slices sopressata (or other salami-like deli meat), in 1-inch wide slices
shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

STEP 1:

Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven or large pot on medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions begin to brown at the edges a little. Add parsnips and cook for a few more minutes.

STEP 2:

Add cauliflower, lemon juice and chicken broth. Cover and cook on high heat for about 30 minutes, until parsnips and cauliflower are very tender.

STEP 3:

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay pizza dough strips out flat on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Brush each strip with a little egg wash. Cover each strip with strips of sopressata. Twist into twisty shapes. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top along with a little salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, broiling for a few minutes at the end if needed for extra crispness.

STEP 4:

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or puree it in a regular blender or food processor). Reduce heat and stir in milk. Taste and adjust seasoning. Keep warm till ready to serve. Ladle into bowls, top with parsley, and serve with twists. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Cauliflower & Caramelized Onion Frittata and Figgy Salad

I will admit upfront that this meal used an absurd amount of dishes. I only sort of anticipated this. And, to be honest, I'm not sure there's a way to cut down on the number of dishes used; some things just are what they are.


Having said that, this would be such an elegant dish to serve at a brunch. It came out light, fluffy, savory, with a hint of sweetness from the onions - definitely a taste winner. There were a few setbacks, however: the aforementioned dishstravaganza; and the fact that the frittata clung stubbornly to the bottom of its baking dish even though I buttered the crap out of it. Next time, I'd cook it in a nonstick pan - like what you'd bake a cake in (9" X 9").


If you're an egg person, you'll probably really like this recipe. It's not as frou-frou as a quiche (not that I'm knocking quiche, I love the stuff), but it's a bit fancier than, say, scrambled eggs and toast for dinner (which I eat embarrassingly often).


This is a Meatless Monday post, but of course you could meat this up a bit. I actually tweaked it from a Food & Wine recipe that used bacon. Bacon would be delicious (DUH), as would ham, sausage, pancetta, etc. The great thing about a recipe like this is you can just take the base ingredients and swap them out to your liking. Hate cauliflower? Swap it for broccoli or asparagus. Not a fan of caramelized onions? You may be crazy, but nonetheless you could skip those, too.


Make this one your own! And go with a nonstick pan, for cryinoutloud - in fact, bring out the Pam spray! You'll thank me later.

INGREDIENTS

Frittata:
8 eggs, beaten
splash of half and half
salt and pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
sprinkle of sugar
2 medium (or one giant) onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 T. olive oil
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
sprinkle of water
fresh chopped parsley
lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salad Dressing:
5-6 fresh figs, quartered
~1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
drizzle of honey
salt
squirt of mustard
spring mix
sliced cucumbers
1 medium carrot, sliced
2 T. olive oil

STEP 1:

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter and sliced onions. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes, until caramelized. Sprinkle a little sugar over the onions and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.

STEP 2:

Heat an ovenproof dish (such as a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat (if you don't have a cooking pot that can transfer from the stovetop to the oven, no worries - just cook the cauliflower, add it to the eggs, then pour it all in a casserole dish). Add a little olive oil, then add the cauliflower, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, until cauliflower is beginning to turn golden brown. Add about a 1/4 cup water to the pan, add the garlic, cover, and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 8 minutes.

STEP 3:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, beat eggs, half and half, salt and pepper, parsley, and a good amount of parmesan cheese in a large bowl. When the onion is cool, stir it into the egg mixture. When cauliflower is done, scoop it out and allow to cool on a plate. Rinse and wipe out the ovenproof dish. Rub a little butter into the dish. Pour the egg/onion mixture into the dish, then sprinkle the cauliflower around. Top with more grated parmesan. Bake until frittata is set, about 30 minutes. When set, switch oven to broil, and cook under the broiler until the top is brown in places.

