Paprika - what you get when salt and pepper get married and have a baby. Just kidding! Anyone who has ever seen Blue's Clues will get the reference because that's immediately what comes to mind when I think of paprika.
I had some baked potatoes slices yesterday that I wanted to try to turn into mashed potatoes because mashed potatoes are probably my favorite food ever. Two problems: the potatoes has already been cooked and I didn't have any milk. Time to improvise! Lesson one - remember to heat up the potatoes first. Otherwise, the beater will fling them EVERYWHERE in your kitchen. I swear I don't know from personal experience. I decided to use Cream Cheese in place of milk. While, not exactly healthy, delicious none the less. Since I was already experimenting, I thought I would throw in some Paprika. I liked it.
Here is what the experts have to say about it:
Paprika, Capsicum annuum, is a sweet-to-mildly hot cultivar of the chile pepper of the family Solanaceae. It is cultivated for its fruit, which are dried and used as a spice or seasoning. C.annuum is a native of South America; however it is cultivated most extensively in Hungary. The English word was borrowed directly from Hungarian, which in turn borrowed the term from the adjacent Slavic peoples, among whom the word has survived since its inception in Proto Indo-European (p+p+r). Modern variations of the word exists in most European languages. The word "paprika" can be used to describe both the fruit and the spice.
http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Paprika
Culinary Uses
Paprika is intimately associated with Hungarian cuisine especially paprikash and goulash. Many spiced sausages incorporate it, including the Spanish chorizos. Paprika is often used as a garnish, spinkled on eggs, hors d’ouvres and salads for colour. It spices and colours cheeses and cheese spreads, and is used in marinades and smoked foods. It can be incorporated in the flour dusting for chicken and other meats. Many Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish recipes use paprika for soups, stews, casseroles and vegetables. In India paprika is sometimes used in tandoori chicken, to give the characteristic red colour. Paprika is an emulsifier, temporarily bonding with oil and vinegar to make a smooth mixture for a salad dressing.
Paprika is intimately associated with Hungarian cuisine especially paprikash and goulash. Many spiced sausages incorporate it, including the Spanish chorizos. Paprika is often used as a garnish, spinkled on eggs, hors d’ouvres and salads for colour. It spices and colours cheeses and cheese spreads, and is used in marinades and smoked foods. It can be incorporated in the flour dusting for chicken and other meats. Many Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish recipes use paprika for soups, stews, casseroles and vegetables. In India paprika is sometimes used in tandoori chicken, to give the characteristic red colour. Paprika is an emulsifier, temporarily bonding with oil and vinegar to make a smooth mixture for a salad dressing.
via http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/paprika.html
No comments:
Post a Comment