Hello. I've been hearing wonderful things about smoked, Spanish paprika. Any thoughts?
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Mon, December 31, 2007 - 7:39 AMThere are lots of kinds of paprika, and they can be quite different. The smoked spanish paprika is very flavorful and wonderful. You might not always want that smoky flavor though. The hot hungarian kind has quite a kick to it - more so than the spanish kind (usually, I'm sure there are exceptions). If your kitchen is anything like mine, one of the biggest problems is that the paprika has gone stale and lost its punch - better to throw it out and buy new for good flavor. -
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Mon, December 31, 2007 - 9:23 AMPaprika is under-appreciated by many cooks, I think. Here's a wonderful winter recipe using the Spanish paprika:
PAPRIKA SOUP
Ingredients:
Dumplings:
3 Tablespoons flour
2 Fresh eggs
1 Teaspoon hot mustard
A medium bunch of parsley finely chopped
1 Teaspoon sea salt
2 Grinds of pepper
Soup:
100g Kielbasa or chorizo sliced or cubed
1 can beans (I used butter beans)
2 Onions quartered and sliced thin
2 Peppers cubed
2 Heaped teaspoons Pimenton (smoky hot paprika)
2-3 Tablespoons peanut oil
2 Teaspoons salt, more or less to taste
1 can chopped organic tomatoes
1⁄2 Pint beef or vegetable stock
METHOD (Dumplings)
Mix all ingredients until a sticky loose dough forms. Cover and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.
METHOD (Soup)
Pour oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add sausage and allow to cook while prepping onions. Add onions and salt and allow to sauté while prepping the peppers. Add peppers and paprika and sweat over medium low heat for about five minutes. Add tomatoes and stock, cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add beans and turn heat to high. Working with two spoons, form small quenelles with the dumpling batter dropping them into the soup until all dough is used. Allow soup to come to the boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. The dumplings will approximately double in size and then shrink a little when uncovered. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, crème fraiche, or cottage cheese.
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Mon, December 31, 2007 - 11:16 PMYou can sub it for chipotle, it has a similar flavour. -
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Wed, January 2, 2008 - 2:52 PMI got turned onto the smoked paprika a year or so ago and it is fantastic. I use it in my salad dressings and it is addictive--once you go smoked, its hard to go back..! -
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Sat, March 1, 2008 - 8:54 AMMmmm make sure you try all the varieties too, or at least the big three, sweet pimenton, the bittersweet and the hot, I like the hot and bittersweet the best, but next time you make deviled eggs put the sweet pimenton instead of the garden variety of paprika and people will rave over them, just tell them its a secret ingredient, or don't but if you tell them they won't beg for more!
I was introduced to Pimenton when I became a chef at a spanish tapas restaurant in San Francisco, and loved it instantly, I would agree with the statement that once you go smoked its hard to go back! -
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Mon, March 10, 2008 - 5:11 AMWe're using it as our way to introduce the smoky element to foods with a minimum of fuss, and without necessarily using meat, or some kind of liquid smoke product... it's really handy that way. You can get that hint of smoke into your baba ganoush without charring the aubergines for instance.
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Mon, March 10, 2008 - 5:05 PMi picked up some smoked spanish paprika from Penzey's last year to see what it was like. I then ordered a pound of it. That should give you an idea that i think it is AMAZING! :) -
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Unsu...
Re: Spanish Paprika
Tue, March 11, 2008 - 9:39 AMThere are 2 kinds of pimenton: dulce (sweet) and picante (Spicy).
You may add to many dishes but never must be boiled or burned in oil.
For example just fried eggs (in a lot of hot olive oil) and appart fry some garlic and then a bit of pimenton picante on it, or over some fish is very nice.
or garlic soup (sopa de ajo) www.netcooks.com/recipes/S....Ajo).html
must be from the year, otherwise looses flavour (usally the brand sota de oros is consider one of the best).
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Re: Spanish Paprika
Sun, March 16, 2008 - 8:50 PMI'm a paprika power user. It fits in so many cuisines. I just had some smoked spanish paprika sprinkled over the rice and dahl portion of my dinner and it was really good! My mother brought it over from Europe last month. I'm impressed. I want to make it. And the list grows longer..... I agree too that the problem with paprika is usually freshness. Use it or toss it. It's often too old by the time you buy it. The bulk health food store stuff supplied by frontier herb company is usually pretty good for general use. At least if the bulk bin has a high turnover. And you can taste before you buy. I've had poor luck with those pretty cans from hungary that you find at the grocery store. I made a little bit last year and it was very good, but it's hard to find the space for that many peppers.
