Paprika: Recipes and Gastronomic Use

How to use Pimentón? 3 Tasty Recipes to Make the Most of the Smoky Notes of Spanish Paprika

The Pimentón de la Vera, or Spanish paprika, is the secret ingredient that makes Spanish cuisine special. A sweet and smoky spice that allows you to add a fragrant aroma to the dishes in which it is used. Whether paired with meat, vegetables, or fish, Pimentón is a cornerstone of Spanish tradition. Let's discover together some recipes starring this smoked paprika.

Pimentón: Inevitable Fragrance of Spanish Cuisine

What is Pimentón? It is essentially a paprika. All types of paprika, like sweet paprika, derive from varieties of the plant capsicum annum, native to South America. It was Columbus who brought it to Europe and, it is said, presented it to the royal couple Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon in a monastery in Extremadura, a Spanish region associated with Pimentón. It is said that the monks of that monastery then planted the seeds of that pepper, which is now cultivated throughout the southern part of Spain, especially in La Vera, where the Pimentón with protected designation of origin comes from.

But how is Pimentón de la Vera obtained? This spice has a lot to tell about Spanish history and tradition. In autumn, the peppers are harvested and dried over a fire of oak wood for about 10-15 days, a process that gives the spice its particular smokiness. Pimentón is therefore ahumado, smoked, and adds a very distinctive note to the dishes in which it is used.

On Terza Luna, you can find different varieties of Pimentón for sale online that depend on the plant and cultivar, with different levels of capsaicin, or spiciness:

• Pimentón dulce,
• Pimentón agrodulce,
• Pimentón picante.

Responsible for the aromatic flavor of chorizo and used to flavor stews, soups, and tapas, we want to share with you some simple but tasty recipes in which this paprika is able to enhance the flavor of the dish. Let's see how to use Pimentón in the best way, learning from the preparations of Spanish tradition.

Buy Pimenton de la Vera PDO online at Terzluna.com!

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Galician-Style Octopus

The Galician-style octopus, or polbo á feira, is one of the most traditional Spanish recipes, also known as Galician octopus. It is a dish based on octopus and potatoes, often served as a tapa, whose main ingredient is precisely pimentón, a spice widely used in local cuisine. According to Penelope Casas, food and wine writer and expert in Spanish cuisine, 'alla gallega' is anything prepared with paprika and olive oil.

In the reproduction of this dish, there is often a tendency to replace pimentón with a simple chili pepper, but those who have been in Galicia and have tasted the original recipe of Galician octopus with Pimentón de la Vera will notice the differences. The recipe we provide is the traditional one, for a soft and spicy octopus.

Difficulty: Medium

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg of Octopus
• 4 Large Potatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Half White Onion
• Parsley
• Pimentón de la Vera
• Coarse salt to taste

How to prepare Galician octopus? Here is the procedure:

• The first step is to clean the octopus. Fill a pot with water, add half an onion and coarse salt. Bring the water to a boil and dip the tentacles for a very short time three times in rapid succession. This will cause them to curl up and prevent the octopus skin from peeling off.
• After this process, completely immerse the octopus in boiling water and let it cook over low heat for about an hour. Then turn off the heat and let the octopus rest in its water for about 15 minutes.
• Drain the octopus, transfer it to a cutting board, and cut it into small pieces.
• Wash the potatoes and place them in a pot of water, bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain, let them cool, and remove the skin. Cut them into slices and arrange them on a serving plate.
• In a bowl, season the octopus with olive oil and Pimentón. Place the octopus on the sliced potatoes and sprinkle with parsley.

You can serve Galician octopus as a tapa, or in a bowl as a salad; in any case, you will be sure to enjoy a simple and tasty dish, enriched by the unique Spanish flavor of Pimentón.

