Carbonara

Ahhhhh Carbonara…many of my friends know this was an obsession for me and still is. tI tried many restaurants in the Philippines and no one serves it the authentic way: no cream and just eggs. I was lucky enough to have travelled to Italy (Rome particularly) many times, and have been able to try the real thing.

5 simple ingredients - thats all you need: Pasta, Egg, Guanciale (or bacon), Pecorino (or parmesan) and pepper. Many of you will have your own ways of doing it. I have my own and I am quite pleased with the results. If anyone wants to know how I make it, just Pm or email me and I’ll be glad to send it to you. 

Basically. If you can get fresh organic or fee range eggs this is how your Carbonara should look like

There is a lot of pepper but this is really how it is traditionally served. The 'sauce' which is made of egg yolk should just be the exact consistency, creamy, silky wit the right amount of cheese. I add a little pasta water to achieve this and it seems to work. 

Like all good food, it starts by always the best and most fresh ingredients. 

Paella

Having grown up in Spain, I definitely love a good Paella. I remember Sunday lunches with the family, paella and a glass of rosé or a good Rioja wine. The paella was the star dish and everyone convened beside the paella for our Sunday lunch. 

The key to a great paella is the rice. I think a lot of people make the mistake of loading up the Paella with too much rice and meat, seafoods, eggs, peas, etc...for me, how the rice tastes is the most important aspect of a Paella(no offense meant this is just mr personal opinion)

Never ever overload your paella. Just put enough rice to go half way of the pan (rivets) once cooked. That will ensure all the flavor of the broth stays in the rice, and not evaporate into thin air. Remember all the broth has to be soaked by the rice and not by air. 

Make sure your broth is flavorful. Just add a few ingredients to complement the rice. Wether it's all meat, seafood or vegetables. Remember the key is the rice. All the rest is secondary. It's nice to have the 'socarrat' which is the Burt bottom part known as 'tutong', but again please don't overdo it. No one likes eating burnt rice. A little crust or browning will do. 

Speaking about rice, the best rice to use (for me) is arroz Bomba de Calasparra. This is short grain rice, which absorbs all the flavor of the broth. Be careful though, when using this, I add an extra cup of broth per cup of rice(from the usual recipes) since it absorbs much more than the usual Japanese or Calrose rice use locally to Make Paella. 

If you want to eat this the traditional way like In Spain, once cooked, put the pan in the middle of the table, give everyone a wooden spoon and eat directly from the pan. Just make your own imaginary divisions (think pizza slices but made if rice) and no crossing of the imaginary lines. 

My 2 favorites are the all meat paella (shown on top) and a Paella de Bogavante (Lobster Paella)

Enjoy!

It's been a while

Wow!! Last post on this blog was almost 3 years ago. Definitely I need to get back to blogging. Maybe more focused on food I cook. 

I've been cooking a lot and doing other things so I will try to revive this blog. Not so focused on restaurants since there are  tons of other people doing this already and really, I can't keep up with the way they eat out, almost daily. Must hurt their stomachs and also their pockets.  If I do find though something I really like in a restaurant I will definitely post it. 

Ok so this first one is dedicated to Fabada. I made one the other day and I must say, I was very pleased with the results. 

I don't really follow any recipes so if anyone wants to ask me how I did it, just leave a message and I can email you the procedures. You might be a bit frustrated though as I mentioned I don't follow recipes or exact measurements. 

This was done with all ingredients freshly flown in from Spain. From the beans to the meats to the pimentón. 

Cheers!!