EATING AROUND AMERICA

I’m home! After several weeks visiting friends and family in the United States, I am back in my kitchen in Spain. Picking lemons, inspecting the ripening tomatoes, gloating over the onion harvest, pouring out my own olive oil, I am glad to be here.

But I am remembering some wonderful food that I ate in the US, from New York to Atlanta to New Orleans. Let me share some of the flavors of my travels.

Coming in to New York from the airport, I was amazed at how many trailer-trucks we passed hauling fresh eggs, milk, produce, meat. Caused me to think about what’s involved—growing, harvesting, packing, transporting, selling, cooking—in provisioning a city like New York.  What a lot of food, day in and day out!

My first New York taste (after friend Donna Gelb’s fregola and tuna salad) was of wood-fired, crisp crust pizza with grilled escarole salad at a neighborhood osteria. Satisfied, I took my jet-lagged self to bed.

New herring, Grand Central Oyster Bar.

 The following day we walked, more than I have ever walked on pavement, I in thin-soled shoes. By evening, I had blisters on the bottoms of my feet. The lunch destination was Grand Central Oyster Bar (in Grand Central Station) for the June herring festival. We ate new herring, shipped in daily from the North Sea port in the Netherlands, simply served with a garnish of chopped egg and onion.

Parsnips at the Union Square Greenmarket.

Shopping for food in New York was a delight. Such variety! One day we trekked to the Union Square Greenmarket, an open-air farmers’ market right in the bustling city. Farmers, bakers and artisan food producers show their wares in 140 stalls.

Shopping for ingredients to make paella (see that story here), we stopped in Citarella, a store that started as a small neighborhood seafood market and became a top food destination. We got peeled shrimp plus some with heads-on, mussels and squid for the paella, then were tempted by soft-shell crabs, which I had never eaten before, and bluefish, fished from local waters. 

At home, Donna dusted the soft-shell crabs, a seasonal delicacy, with flour and pan-fried them. We ate them in their entirety, the shells a delicious crunch, with a sauce of roasted tomatoes. I could have eaten a few more! Bluefish, which Donna admitted to having ignored, she broiled with a little mustard. It was succulent, tasty. Loved it.

In Donna’s neighborhood is another famous food shop, Zabar’s, a deli plus everything. We picked up nova smoked salmon and freshly-baked bagels for breakfast. What a treat! These New York bagels with a poppy-seed topping are nothing like the sweet bagels you buy in supermarkets. Like Proust, I nearly swooned with food memories from long ago.

The New York meal I never got (we cancelled a dinner reservation) was sushi. I did get a private screening of a sushi movie directed and produced by Donna’s son, David Gelb (www.sushimovie.com for a trailer). “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” is a documentary and biopic of Tokyo’s legendary Jiro Ono depicting the artistry, character and family drama of a modest (3-star) restaurant. The film will show at September’s San Sebastian (Spain) film festival.

From cosmopolitan New York I flew to Atlanta to visit my son Daniel Searl, his wife Eli and my grandsons, Lucas 6, and Nico, 3.  Daniel, who grew up in Spain and is bilingual, is director of Hispanic Student Development at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta. Eli (a tennis coach who works at an insurance company) is Venezuelan. At home they speak Spanish with the kids, who learn English at school. So, these kids, too, are growing up bilingual. The kids eat pizza and chicken nuggets, but also arepas (corn meal buns filled with cheese and meat) cooked at home by Eli. Lucas orders chicken-broccoli from Chinese take-out.

Atlanta has a great place to shop, maybe the greatest I’ve seen anywhere in the US, because you can find just about anything you want there. It’s the Dekalb Farmers Market, just outside Atlanta. It’s not really a farmers’ market, in that by no means all is locally grown. It’s a huge warehouse building, chock-full of fresh produce, fresh fish and shellfish, meat, wine, cheese and dry staples. What’s impressive is the range of imported items. Here’s where we go to get real Spanish rice for paella, several brands of OLIVE OIL FROM SPAIN, wines from Spain. Or six types of rice from India; coffees from Guatemala; quinoa from wherever, amazing selection of spices and herbs. I love to chat with ethnic cooks, chefs, tourists, who throng the market. I buy stuff to bring back to Spain!  