STEP 4:

While the frittata is baking, put the balsamic and figs (with a pinch of salt) in a small saucepan, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until figs have basically disintegrated into the vinegar. Remove from heat, transfer to food processor, add squeeze of honey, and process until smooth. Add the mustard. Process again, and drizzle the olive oil in through the top until the mixture is emulsified. Set aside while you get the salad greens ready. Toss the greens with the dressing. Slice the frittata into pieces, serve with the salad, and enjoy!

Yogurt-Marinated Shrimp, Fiery Cauliflower & Indian-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Someone stage an intervention. Because I think I'm addicted to serrano peppers.


How else to explain my constant craving for the lip-numbing heat, the crisp chili-ness, the slow burn? Serranos just make everything more delicious - bottom line. And I know at least one chef who would agree with me.


The British have a reputation for bland, boring food, but Jamie (like me) adds chilies to almost everything he cooks. And mainstream American curry powders have their roots not in India, but in the derivative Indian cooking of England. I hope that Jamie's uber-inspirational new show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, will inspire people around the country who have never so much as picked up a pan to try their hands at making healthy, unprocessed food in their home kitchens.


The show is fantastic - and if you don't catch it in its normal timeslot, every full episode is on Hulu. The amount of resistance Jamie gets from the people of Huntington, VA, is astonishing - but the way he overcomes every obstacle is truly amazing. It's a great show, and I hope that it's reaching the audience that needs to see it most (obviously, people like me are already on the home-cooking bandwagon).


And if YOU weren't interested in home cooking, you probably wouldn't be reading this blog! Hopefully these recipes will be more fodder for creating a great meal of your own - and don't worry, if you're sensitive to spice, you could leave out the serranos entirely and still have a great dinner on your hands. But if you're one of those crazies who can't quell the craving for heat, forget deseeding those babies and have a fiery field day, my friends.


The potato recipe would actually be a great way to indroduce kids to the complex flavors of Indian spices. They're sweet, creamy, and when you use a light hand with the spices, very mild and completely delicious. They'd be as at home on a Thanksgiving spread as they are on an Indian-themed plate.


The idea for marinating the shrimp in yogurt is based on the traditional preparation method for chicken tikka masala (funnily enough, people joke that it's the national dish of the UK) - the chicken is marinated in yogurt and then cooked in the tandoori oven before being stewed with vegetables. If you haven't ever had chicken tikka masala, find your nearest Indian restaurant immediately and try it - it's absolutely delicious. I don't happen to have a tandoori oven in my apartment, but the yogurt marinade gave the shrimp a tangy and complex flavor. The lemon juice thins it out, so only a little of the marinade sticks to the shrimp when you grill it, but the flavor really comes through.

INGREDIENTS

SHRIMP
12-15 medium sized shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined (if frozen, thaw)
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
several dashes curry powder
a couple dashes cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon

SWEET POTATOES
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2-3 T. butter
~1/2 cup milk
cinnamon
nutmeg
cumin
allspice
cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper

VEGGIES
2-3 T. olive oil
1 head caulifower, cored and cut into florets
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 medium sweet onion, cut into chunks
2 serrano peppers, minced, with all seeds (for less heat, remove seeds and/or leave out serranos)
salt and pepper
a few dashes curry powder
~1/3 cup water

STEP 1:

In a bowl with a lid, mix all the ingredients under the word "shrimp" (except the shrimp, haha) together in a bowl. Place the shrimp in the marinade and make sure they're all covered. Marinate for 30 min to an hour in the fridge.

STEP 2:

Boil the sweet potatoes until very tender. Drain. Pass through a potato ricer (or you can skip this part and just mash them with a fork in the pot you boiled them in) and add in the milk, butter, and spices. Set aside and keep warm.

STEP 3:

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid. Add the bell peppers, onion, chilies, and cauliflower. Add the seasonings and curry powder. Cook until veggies are beginning to brown at the edges. Add the water and cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender.


STEP 4:

Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Cook the shrimp, flipping once, until cooked through (about 2 minutes per side). Serve with the potatoes and veggies.


I hope I've helped inspire you to stay in and cook fresh! Check out Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution - maybe over a big dish of spicy sweet potatoes. Eat well and enjoy life! More soon...

