Smoked Spanish Paprika

In my last update, I talked about how important spice is for a vegetarian cook.  One such spice gives food such a bacony flavor that no vegetarian should ever overlook it.  I am referring to smoked paprika.

Paprika itself is an interesting beast.  It comes from the air-drying of chili peppers which are then ground into a powder.  Hungarians go absolutely nuts over their paprika (I mean...  I get it.  I would too!) and have different varieties according to soil type, sweetness, parts of the pepper used...  I'm sure wine connoisseurs are nodding right now.  But that's not what I'm here to talk about right now.  I'm here to talk about Spain's take on paprika.

Pimentón de la Vera, usually called Spanish paprika in English, is not air dried.  Instead, the fruits of the peppers are smoked.  Different varieties are made by removing the seeds or even adding other types of spicy pepper.  The smokey taste is known for being almost meaty and it's used primarily in Spanish stews.  Apparently festivals are thrown where patron saints are thanked.  Considering what Spain's other festivals are like, I can only imagine...

(like this, only paprika)

Now, the paprika we're used to in the US has almost no flavor.  People insist that its main use is for coloring.  Don't talk to those people.  You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.  While nobody would mistake the taste of pimentón for bacon, it has that same smokey flavor that can also be found in really well cooked bacon.  This can be further amplified with cheese.  As such, I have a recipe that involves both pimentón and cheese.

No thanks needed, really.

Always be careful when buying your spices.  I haven't really gone into spice shopping tips too much yet, but suffice to say quality makes a huge difference.  This is one of the few times when I'll reccomend buying a tin over buying bagged.  Paprika is especially good at turning into red sawdust, and most spice shops aren't very good at keeping their supply fresh.  If you trust the owner to only sell fresh, quality spices, though, go for it.

What you're looking for here is called a number of names, but smoked paprika, Spanish paprika and pimentón de la Vera are all names to watch for.  The three main types are dulce (sweet), agridulce (bittersweet) and picante (hot).  I don't prefer picante but only because recipes that call for pimentón are made with dulce in mind.  However, it's all about preference, and as the internet has taught me, everyone's opinion is REALLY IMPORTANT AND YOU NEED TO HEAR IT RIGHT NOW valid when it comes to food.