My favorite meal while in Atlanta was steak grilled in the backyard (with a supermarket teriyaki marinade) with corn on the cob. Love the corn! I drizzle extra virgin olive oil on it.

Daniel and Eli enjoy barbecued ribs at Fat Matt's.

One lunchtime we all went to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, for Atlanta-style barbecue. Delicious ribs, chicken and pulled pork with a sauce in perfect balance, a little hot, a little tangy, a little sweet. One of the side dishes was Brunswick stew, a Georgia favorite. I looked up the recipe and made this summer stew at home a few days later—chicken pieces dusted in flour and fried, then braised with tomatoes, corn and peppers.

Oysters at Drago's.

On to New Orleans. My sister, Elaine John, met me at the airport and we went straight to Drago’s in Metairie for a late-afternoon snack of fire-grilled oysters dusted with Parmesan. So good.

Later, husband VJ took us out to a local joint, The Boiling Pot, where three of us consumed 8 pounds of crawdads. You peel the crustaceans and eat the sweet-fleshed tails. Elaine and VJ outpaced me, but I must have consumed a couple pounds.

Another evening, at a local joint, we started with a couple dozen oysters on the half-shell. We were told that Gulf oyster beds have gradually recuperated after, first Katrina, then the oil spill. For a long time, Elaine said, New Orleans restaurants served oysters from elsewhere. Anybody can tell the difference, she said. The Gulf oysters are less briny than, for instance, those from the Pacific Northwest.

I followed with “down-home” catfish, a freshwater fish, now farmed. Fried in a crunchy batter, it was juicy and served with the typical New Orleans “cocktail sauce,” tomato ketchup with a sinus-clearing dollop of horseradish. I laughed with pleasure as my eyes teared up. The side? hush puppies, nuggets of corn meal mush, deep-fried until crunchy.

Morning Coffee,  New Orleans Institution.

On a day-trip into New Orleans (Elaine lives about 45 minutes away), we stopped for coffee at Morning Call, a New Orleans institution in Metairie and the French Quarter, for coffee with foamy milk and fried beignets. And, with all the restaurant options in New Orleans, where did we go for lunch? To a Spanish tapas bar, Rio Mar (800 South Peters), for fish in escabeche, really good mussels with chorizo and a couple glasses of Albariño wine.

Mussels with chorizo, a Spanish dish.

I had a long haul back to Spain—New Orleans to Atlanta to JFK, then a direct flight (Delta Airlines) to Málaga. On a two-hour layover in Atlanta, in order to avoid the food court, I wandered into a so-called sushi restaurant, One Flew South, and ordered, of all things, a hamburger! Grilled medium rare, with 5-spice fries, accompanied by a Spanish garnacha red wine, it was another great meal in America!

PAELLA, MADE IN THE USA

(Photo by Donna Gelb.)

When I go traveling, I pack a kit with saffron, pimenton and Spanish rice so that I can prepare paella for my hosts where I am staying.We go out shopping for good olive oil from Spain, chicken and seafood and return to the kitchen to work together. On this trip to the US, I've made paella in New York with my friend Donna Gelb and two more with my son Daniel and his wife Eli's family in the Atlanta area. I've got one more paella stop on this trip, in New Orleans with my sister. (See the end of this blog for pictures of the New Orleans edition of paella.)

Paella in a New York kitchen.(Photo by David Gelb)

Paella made-in-the-USA usually requires some substitutions. First of all, there's the problem of the paella pan. The authentic pan is wide and flat, originally intended to set over a wood fire, and doesn't fit very well on a stove top. So I rummage in kitchens until I find a deep skillet or flat-bottomed wok that will hold the rice, chicken and seafood.