Cauliflower & Potato Curry

Aaah, living with a boy. It's like one neverending Wendy's commercial: "Where's the beef?" My good friend and informed vegetarian Kara took note of the fact that, ever since Ross moved back from DC, all my blog posts have featured meat.


It's true; in an ongoing effort to help Ross meet (ahem, exceed) his protein needs, I include meat in most dinners, and in a sheer effort on my part to use as few dishes as possible while cooking, I end up just submitting to the meat as well. Not that I don't enjoy it - I do. But while I was not so long ago eating meat more conscientiously, I have of late been eating meat, well, Tyrannosaurus-Rexily.


So, in the name of the planet, my heart, and my personal nutrition goals, I enjoyed this meat-free meal this evening. And Ross? Far be it from me to deny his carnivorous demands - he got a (free-range, organic) chicken breast simply pan-cooked in lime juice, honey, and a pre-bought Moroccan spice blend. And I took a big spoon to my potato curry - the potatoes were so rich that it didn't even need rice.


So, Kara, all my veggie peeps, and anyone who enjoys the occasional animal-free meal, enjoy! Oh, and check out my "vegetarian"-labeled posts to the right.

INGREDIENTS

2 T. oil (I used grapeseed oil, you could use any neutral oil)
1 white onion, chunked
2 red bell peppers, chunked
salt and pepper
1 can light coconut milk
2 heaping tablespoons natural (unsweetened) peanut butter
juice of one lime
big squeeze Sriracha hot sauce
several spoonfuls brown sugar
1 cup chicken broth (obviously true vegetarians would use vegetable broth)
1 head cauliflower, in florets
3 smallish russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
fresh cilantro leaves, torn or chopped
more salt if needed

STEP 1:

Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Heat the oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, until browned at the edges and beginning to soften.

STEP 2:

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, Sriracha, brown sugar, and lime juice. Pour into the pot. Add the chicken broth, cauliflower, and potatoes. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the cilantro leaves. Cook, partially covered, until potatoes are tender. Serve in a bowl with more fresh cilantro on top. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Puttanesca

What does a not-very-true-to-the-original-recipe Pasta Puttanesca sauce have to do with my recent trip to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, America?


Not very much at all. However, I must've been really, really excited to eat this - excited to the point of shaking - because when I uploaded the photos and saw them on the big screen, all but one were hopelessly blurry. And I was really, seriously excited to see THE Brooklyn, NY. And I was so excited once I got there, I sort of forgot to take pictures of it, too.


I was there for a whirlwind 48 hours, and my equally-high-energy, fast-walking friend Jesse and I managed to fit about a week's worth of fun into said hours. An incomplete list of where and what:

- Brunch at Juliette in Williamsburg, where we saw a movie being filmed
- Trip to SoHo to go to Madewell, the J. Crew brand for slouchy hipsters
- Appearance at a surprise party at Bowery Bar, followed by...
- Urs Fischer opening at the New Museum
- Pile of fries (with ketchup and mayo) at a German bar I can't remember the name of
- Drinks at Nita Nita in Brooklyn
- Brunch at Lodge in Williamburg (I had an absolutely amazing curry tofu scramble)
- Inaugural trip to Bergdorf Goodman on 59th - I touched a $12,000 Oscar de la Renta gown
- Just-for-kicks stop into the new LV store, which is winning design awards left and right
- A quick stop into 10-ft. Single, consistently named the Best Vintage Store in the County (and trust me, it's incredible)
- *Amazing* dinner at Dressler - I had the duck. There are no words.
- *Equally amazing* dessert at Marlow and Sons - apple crisp that blew. my. mind.


