Paella Negra ala Manila Contessa

A dear friend gave me a Tapas recipe book for Christmas that inspired me to go all out Spanish for our New Year's Eve dinner celebration. I was going to go "light" serving just tapas but decided very last minute to add Paella Negra to our menu. We like the one of Barcino's and El Circulo but since the Holidays is about home cooked meals, and what better way of showing my limited cooking skills to my family than making something from scratch and fill it with a dose of my best ingredient of all, no not E.V.O.O. but L.O.V.E.

The morning of December 31st, I finalized the Menu. Woke up early to go to the weekend market near our place. Prepared the ingredients and realized, I did not have a "Paellera" or Paella Pan. Called Terry's (a Spanish Deli) to reserve 1 for me. I then cooked my Little Contessa's requested lunch and immediately headed towards Terry's in Pasong Tamo extension (they were open until 3PM that day... thank goodness!) with my hubby in tow.

Each time I am in a delicatessen is always a treat. I like checking each and every shelf every time scrutinizing bottles after bottles of wine... exotic ingredients and everything else.

I picked up the smallest Paella Pan (I wanted to get a medium sized one but my oven could only accommodate the 12" round pan) , got a few earthen ware dish servers, a small pack of Paella rice, a bottle of dry Sherry and several Spanish Chorizos. Last minute, I decided to get the Squid Ink for good measure. I wasn't sure if the ink from the huge squid I got from my fish monger will give me the "blackness" I want for my Paella.

Happy and almost giddy with excitement, we headed back home. My hubby & I had lunch and I went straight to cooking after.

Ingredients:
1 big squid (about half a kilo) ink sac carefully removed a place in a bowl, squid flesh sliced into rings, tentacles sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 cups of Paella Rice
100-150 grams Spicy Chorizo (remove casing and cut into small 1/4" cubes)
Red Pepper Flakes
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 large onions peeled and diced
12 cups of Chicken Stock or Clam stock (or a combination of both)
1 can of whole peeled or crushed tomatoes (I like using the Molinera brand)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Squid ink sac emptied in half a cup of water
a dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional)
a pinch of saffron
1 pack (4grams) prepared Squid Ink (if using)
Lemon wedges (garnish)

Steamed Mussels (optional)
Hard Boiled eggs (optional)
Steamed prawns (optional)
Aioli (optional)

Procedure:
1. Make the chicken or clam stock. Towards the end, add the saffron and simmer for another 15 minutes.
2. Oil the Paellera. Make sure to cover all inside surface.
3. On a low-medium flame, add the Olive Oil. Fry the Chorizo for about 4 minutes or until the "reddish" oil from the sausage comes out. Using a slotted spoon, set aside.
4. In the same pan, saute the onion for 5 minutes making sure that it does not turn brown. The goal is to achieve a translucent look. Add the garlic and cook for another 20 seconds. Add the red pepper flakes and the squid rings and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon, careful not to get the juice and the oil from the pan.
5. Add the Paella Rice making sure to coat all the grains with the oil. Stir well for about 1 minute. Then add the tomatoes with the juices and all. Stir in the squid flesh. Then Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Add 4 cups of the stock. Stir well until the liquid gets absorbed by the grains, Risotto style. Add the squid ink (both the fresh and the 4 grams that comes in a pack) Stir well. Slowly add the remaining stock. Put back in the squid flesh into the pan (juices and all).
7. As soon as the grains absorb almost all the liquid - season with salt and pepper (+ the cayenne if you want more heat), cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove after the designated time and let it rest covered for another 10. Serve with lemon wedges, sea salt, aioli (if using) and garnish with flat leaf parsley.

NOTE: I did not add back to the pan the Chorizo cubes. A friend dining with us that night is refraining from eating pork so I served the fried Chorizo in a different dish.


I served this dish together with Roasted capsicum & baby potatoes, grilled zucchini, different chorizo tapas, garlic prawns, steamed mussels in vinaigrette and Chicken liver in Sherry.
I made a big batch of Sangria to complete the Spanish night experience. Oh... and Crème brûlée for a very sweet ending. Enjoy!

