I love cooking "fideus a la cassola" or paella on weekends for lunch, when there's plenty of time and we start eating between 15:00 and 16:00... There is nothing more relaxing than being in the kitchen with my thoughts, preparing the dishes for the family with some music on the radio, and drinking a cold beer while I start cooking.
There's two big differences between today's recipe and
this one: the first difference is the noodle. The ones I used in this recipe are made of wheat flour and also are organic, so there are no pesticides involved in the process which is an extra bonus to the dish.
And the second difference is that I added a "picada" at the end of the dish. For those of you who don't know what a picada is, make sure you write it down because it's a basic in Catalan cuisine: In a mortar pour some salt, some toasted almonds/hazelnuts, some dry bread, garlic and parsley. Smash it all and there you are! Ingredients can vary from one dish to another.
So, this is the noodles casserole I prepared for my family this weekend. It's a really easy dish and it will give you energy for an afternoon walk through the forest or through the streets of your city. My daddy became 80 and we got together for the occasion. The sun was shining and we had a great time! See my papi on the left side. He doesn't look that old, does he?
Will you recognise me without my apron? ;D
Ingredients for 4 servings: 1 rabbit cut in 8 pieces, 250 grs of wheat flour noodles, 1 onion, 200 grs of fried canned tomatoe, 1 green pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 10 toasted hazelnuts, a slice of 2 days ago bread, some parsley, salt, black ground pepper and chicken broth.
- Pour enough olive oil in the casserole to golden up the rabbit. Salt and pepper the rabbit pieces and when the olive is hot, place in the casserole.
- In a big pot heat up the chicken broth.
- When the rabbit goldens up place the onion (cut in small dices) and when transparent, add the pepper cut in dices too and the garlic. When soft, add the tomatoe sauce and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the noodles and stir for 1 more minute. Then add the boiling broth to the casserole (enough to hardly cover the rabbit). Let it simmer until the noodles are done. Mine took 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the picada: In a morter place the toasted hazelnuts, some salt, the bread, the other garlic clove, and some parsley. Smash it, pour some of the casserole sauce in it and stir. Pour inside the casserole 2 minutes before the dish is done.
- Let the noodles rest for another 3 minutes outside the heat.
- Time to eat!
Trying to get cool pictures, but still being so far away from
Peter's methods and photographs!