At any rate, after Hurricane Brooklyn, I was pretty much too exhausted to cook much of anything last week, but I did manage to eke out this simple dish. Puttanseca is traditionally made with pancetta (and not with a mirepoix base); it's basically just a simple, spicy tomato sauce. Since I've been on a major cauliflower kick for the past, oh, 6 months or so, I thought I'd throw that in, too. I actually love the flavor of black olives with cauliflower. They both have a subtle bitterness that goes nicely together, and the capers and olives help to add a nice saltiness to the otherwise pretty bland flavor of cauliflower.

CAULIFLOWER PUTTANESCA

INGREDIENTS

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1/2 lb. whole wheat rigatoni
1 small onion
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 rib celery, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T. olive oil
handful kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 small container capers (or less, depending on how much you like capers)
1 large can crushed tomato with basil
1/2 can tomato paste
glug of red wine
salt to taste
black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
fresh chopped parsley
grated parmesan, optional

STEP 1

Heat olive oil in a large, deep pot. Cook onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until softened and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Pour in wine and stir, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

STEP 2

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, stir, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is tender (about 10 minutes).

STEP 3

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water. Drain. Place some pasta into two bowls. Top with the cauliflower puttanesca and cheese. Enjoy!

I'm always sad to leave New York, but I always know that I'll be back. Hopefully very, very soon. And admittedly, I was happy to come back to my tiny little apartment, my better half, and this little ball of love:



Thanks for reading! More soon...

Cauliflower & Green Bean Linguine

Do these ingredients look familiar?

They should. Because they're the same basic ingredients I used in last night's curry, only put together very differently. This, my friends, is how you cook for one person without wasting food. You commit to a couple of key ingredients, then make them do new tricks with each meal.

To get everything I needed at Whole Foods for the curry (plus a couple other staples and random items), I spent $30. Sounds expensive for what basically amounted to one meal. But it was so much more than one meal, my friends! The curry made three servings (that means dinner, lunch the next day, then another dinner), and this pasta made three servings (same math, same meals). So that's 6 meals for $30, which comes out to $5 a meal.

Granted, both meals were meatless, which helps save money, but if you were to throw in a three-pack of fresh chicken breasts, you'd only be up to about $6.50 a meal - not too shabby, especially considering a healthy, fresh, organic lunch at Hannah's Bretzel will set you back about $12 once it's all said and done. I also keep several ingredients on hand at all times (lemons, cans of diced tomatoes, and pasta, to name a few), but I hope you see my point: you can cook fresh, healthy, and yes - even organic - meals for less than you think.

CAULIFLOWER & GREEN BEAN LINGUINE

INGREDIENTS

1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 head orange cauliflower
1/3 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
1 can diced tomato with juice
1 red chile pepper, seeded and minced
salt and pepper
6 oz. whole wheat linguine
~a dozen kalamata olives, chopped
freshly grated cheese (any gratable kind you have on hand)


STEP ONE:

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet. Cook the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the white wine, cauliflower, tomatoes and juice, green beans, chile pepper, and some salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-high heat.

STEP TWO:

Meanwhile, cook the linguine until al dente. Drain and set aside.

STEP THREE:

Uncover the sauce and let it cook until the liquid reduces a bit. Stir in the olives, then the cooked linguine. Toss, then transfer to a serving dish or bowls. Top with the grated cheese. Enjoy!


This pasta came out great! It was well-seasoned, light yet satisfying (love that), and super-easy. I'm sure you're probably wondering about the orange cauliflower; basically, it was between that and the purple variety, and I just couldn't bring myself to buy a purple veggie that wasn't an eggplant.

As it happened, I also bought this month's Real Simple, which had an article about the nutritional differences between different colors (different strains) of vegetables, citing specifically that orange cauliflower has roughly 25 times the amount of Vitamin A than regular cauliflower. Sweet! And it just looks so darn bright and gorgeous in a tomato sauce - win/win! (By the way, taste-wise, there is no difference.)



I hope these couple of cauliflower-centric meals have inspired you to create healthy, veggie-packed meals for the same price as a Super Value Meal. Thanks for reading! More soon...

(Almost) Heidi's Cashew Cauliflower Curry

They say that the hotter the region of the world, the spicier the cuisine (think Thailand, India, Malaysia).

