Smoked Paprika on 🍽️ Recipes & ⚗️ Analysis by Diego

Mexican Black Bean, Corn and Paprika Soup

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mexican Black Bean, Corn and Paprika Soup

Black bean and corn soup is a classic Mexican soup, which calls for pre-cooking the black beans and a few ingredients that are hard to find outside Central America. This is a simplified version, 100% plant-based, made in a single pot, with only the recipe's core ingredients. The chilli is listed as optional, meaning you add more or less to taste, or leave it out. Leaving it out does change the final result noticeably: you get a more delicate soup, in which the creamy notes of the beans and the sweetness of the corn come through more. The avocado is added sliced or diced, raw, straight onto the plate: it brings creaminess without altering the flavour. In this Mediterranean version the avocado, too, can be left out. What I do recommend is eating the soup with a rustic focaccina or the multicolour cloud focaccine or, for an extra flavour boost, with a vegetable schiacciata.

Savoury Sun-Dried Tomato and Paprika Parcels

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Savoury Sun-Dried Tomato and Paprika Parcels

Set the amount of ingredients you want to use with one of the two options below:

you can pick the number of servings with x1, x2, x3 and so on. Servings are indicative, adjust them to your preference.
you can set the amount of Fresh spinach (raw weight) you want to use. For example, if you want to use 340 grams, type 340 in the box below.

Quantity

Fresh spinach (raw weight) (min g, max g): g

1. Ingredients

Filling

Ingredient	Quantity
Fresh spinach (raw weight)	160 g
Cooked cannellini beans	70 g
Sun-dried tomatoes	60 g
Extra-virgin olive oil	10 g
Smoked paprika	2.5 g
Salt	1 g

Shell

Ingredient	Quantity
Crispy paprika pasta matta	1 batch

2. Method

Get ready (before you start)
Prepare the crispy paprika pasta matta and let it rest, covered, while you make the filling. For 320 g of spinach you can use 300 g of total pasta matta flour (150 g semolina + 150 g type 2).
For this recipe, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes work well. If you use dry ones to rehydrate (not oil-packed), pay attention to the seasoning: you can rehydrate them in hot water for 10-20 minutes until soft, then drain. Even so, they usually stay saltier than oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes.
Filling
Blanch the 160 g fresh spinach (see the note below on the amount of spinach) in water for 1-2 minutes, then drain. Alternatively, chop it into small pieces (do not use whole large leaves), boil for 1 minute in a pot/pan with boiling water, with a lid on, then drain the water and sauté for a few minutes in the pan to dry it.
Squeeze the spinach firmly to drain the water well. This step is important: the water left in the spinach then has to be compensated for with breadcrumbs, and it still risks coming out in the oven, soaking the pastry shell and making it tear. Better to spend time squeezing it well now than to fix it later.
Blend the squeezed spinach, the 70 g cooked cannellini beans (drained), the 60 g sun-dried tomatoes, the 10 g extra-virgin olive oil and the 2.5 g smoked paprika. Blending the paprika together with the oil is the right technique: the paprika's colour and aroma are fat-soluble and the oil extracts them with no risk of burning.
Blend to a thick, smooth cream. Taste and adjust for seasoning: sun-dried tomatoes are already very salty and rich in umami, so add the salt only if the taste calls for it, often it is not needed at all.
If the mixture is still too wet, stir in the breadcrumbs. Better to add them a little at a time and check the consistency.
Chill the filling while you roll out the dough: a cold, dry filling holds its shape better and seals without making the shell give way.
Shaping
Divide the pasta matta into balls and roll each into a disc. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre, leaving a generous free border all around. If you like, you can try more creative shapes, as shown in the photos.
Leave a few small openings, or use a toothpick to make a few holes on the top of the parcel: this lets the filling's steam escape in a controlled way during baking. A fully sealed parcel risks tearing at a random point and letting the filling out.
Keep the parcel's seam facing up (that is, not resting on the tray): otherwise, if the filling is a little watery, a seam facing down will open during baking and let the filling out onto the tray (learned from experience...).
Arrange the parcels on a lined baking tray and brush them with a film of olive oil (optional): it gives extra colour and crispness to the surface.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 200 °C static and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is well golden. The filling is already cooked: baking only serves to cook the pastry and firm up the filling by evaporating the residual water.
Straight out of the oven the filling will be soft: this is normal, it firms up as it cools. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

3. Storage

Let cool completely before storing.

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

Set the amount of ingredients you want to use with one of the two options below:

you can pick the number of servings with x1, x2, x3 and so on. Servings are indicative, adjust them to your preference.
you can set the amount of Medium couscous you want to use. For example, if you want to use 340 grams, type 340 in the box below.

Quantity

Medium couscous (min g, max g): g

1. Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Medium couscous	320 g
Medium courgettes	400 g (½ courgette)
Large aubergine	400 g (¼ aubergine)
Peppers (red and yellow)	400 g (½ pepper)
Large Tropea red onion	152 g (about ¼ onion)
Cooked chickpeas	248 g
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil	2 pieces
Pine nuts	30 g
Fresh mint	to taste
Basil	to taste
Lemon (juice and zest)	40 ml (¼ lemon)
Garlic	16 g (1 small clove)
Extra-virgin olive oil (for dressing)	4 g
Extra-virgin olive oil (for grilling and finishing)	to taste
Vegetable broth	360 ml
Salt, pepper	to taste
Smoked paprika	4 g

2. Method

Cut the 400 g courgettes and the 400 g aubergine into 5 mm slices, the 400 g peppers into quarters and the 152 g red onion into thick rings. Brush with a little oil and a pinch of salt. Grill on a hot griddle pan for 3-4 minutes per side until golden.
Once cool enough to handle, cut all grilled vegetables into 2-3 cm pieces and transfer to a large bowl.
Bring 360 ml vegetable broth to the boil. Place 320 g couscous in a bowl with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. Pour over the boiling broth, cover with a plate or lid and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
In a small bowl, whisk 4 g olive oil, 40 ml lemon juice with the grated zest, 16 g garlic finely grated, 4 g smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
In a dry frying pan, toast 30 g pine nuts over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Set aside.
In the bowl with the vegetables, add the fluffed couscous, 248 g chickpeas, 2 pieces sun-dried tomatoes sliced into thin strips and the lemon dressing. Toss gently. Add mint and basil torn by hand.
Divide among plates, top with the toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

3. Storage

Let cool completely before refrigerating.
Room temperature: keeps for 3-4 hours in a closed container. Beyond that, the grilled vegetables release liquid, the dish loses freshness and bacterial growth risk increases.
Refrigerator: up to 2 days in an airtight container. Before serving, bring back to room temperature and adjust with a drizzle of oil and a few drops of lemon.
Freezer: not recommended. Grilled vegetables lose their texture when thawed; the couscous becomes rubbery.

🌾 Want to explore couscous flavour bases further? Read the full guide.

Flavoured Bases for Couscous

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

🌾 Flavoured Bases for Couscous

A complete guide to preparing flavoured bases that turn couscous from a neutral side dish into the star of the plate.

1. The Base Liquid

The liquid chosen to hydrate the couscous plays a major role in the final flavour. Here are the main options.