Dianne mentioned smoked paprika in the last comments section and I felt compelled to echo her sentiment that this is the best and most fabulous ingredient of the year!! Without a doubt, the container of El Rey De La Vera that I brought back from Spain in 2006 has been the most exciting addition to la cuisine de PeaceBang.
I just ordered four tins of it to give out at Christmas with two of my best recipes: one for chicken wings and the other for a rice-pepper-kielbasa sensation that I invented. Neither of these recipes are low-salt or low-fat, that’s for sure! I will henceforth take it as a personal challenge to create some recipes that use lots of vegetables and no salt-heavy add-ins.
Meanwhile, get yourself some of this heavenly stuff and experiment! I like the hot version (picante) but I’m sure that dulce (sweet) is delicious, too.
Crescent Dragonwagon (yes really) has a great recipe in Passionate Vegetarian for a carrot & paprika spread/dip that is good with crispy pita. It’s even better with the smoky paprika.
Boil 6 whole carrots for 4-5 min. Drain.
Put carrots, 1 red onion (quartered) and 1 head of garlic (cut in half top/bottom) in a roasting pan, drizzle with oil and a bit of tamari/shoyu.
Bake at 375 till carrots are quite soft, with dark patches.
Cut the ends of the carrots, remove skin from onion, squeeze garlic out of its skin, and put it all in a food processor with 2t cumin, 2t (smoked) paprika, a bit of cayenne, 1T oil and a bit of water or vegetable stock. Blend till smooth.
Add more tamari/shoyu to taste.
It’s better after a day or two. I know it sounds strange, but it’s wonderful.
OOoh, thanks for the tip! I think I’m going to get me some of that!
I know this post is over a year old but I had to comment on one of my favorite secret ingredients!
I make the best greens in the world by sauteing chopped swiss chard with toasted sesame oil, a little white wine, a LOT of smoked paprika and a dash of cumin.
And, I make an very quick dip for crudite, toast, or chips from nonfat greek yoghurt, more smoked paprika than seems prudent, just a little mayo and salt.