Smoked Paprika Gravy

Smoked paprika is dried peppers smoked over oak, so it carries a smell you would normally only get from a barbecue. Blooming it in fat rather than stirring it into liquid is what stops it tasting dusty. This one is good with roast chicken, pork, chorizo and sausages, and it is very good poured over roast potatoes on its own.

Ingredients

Makes about 450ml, enough for four plates

• 2 tbsp olive oil or chicken fat
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika pimentón dulce, not hot and not plain paprika
• 1½ tbsp plain flour
• 500ml (18fl oz) hot chicken stock
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• salt and black pepper to taste

Kit

• Saucepan
• Balloon whisk
• Measuring jug

Method

1. Warm the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for six minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook for one minute more without letting it colour past pale gold.

2. Turn the heat down to low. Add the smoked paprika and stir it into the oil for twenty to thirty seconds only. It should go glossy and the smell should fill the kitchen. Any longer on a high heat and it turns bitter and grey.

3. Add the tomato purée and cook for another thirty seconds, stirring, until it darkens slightly from bright red to brick.

4. Scatter in the flour and stir it through. Cook for a minute over a low heat, keeping everything moving, because the paprika is already in and it will scorch if you let the base of the pan get too hot.

5. Pour in a third of the hot stock and whisk to a smooth paste, then add the rest in two goes and bring it to a simmer.

6. Simmer gently for six minutes, whisking now and then. The gravy will turn a deep rust colour and thicken enough to coat a spoon.

7. Stir in the sherry vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Taste. Smoked paprika builds as it sits, so if it seems mild now it will be stronger by the time it reaches the table.

Tips worth knowing

• Two teaspoons in 500ml is right. Three tips the gravy into tasting like a barbecue sauce and the texture goes slightly gritty.
• Paprika burns faster than almost anything else in a spice rack. Off the heat or on the lowest setting, thirty seconds, then liquid. That is the whole rule.
• Buy paprika in small tins and replace it every six months. Old paprika is dull, brownish and mostly tastes of dust.
• If you only have hot smoked paprika, use one teaspoon of that and one teaspoon of ordinary sweet paprika to keep the heat sensible.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for three months. The smoke flavour holds up well to freezing, better than most spices. Reheat gently with a splash of stock.

Questions people ask