The shopping list. Good extra virgin olive oil is essential for paella. It gives authentic flavor. And medium-short-grain rice. If I can't find real Spanish rice, I substitute Italian arborio rice. Shrimp, clams or mussels and squid, if I can get it, because it adds so much flavor. I like to get boneless chicken thighs and cut them into three or four pieces, so that they cook quickly with the sofrito.Green beans, cut in short lengths and par-boiled, and one artichoke, cut in sixths and added to the sofrito.

Paella ingredients.

Once all the ingredients are prepped, the cooking takes less than an hour--about 20 minutes for the sofrito, 20 minutes for the rice and another 10 minutes for the paella to rest.

Paella is a process of developing flavor, as each ingredient is added to the pan. Don't fret about the chicken or the shrimp overcooking--it's purpose is to produce flavorful rice. I like to use some unpeeled shrimp to garnish the finished paella. I saute them in the oil before beginning the sofrito, as that adds flavor to the oil.

Shrimp to flavor the olive oil.

In my own kitchen in Spain, I make a stock of shrimp heads and peels, chicken bones, plus liquid from steaming open clams or mussels. But working in someone else's kitchen, I find it easier to purchase ready-made low-sodium chicken broth. Either add the broth to the pan and bring it to a boil before adding the rice or else heat the broth in another pan and add to the rice in the paella.

Daniel adds shrimp to the paella.

About the saffron: because it's so expensive to buy in the US, I bring it from Spain. I try to find only the best saffron with denominacion de origen La Mancha. Crush the saffron threads in a small mortar (or tea cup if you don't have a mortar) and add about 1/4 cup very warm water. Let the saffron infuse 10 minutes or longer. If you don't have saffron, use a drop or two of yellow food coloring plus pimenton (Spanish paprika, but not the smoked kind).

Dinner guest, Giselle, helps with the paella.

One important tip: once the rice, chicken, seafood and broth have been combined, bring everything to a boil, then DON'T STIR THE PAELLA AGAIN. Unlike risotto, for paella, you want to avoid developing the starch, or the rice will be gummy. Cook on a high heat for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the rice is al dente.

Remove from the heat, tent with foil and allow to rest at least 10 minutes. The rice will finish cooking.

This photo by Giselle Martin is from her blog about making paella. See her story at Inspired Life & Home.

Eli serves paella a la americana.

PAELLA A LA AMERICANA

To serve 6.

6-12 mussels or clams, steamed open, liquid strained and reserved

4 ounces green beans, cut in short lengths and cooked until tender

6 large unpeeled shrimp, with heads on if possible

1/4 cup olive oil

4-5 boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces

12 ounces squid, cleaned and cut in rings

1 large artichoke, trimmed, cut in sixths, choke cut out

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 cups medium-short grain rice

4 cups chicken broth, clam liquid or water

pinch of saffron, crushed and mixed in 1/4 cup water

1 pound peeled shrimp

freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

strips of roasted red pepper for garnish

lemon wedges for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the whole, unpeeled shrimp and saute them until pink on both sides. Remove the shrimp and reserve.

Add the pieces of chicken to the oil and saute on a medium-high heat until they are browned on both sides. Add the squid and fry. Add the peppers and garlic and continue sauteing. Add the artichokes. (If you cut them immediately before adding to the pan, they do not need to be rubbed with lemon.) Next add the tomatoes and the liquid.

Bring the liquid to a boil and add the rice. Stir it in to combine all the ingredients. Stir in the saffron, pepper and salt to taste (depending on the saltiness of the stock). Let everything cook on a medium- heat for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to low and continue to cook until rice is just tender, about 15 minutes more.

Scatter the green beans over the top of the paella. Place the sauteed shrimp and cooked clams or mussels on top and garnish with strips of red pepper. Remove from heat, cover with foil and let the paella rest 10 minutes. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

In Louisiana, easy to find shrimp with heads, but mussels came from Canada!

VJ and paella, Louisiana style.

 

 

Cousins Avril and Pat in LA.