One of the stars of our Catalan dinner was the Rabbit Paella with Artichokes. Many of the dishes on our menu were Pescatarian, a nod to the thriving fish markets in Barcelona and the whole Catalan region. To balance this out, I wanted to add some meat to our menu. Chicken seemed boring, and I have been cooking a lot of lamb of late, so I decided to go with some game. I couldn’t get my hands on more venison in time, so I decided to go for rabbit.
Category: Weeknight Dinner
Mussels in Escabeche
I was really excited to cook some mussels and decided that they would fit perfectly in the first course. I wanted something light and flavorful, that would give the guests an opportunity to make a bit of a mess and dip some bread into the delicious broth. The broth can be cooked in advance and reheated when you are ready to serve. The broth gives beauty to this fairly expensive and easy to cook dish. Slowly roasted veggies are extenuated with fish stock, paprika, and a mixture of white wine and vinegar. It is really amazing. I will keep the Escabeche on hand in my freezer for future mussel cravings! Serve it with some crusty bread like Baguette or Ciabatta!
Curried Carrot Soup with Roast Rainbow Carrots
I have been wanting to prepare something bright and colorful, and I came across organic rainbow carrots at Wegmans the other day. The beautiful colors inspired me to go for a curry. Honestly, I wanted the excuse to add some turmeric to see how pretty the soup would be…and I had some ginger laying around in the fridge, waiting for a purpose.
Provençal Greens Soup
Provençal Greens Soup is my get rid of leftovers meal. And it is awesome! I always manage to buy the wrong amounts of kale, or spinach, leeks, or some other green for my recipes and they sit there staring at me from the fridge. I combine them together to create this soup. A couple of eggs help to thicken and bring heartiness to the dish.
Squid Rice with Shrimp and Aioli
I have been particularly interested in squid ink. I love the idea of it and have wanted to use it for a very long time, I figured this would be my opportunity. Here, we combine squid ink and calamari to create a wonderful tinny, “oceany” flavor. The black rice is enlivened with coral shrimp or prawns (I didn’t have prawns on hand but believe it would be a more delicious flavor/presentation) and a garlicky aioli. Find my Aioli recipe here.
Couscous and Halloumi Salad with Kale and Roast Winter Veggies
This dinner was inspired by Blue Apron. Or rather, the occasional inefficiency of the shipper they use Laser Ship. Laser Ship insisted that they delivered my box on Tuesday as usual, but it was not on my porch when I looked, and the “3:31 pm” delivery time that they quoted was actually when I was scraping ice off of my front stoop. Wouldn’t you know it, my groceries “appeared” on my step on Friday evening.
Spinach Catalana with Polenta and Soft Boiled Eggs
Spinach Catalana with Polenta and Soft Boiled Egg Daria Souvorova 20 minutes serves: 5-6 We have been eating less meat of late, and when I realized I forgot a few pounds of spinach in the back of the fridge, I decided to salvage it by cooking it. I have been reading about Catalan Spinach, which…
Creamy Semolina Polenta
I posted my Civet of Venison recipe yesterday and hinted at a beautiful polenta for it to sit on, so I wanted to share my new polenta recipe today! Polenta is so filling in the winter and so incredibly easy to make, I am obsessed! You can buy “polenta” in beautifully decorated baggies or boxes for $6 to serve four, or you can stroll to the international market and buy a couple pounds of Semolina for a dollar or two. I choose the latter.
Chez Nous 