Paella with Pimentón and Fish

Returning to Spanish tradition, specifically Valencian tradition this time, we cannot fail to appreciate the smoky taste of Pimentón in the classic paella, a cornerstone of Iberian cuisine. The paella is named after the typical pan in which it is prepared, ensuring even cooking of the rice. In this recipe, we offer a spiced version of paella with vegetables and fish. Essential in this preparation, as you can imagine, is the pan, which must be a paellera or a very large pan to ensure proper cooking.

Difficulty: Low

Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 400 g of Bomba Rice
• 1 sachet of saffron
• 1 tablespoon of Pimentón de la Vera
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Vegetable broth for cooking
• 12 Shrimp
• ½ kg of mussels
• ½ kg of clams
• 1 onion
• 150 g of peas
• 2 red bell peppers
• 200 grams of cuttlefish
• Salt to taste
• A glass of white wine
• Olive oil

Procedure: 

• Prepare the vegetables: finely chop garlic and onion, clean and cut the peppers into cubes.
• Put olive oil in the pan, heat it and cook the shrimp. Season with salt and remove them from the pan.
• Cook the mussels in the same pan, add salt and white wine, cover, and let them open. Remove them from the pan.
• Pour onion and garlic into the pan and sauté, then add the peppers and peas.
• Once cooked, add the cuttlefish sliced into strips, cook for about 5 minutes, and season with salt.
• Add the rice, making sure to toast it well. At this point, add the clams, Pimentón, saffron, and hot fish broth. The paella should cook for about 10 minutes without stirring.
• Once the broth is completely absorbed, turn off the heat and place the mussels and shrimp on the rice. Let the paella rest, covered, for at least 5 minutes to allow the rice to finish cooking.

Serve your Pimenton paella with lemon slices and a sprinkle of parsley! 

Goulash with Pimentón de la Vera

Although Pimentón comes from Spain, where paprika first arrived from America, we can find a strong tradition of this spice also in Hungary. Here, paprika is considered the national spice, and it is the star of its most famous dish, the goulash. Even though Hungary is much more famous for paprika, it is said that it was the Spanish king Carlos V who recommended it to his sister Maria of Austria, queen of Hungary and Bohemia.

Hungarian paprika is generally spicier than Pimentón, which can be found in the three variants sweet, bittersweet, and spicy. In this recipe, we wanted to propose a blend between two countries, offering you an 'Iberian-Hungarian' version of the famous stew.

If you love the taste of a meat and vegetable stew but find goulash too strong and pungent, we invite you to try this variant with sweet Pimenton for a deeper and smoother taste, but at the same time more delicate.

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg of beef
• 500 g of potatoes
• 2 medium-sized red peppers
• 1.5 l of beef broth
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 20 g of Pimentón
• A tablespoon of cumin seeds
• 1 clove of garlic
• Olive oil
• 2 chopped white onions
• Two tablespoons of flour
• 3 bay leaves
• 200 g of plum tomatoes

Procedure:

• In a high-sided saucepan, heat the oil with the chopped onion and cook until softened. Cut the beef into small pieces and brown it in the saucepan, stirring often.
• Once the meat is sealed, add the flour, Pimentón, and cumin seeds. Mix.
• Add the peeled garlic and diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and mix again. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the broth to cover the meat, cover with a lid, and let it cook for an hour and a half.
• Prepare the peppers. Cut them in half, remove the seeds, and cut them into strips. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Add them to the goulash.
• Mix and cook for another half an hour, adding broth if necessary.

Serve it hot, in a clay pot, with a final sprinkle of Pimentón and a spoonful of sour cream.

Where to find Pimentón de la Vera?

On Terza Luna you will find several varieties of Pimentón de la Vera from Spain to enrich your pantry with a special spice, for true connoisseurs! Discover Pimentón for sale online and amaze your guests with a new and intense flavor. We are an online spice e-shop and we take care to search for the best and rarest products and teas from around the world for our passionate customers. Also discover our section of spices and make your purchase now!

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Posted by Terza Luna