Smoked Paprika & Roasted Garlic Butter
Smoked paprika is made from drying red peppers over an oak fire while sweet paprika is air-dried. Interestingly, there’s no one specific chile pepper used to make the spice, which is why the flavor can change from brand to brand and from region to region. There are generally three different origins of paprika: Spanish, Hungarian, and generic (usually made from Californian peppers). Hungarian is considered the most flavorful while Spanish paprika is generally made from sweeter varieties. Most often, smoked paprika comes from Spain, however, they do have strict rules on how much is produced and exported, choosing to focus on traditional drying and smoking techniques (as ever, Europeans believe in quality vs quantity).
Despite which smoked paprika you buy, make sure it’s fresh. Paprika has a pretty short shelf-life - about 6 months - before it loses its flavor. Paprika also tends to burn easily and quickly because of its naturally high sugar content so be cautious of your heat when cooking with it as it will taste bitter.
Smoked Paprika & Roasted Garlic Butter
makes 1 lb of butter
shopping list —
1# butter
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 head of garlic
equipment —
food processor
steps —
Pull the pound of butter to room temperature.
Roast the garlic. Here’s a few ways you can do this:
On the stovetop: Peel the garlic cloves. In a pot, add the garlic and add neutral oil to cover. Cook gently over low heat until golden brown. Strain off the oil and reserve for future recipes.
In the oven: Cut off the top of the garlic head so all the cloves are exposed. Drizzle with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Wrap in aluminum foil and roast at 400ºF for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Squeeze out the cloves while warm.
In a food processor, add the butter, roasted garlic, salt, and smoked paprika. Blitz until combined.
Roll the butter if desired.
The butter will last about 3 weeks in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer if wrapped well.
Suggested Uses:
roast chicken, fish, mussels and clams, roasted potatoes, melt the butter and pour over popcorn or hummus with za’atar, grilled oysters, or stir into brothy butter beans with fennel