Strawberry Vinaigrette

I received a bunch of Fresh Strawberries from a dear friend (who came back from Baguio) the other day. A big bowl of fresh sweet and juicy strawberries! After making my Little Contessa the obligatory Strawberry Chocolate Milkshake... I decided to experiment. Since I am big on Salad Greens since cutting back on carbs last year, I wanted to come up with a different salad accompaniment other than my usual Caeser, Poppy Seed, Honey Balsamic combos.

Ingredients:
2 cups of Fresh Strawberries (Leaves & stems removed)
1/4 cup of white sugar
a pinch of table salt
1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 whole white onion (peeled and chopped)
1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 cup of Canola Oil


I placed everything in a blender to make a puree (until there are no big chunks left) About 1 minute on high. I slowly added the Canola Oil while "blitzing" the mixture.

I served the dressing with baby Romaine Lettuce, Carrots, Capsicum, Cucumber and slices of Strawberries and sprinkle them with shaved Parmesan Cheese.

Fruity, tangy & sweet. The kind that I like.... my salad greens are now singing a different sweet tune =) Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon Manila Contessa Style

I have always been intrigued by this dish. It sounds delicious and well... hard to make. For our Christmas dinner, I decided that I needed a challenge. It was a toss up between a roasted turkey complete with trimmings or Beef Bourguignon. Since I do not have the required space in my already cramped fridge to thaw a huge bird, the decision to try Julia Child's famed beef dish won.

I did my research, read a lot of recipes.... gathered the ingredients... channeled my favorite "kitchen goddess" and came up with this version.... while drinking a glass of wine of course =)

Ingredients:

3 kilos (6.6 lbs) Beef Chuck cut into 2" x 2" inch cubes (I used Monterey)
1 Liter Burgundy wine (any good Burgundy wine will do)
1 kilo Fresh Button mushrooms (or 4 cans if you do not have fresh ones)
4 big pieces of carrots
4 Large onions peeled and diced
1 head of garlic peeled and minced
1/4 kilo smoked ham cut into small strips (any smoked ham from Santis or Terry's will do)
1 cup of Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of Flat Leaf Parley - chopped (to garnish)
3 tablespoons of Flour
1 cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Rinse the beef cubes, drain well and pat dry using a dozen of paper kitchen towels. Season with Rock salt and freshly ground pepper. One by one.
2. Heat the Olive Oil in a heavy bottomed pan, medium high. Fry the bacon and set aside using a slotted spoon.
3. In the same pan, increase the flame into high and sear the beef cubes on all sides. Make sure not to crowd the pan. It is a must that you sear the beef in batches. If you are using a 12 inch pan, 5-6 cubes at a time is the maximum. Transfer the seared beef cubes in a separate bowl.
4. After all the beef cubes have been seared, in the same pan, coat all the mushrooms until they turn a bit slightly dark. About 4 minutes. Set aside
5. Using the same pan, adjust the flame into low-medium and saute the onions for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 20 seconds.
6. De-glaze the pan with a little wine, about a cup.
7. Transfer all the liquid from the de-glazed pan to a heavy bottomed casserole pot and put all the seared beef (with juices and all). Add the rest of the wine. Simmer (on LOW flame) for 2 1/2 hours.
8. Add the cooked mushrooms & carrots and simmer for another 30 minutes.
9. Combine the flour and water well. Make sure that there are no lumps. Add to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes.
10. Serve in a bowl, sprinkle some parsley (if using) and serve with Pasta, Jasmine rice or French bread. Enjoy!

This recipe is a big batch that could serve up to 16 hungry people. You may adjust the portions accordingly to suit your needs. I just wanted to make sure that all the searing and prep was all worth it so I decided to make a big portion. I froze 1/3 of the cooked stew and served it to my guests after a 1 week and it was still fabulous.