Paprika.

This little magical powder has the power to flavour the meal that you are preparing. Paprika is made of Red pepper which has been dried and grounded. Different type of Paprika does exist: Yellow, Orange and Red. But also flavours distinguish them all Smoked and Unsmoked, Spicy and the one that is Sweet. In Spain it can also be called Pimenton.

Red Peppers.

From Breakfast till Midnight you can Jazz up many dishes with a pinch, a tea spoon or even a heaped table spoon of Paprika.

Breakfast: How about fried Egg and Bacon on Toast? You can be indulgent and choose a lovely thick slice of Sourdough Bread. Brush with a little Salted and Melted Butter your Slice. Put it under the Grill along with Smoked Bacon Rashers. I tend to put a very light drizzle of Pine Honey upon the Bacon and the Bread. As the grilling time start, fry you Egg and season it with Sea Salt, Cracked Black Peppercorn and a little Pinch of Smoked Paprika. Once everything is done to your visual appreciation, the Bread goes on the plate first, on top comes the couple or three Bacon Rashers then it is topped by the Fried Egg which delivers with its Yolk, some Paprika seasoned goodness. You will want to sing 'Here comes the Sun'... New Morning and be happy to have one. I had another seizure last night but I am there still and my blindness didn't last. A big fat Yolk sprinkled with Paprika makes a sunshine for the morning: 'Here comes the Sun, little Darlings, it's alright'...

Here comes the Sun' by Nina Simone

Brunch: There is a very filling Brunch under the Sun 'Huevos Rancheros'. It is a Mexican dish but it is so liked that it has different versions of it all over the World. My version uses a large frying pan in which you render a chopped Spanish White Onion soft within a little Chilli Oil. Add a minced peeled Garlic Clove or two then a chopped Red Chilli with seeds or without seeds. (Ancho/ Poblano Chilli is the variety you desire in that dish).

Ancho Chilli from my Garden.

Next add chopped fresh Tomatoes (roughly chopped with the pulp, 8 for two people). Pour a tin of chopped Tomatoes with its Tomato Juice. Then comes the addition of roasted Romesco Peppers, cut into strips or chunks. They are usually easy to find preserved in oil in a jar. Just a couple of them will do. 

Dried and Preserved in a Jar Home Made but can find some in the Supermarket very easy to handle, slippery and soft but just as tasty and convenient.

Afterwards while everything is simmering together, put a Bay Leaf (Which you will not eat but will infuse the dish with some flavour), crushed Coriander Seeds and a heaped table spoon of Smoked Paprika. Give everything a good stir and adjust the seasoning Sea salt and crushed Black Pepper. Make little nests, spaces within the frying pan to drop four eggs then let them fry gently within your Tomato and Pepper Mix. Once you have the White of the Eggs set, the dish is ready. Finish it off with chopped Coriander Leaves and serve it with soft warm Tortilla. This is a proper Brunch which will make you forget to have Lunch up until Dinner time.

Coriander which is a very well liked Herb but one which is very much disliked as well.

However I will not forget to speak about Lunch with a taste of Paprika all the way through it. First you must choose your day and know when it will be a nice and a hot Summer day. This is a watch out the weather forecast before you place those calls and invite some close friends for a Summertime Noon BBQ party. If the Sun is at its apogee within the sky and your mates have days off but are stuck in town and can't go to the sea side (too far, too expensive, need to work the day after but still want to enjoy themselves on a nice Summer day...) then it is the right time to do a garden party which makes them remember of the Sea with a big S. It is Summertime after all.

Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald sang by Natalie King.

Now a Sea and Sun theme can run through it. Imagine a Seafood and Fish platter to share, a couple of Salads, and some BBQued Vegetables... For the Fish platter, I would say Sardines are a perfect Fish to BBQ or Chargrilled. Whitebait and Calamari makes nice addition too for the platter but fried and with a little preparation. Simply prepare some Flour (Make sure you did ring your Calamari or asked you Fishmonger to do so), so for the Flour of your choice sieve it to make it very fine like silk. Then season it with a little Paprika and Salt and Black Pepper. Dust your Whitebait and Calamari within the seasoned Flour and they are ready to be gently deep fried.

  A variety on offer is always welcomed by the guests. Not everyone like Squid like I do.

Now you can also do skewers of large King Prawns to be Barbecued. You can marinate them beforehand with yogurt in a method which is called Silking. Add to the yogurt some Paprika, a little minced Garlic and minced Ginger. A pinch of Black Sesame Seeds will not go amiss. Prepare the Skewers with three of the Prawns each interspaced by a chopped square of Red Sweet Bell Pepper. Then it is BBQ time.

 Tiger Prawns and King Prawns are perfect for the BBQ due to their size.

You can enhance to your Fish and Sea Food Platter by adding two more elements: Skewers of Monkfish Tails and Steamed Mussels. For the Skewers, it is a slice of Monkfish Tail, a Cherry Plum Tomato, sliced Chorizo and a square bit of chopped Red Onion, alternate to get your Skewer pack full of meaty Fish and Chorizo, and that is it, put the Skewers to cook upon the BBQ. 

Monkfish Tail, it is a Meaty Fish which can hold together with the BBQ treatment.

For the Mussels, just 500 g of them can be steamed within a foil parcel  upon the BBQ. Pour a little dry Sherry in the parcel along with a spoon of Paprika and a chopped and peeled Garlic. Add chopped Parsley and steam away unti your Mussels are nicely opened. It will enhance the Platter. Keep the cooking Liqueur in a little jug for pouring upon the cooked Mussels at the guests' will.

Mussels can be served in their separate dish by the side of the Sea Food platter. Or/and you can add a glass full of toothpicks for your guests to help themselves to them.

For the two Salads but also to keep with the Sea Side Theme or give the Theme to a London Garden party, you can build up a Crab Salad. It goes by shredding an Iceberg lettuce, put it upon a platter or a bowl. You can even make it dainty seventies and serve everything in individual Coctail glasses. Place the White Meat of the Crab in the centre along with the Brown Meat with a dash of Paprika in the platter. (I prefer serving this Salad upon a platter). Add some sliced Radishes and some pickled Mooli in little string nests. Then the last ingredients will be Watercress Leaves, Baby Watercress for pepperiness and the Dressing, a light White Wine Vinegar one with Virgin Olive Oil. 

The Meat of a Crab is delicious by itself but you can mix it with a little Paprika.

The second Salad presented in a large bowl is made with Chinese crispy Seaweed, cooked Samphire, sliced Cucumber, sliced Spring Onions, Bamboo Shoots and Barbecued Heart of Palms, cut in chunks after the heat... Unusual but Vegetarian. You can put a little jug of Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette made with a dash of Sake instead of Wine, and use Rice Wine Vinegar to do it, put it on the side for anyone to help themself to their own taste.

Samphire is a Marsh Plant used to grow in a coastal habitat therefore bringing a little welcomed saltiness to a dish or salad.

Barbecued Veg like Aubergines, Red Peppers and Courgettes can be served to complete the party and menu seasoned with Salt and Pepper and Paprika. Don't forget the dips for everything: from a simple Mayo with Paprika to Romesco Sauce to a lovely sharp Tartar one and a Marie Rose one.

I hope this gave you a lot of ideas to use the full of the warmth of a Spice which is Paprika.