This Week in Food

I made a couple of good dishes this week. On Friday I tackled beef bourguignon and for Sunday’s midday meal I made a paella with revollon mushrooms. Luckily I had a few excellent bike rides to counterbalance the huge meals. I actually went out on Friday afternoon on my bike with the idea that I would be having a big meal with wine afterward. I kept thinking about all that butter, animal fat, and wine as I hammered along the beach bike path. Thinking about food for two solid hours really made me hungry. I had another great bike ride on Saturday. In fact, Saturday’s ride was so good that I had no legs left on Sunday for a ride. I planned on going out for a ride but after taking the Valenbisí bike downtown to visit the Modern Art Museum in the morning my legs felt like set concrete.

Unlike last year, the fall rains have been regular which means that the mushrooms in the market have been inexpensive and wonderful. I have been thinking about making a paella dish with revollon mushrooms for a while now and all of the planets sort of converged on Sunday to make that happen. I had beef stock and a bit of bacon leftover from the beef bourguignon I made on Friday.

Rice with Wild Mushrooms

2 cups Fallera rice (if this isn't available where you live then you must move)

1 kilo revollon mushrooms

Onion, garlic (I used cebolleta which are like enormous green onions)

1 grated tomato

¼ cup bacon

2 cups red wine

5 cups beef stock

2 tbl spoons tomato paste

Olive oil

Butter

Saffron, salt, pimentón dulce (sweet paprika)

Sauté bacon with a generous portion of olive oil in the paella (mine is 46 centimeters). Add chopped onion and garlic. Add generous portion of butter (nobody likes people who are stingy with butter).  Add the chopped mushrooms. Cook this down very well. The mushrooms release more flavor the more they are cooked so make sure they are way past the al dente point. Add the tomato and the pimentón.  Add the red wine and let it almost all evaporate. I heated the stock in the microwave and added the tomato paste directly to the heated stock. Add the stock and the saffron. When this mixture is boiling add the rice and turn the heat down to medium. Remember not to stir the rice once it is in the pan.I have learned a new trick to make the socarrát or the thin layer of slightly burned rice on the bottom of the pan that Valencianos treasure. When the rice has cooked I turn up the heat for about a minute. I take the pan off the stove and place it on a wet dish towel which stops the cooking process.