Chicago certainly isn't known for its balmy temperatures, but lately it's been as hot and muggy as it is down south this time of year. Maybe that explains my sudden craving for tongue-scorching fare.

I had a great weekend of baby-showering (the arrival of my little nephew is only two months away!), but in so doing, I devoured no less than a dozen egg salad and pimiento cheese tea sandwiches - on white bread, no less! It was also my birthday weekend, which meant several thousand calories consumed that other way you consume calories - in, ahem, liquid form.


So I wanted something healthy, vegetable-y, and yes, fiery. I checked out 101cookbooks.com for inspiration, and found a curry recipe of Heidi's that I'd been wanting to make for some time now. I've made curries that were similar to this, but never so closely inpsired by this exact recipe. I also liked that her Cashew Curry wasn't served with rice - as much as I like rice, the idea of just slurping the spicy curry broth straight from a spoon sounded wonderful.

I did add a few things to Heidi's recipe, but only because I wanted to make her recipe go further - so I could pack several days of lunches this week.

ALMOST HEIDI'S CASHEW CAULIFLOWER CURRY

Serve 3-4

INGREDIENTS

1 can light coconut milk
1 can vegetable broth
big squeeze honey
1/2 head orange (or regular) cauliflower
1/3 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
1/4 block extra firm tofu, cut into chunks
1 red chile pepper, seeded and finely minced
1 small yellow onion, or half a large onion
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
1 smallish yam, peeled and cut into smallish chunks
1-2 T. curry powder
a little salt
handful roasted unsalted cashews
big handful cilantro leaves

STEP ONE:

Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth in a large skillet. Turn the heat to medium-high. Whisk in the salt and curry powder and honey.

STEP TWO:

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cilantro and the cashews. Bring to a low boil and cool until all vegetables are tender and the curry broth has reduced and thickened.


STEP THREE:

Stir in the cashews. Pour into bowls or a serving dish and top with a bunch of cilantro. Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite curries I've made to date! I love that it was lightly - but not cloyingly - sweet. The curry flavor was really direct, and the heat level was perfect - enough to make my nose run but not so hot my lips were burning. The vegetables and cashews were hearty and satisfying; I would definitely make this again. And it was super easy - you don't even have to saute the veggies, you just chop and drop.


It would be excellent with shrimp or chicken, too, and also tasty over rice if you wanted to go that way. I can't wait to have a spicy leftovers lunch tomorrow at work...mmmm.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

A.U.R.A. - Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry...and Arroz con Pollo!

Are you sick of curry yet?

Wait, that's a ridiculous question, because who could EVER get sick of curry?!?! Certainly not this girl. Seriously though, I hope you'll forgive all the curry postings as of late; I blame A.) the magical folks at the Spice House for their excellent service and encyclopedic knowledge of the seasonings of the Far East, and B.) the piece of fresh ginger I bought a couple days ago.


Ginger has always been one of those ingredients that, for whatever reason, I was afraid to use. I guess that fear stemmed mostly from the fact that it looks something my cat would find in our alley...or like a stick had a love child with a shriveled potato. Either way, like most ingredients/recipes/techniques that scare me, once I break down and give it a go - wonder of wonders - the world doesn't stop turning. And usually, I discover something new and tasty (and it's almost never as hard as I think it's going to be).


Once I realized that all the poor little stick-potato-alley-rat thing needed was a good shaving with a vegetable peeler and a trip to Mount Microplane (my zester/grater/love of my life), it became such a glorious ingredient! Versatile! Bold! Deliciously exotic! It's used most often (I think) in Asian dishes, which suits me just fine since I am an Asian food junkie. It's relatively inexpensive, lasts awhile, and really adds a bright and spicy note to everything it goes in.

Since this is my second posting in my new "Actual Use of a Recipe's Awesomeness" category, you'll find the exact recipe below (from Closet Cooking, one of my favorite food blogs).

