Smoked paprika

I gave my sister Lori a jar of smoked paprika when she came down to visit last month. Yesterday she asks me, "What do you use smoked paprika for?" My response was anything and everything. I guess I just got carried away with smoked paprika after reading some Spanish cookbooks. I'll be the first to admit that I use an awful lot of smoked paprika and Cayenne pepper. Those are my 'go-to' seasonings. I use that combo on meat, fish, poultry, veggies; basically everything. I love the combination of heat and smokiness.

After going for a 5 mile walk in the hills through Mission Trails Park, it was a little too late for a big, involved dinner. I also neglected to get a protein, so that pretty much ruled out a regular meal. No problem. Even I can make a vegetarian dish every now and then. I didn't want it too vegetarian, so I made sure that there was duck fat and beef broth involved.

The prep:

3 carrots-sliced
1 small cauliflower with florets cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup cauliflower leaves-sliced
1/2 onion-sliced
3 green onions-sliced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons of duck fat
1 tablespoon of butter

I heated the pan on medium and melted the duck fat. The carrot slices were the first in the pan. After the carrots were tender and had caramelized a little, I added the cauliflower. The cauliflower was sauteed until there was a some color on most of the florets. In went the cauliflower leaves, onion slices and green onion. After everything softened up a little I made a space in the center of the pan. The butter went in the center of the pan followed by the mushroom slices. As the mushrooms sauteed, I added the seasoning. I used my Santa Maria spice mix (salt, black pepper, garlic powder and parsley) and the old standby; Cayenne and smoked paprika. The pan was then deglazed with white wine. Once the wine had mostly evaporated I added the beef stock. This was reduced until nearly evaporated. If I had any cream in the fridge, I would have made a nice little cream sauce to boot. Oh well; it was very tasty even without the cream sauce. I actually put a little chimichurri sauce on my veggies. It just goes to show; with the help of a little duck fat you can even make a vegetarian dish taste good.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images