Most boiling and parboiling of anything (pasta, green beans, etc.) calls for salted or heavily salted water. I have, quite frankly, never bothered to salt water. I am now resolved to do so, but not to overdo it either. The one time in my youth when I did salt water, I ended up with spaghetti that tasted like tire rubber. Let us not repeat.
I am blanching green beans right now for a dinner party for ten. Three pounds of them in two batches. I've trimmed them and added 1/2 to water at a rolling boil. I used 3 pinches of kosher salt. For my purposes, a pinch is the exact measurement of salt that is achieved when I triangulate a portion of salt with my thumb, index, and middle fingers. They cooked for about nine minutes before ready, after which I gave them the cold water shower. The second batch went in with 5 pinches of kosher salt.
I'm probably way underdoing it. Neither seemed particularly salty, but the green beans were very tasty coming out. They are in the fridge right now, awaiting a slivered almond and butter sauteing later on.
Showing posts with label green beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green beans. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Paella
I adapted a New York Times recipe for Paella that worked quite well. I chopped up half a big onion, four garlic cloves, a load of green beans, leftover red pepper, and two Tappy's Heritage tomatoes, after seeding and pulping.
I simmered 4 cups of chicken stock to get it warm (since my stock sits in the freezer, this would have been necessary no matter what.
In the dutch oven, I warmed oil and then sauteed the onion. After five minutes, I added garlic, peppers, and salt and cooked for a couple of minutes before adding 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste and 1 Teaspoon of sweet paprika. After blending, I added the rice and blended it in.
After a couple of minutes of cooking the rice grains, I added the tomatoes, which included the quartered Tappy's heritage and a couple of handfuls of cabernet grape tomatoes. Then cooked for about five minutes.
Time to add stock. I brought it to a boil, dropped it to a simmer, and cooked it for fifteen minutes or so, until the stock had evaporated.
I used jasmine rice, which is what we had. It's a medium grain, so it worked fine.
I simmered 4 cups of chicken stock to get it warm (since my stock sits in the freezer, this would have been necessary no matter what.
In the dutch oven, I warmed oil and then sauteed the onion. After five minutes, I added garlic, peppers, and salt and cooked for a couple of minutes before adding 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste and 1 Teaspoon of sweet paprika. After blending, I added the rice and blended it in.
After a couple of minutes of cooking the rice grains, I added the tomatoes, which included the quartered Tappy's heritage and a couple of handfuls of cabernet grape tomatoes. Then cooked for about five minutes.
Time to add stock. I brought it to a boil, dropped it to a simmer, and cooked it for fifteen minutes or so, until the stock had evaporated.
I used jasmine rice, which is what we had. It's a medium grain, so it worked fine.
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