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
(makes 4+ servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons curry powder ***Note: I used Sweet Curry Powder, a very common variety
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chili sauce (optional)
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 (19 once) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 cup water
1/2 pound green beans (trimmed and sliced into 1 inch long pieces)
salt to taste
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Add the onion and curry powder and cook until the onion is tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, chili sauce, cauliflower, chickpeas and water and and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the green beans and cook until they are just tender and still crisp, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Serve on brown rice and garnish with cilantro.



And for my notes and tweaks:

1. I roughly halved this recipe.

2. I used chicken broth instead of water.

3. I used a can of stewed tomatoes instead of crushed ones (that's all I had).

4. Instead of chili sauce, I used half of a fresh, seeded and minced, serrano pepper.

5. I used a big handful of chopped cilantro IN the dish while it was cooking, and then put some more fresh on top.

6. I figured that since I was being sooo good and eating brown rice, it was OK to stir in just a little half and half (about a quarter cup) at the end for that creaminess that I love in curries.

Other than that, I followed the recipe almost to the letter! (How very unlike me.)

This came out even better than I expected. It was a really savory curry (which is a nice change of pace since I usually find myself eating peanut curries that are closer to dessert over white rice than they are dinner food), and I thought the tomato was a great element. This would be a perfect "Curry 101" recipe, both in ease of preparation and in overall mildness. The half pepper was just the right amount of heat (unlike Monday's lentil scorcher), and even though I enjoyed the touch of creaminess, the half and half wasn't what made the meal delicious.



Now, as the title promised, I will share with you another great recipe I made recently with my friends The LeCroys. It's Arroz con Pollo, from Smitten Kitchen.

It was super easy to make, and really really yummy. It was also in the "budget" category, which is nice. We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of drumsticks, and we couldn't find real Spanish chorizo, so we used andouille sausage, and it all worked. The blend of spices was not a combination I ever would've thought of, but it really got me interested in using paprika for more than just topping deviled eggs. We got one good photo (this was taken before the addition of the rice).



Here's the recipe in its entirety:

Arroz Con Pollo (Cuban Chicken with Rice)

Serves 8

Chicken
3 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
4 chicken breast halves with bone, halved crosswise
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs

Rice
3 oz. Spanish chorizo (cured sausage), skin discarded and sausage cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika, preferably the hot stuff, plus more to taste
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 12-oz. bottle beer (not dark)
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups long-grain white rice (14 oz.)
1/4 cup drained rinsed bottled pimiento or roasted red pepper strips

Marinate chicken: Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 2 teaspoons salt, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in vinegar and oregano.

Remove skin and excess fat from chicken, then toss chicken with marinade until coated and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 1 hour.

Cook chicken and rice: - Cook chorizo in olive oil in a 6- to 7-quart heavy pot (12 inches wide) over medium-high heat, stirring, until some fat is rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add cumin, oregano, paprika, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add chicken with marinade to chorizo mixture and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, beer, broth, and rice and bring to a boil, making sure rice is submerged. [Deb note: I actually had a really hard time keeping the rice underneath the chicken so that it would cook evenly. I'd suggest that you use tongs to temporarily remove the chicken from the pot, mix the rice in with the other ingredients in the pot, and then replace the chicken, pressing it into the broth a bit before going onto the next step. I will definitely do this next time.]

Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover mixture directly with a round of parchment or wax paper and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Cook, stirring once or twice, until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Discard parchment paper and bay leaves, then scatter pimiento strips over rice.

Note: Chicken can be marinated up to 2 hours.

I must say, I'm really enjoying the AURA posts (and hopefully, you are too). And believe me, there will be many more to come! I just received my newest cookbook in the mail, Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson's San-Francisco-hippie-chick ode to all things whole. (More on this later, but check out the book - it's informative, inspiring, and actually makes healthy vegetarian and vegan fare look completely mouthwatering. If you're curious in the meantime, check out her blog-cum-cookbook, 101cookbooks.com).

Thanks for reading! More soon...