Table Talk
Paella
We used to be avid campers. When we got married, we gave each other sleeping bags and a tent, and took the 2nd week of our honeymoon to camp in Aspen Grove, a wonderful little campground in Golden Gate Canyon (which is now constantly booked up). However, a few years ago, we began to be cursed with incredibly bad luck when we went camping: no sooner would we get our tent and campsite set up then it would start raining. And it wouldn't stop. Once, we even left our soaked and leaking tent (to be retrieved later) and went home. We stopped bothering all together when the droughts hit--camping without a fire was pointless. But in February, Charlie and I sat down with our calendar, determined to get some camping dates set, long before summer came and gobbled up all of our weekends. As our first planned date approached, we made plans to head up Poudre Canyon. Friday was the big day. But, true to form, something came up at work for Charlie, and rather than being able to get done by noon, he knew he was buried until late Friday. There was no way we'd be able to get up to Poudre Canyon before dark. This wasn't going to happen.
Our weekend was saved by a phone call from Lynn and Mike, inviting us down to their house in Bell Mountain Ranch for some Paella, mojitos, and hot tubbing on Saturday night. Mike whipped up a fabulous pan of paella, full of scallops, chicken, shrimp, smoked sausage, mussels and rice. It was incredible! In fact, With food like this, who needs camping?
Paella
1/2 cup uncooked Valencian Rice
1 cup chicken stock per -- more if using Bomba
1/2 cup white wine
5 threads saffron (per person) -- dissolved in wine
4 tablespoons olive oil -- or more, to cover bottom of pan
2 chicken thighs
1/2 soft chorizo -- such as Bilbao or Palacios or smoked sausage
1/2 teaspoon Spanish Hot Smoked pimentón (paprika) -- I use more
1 clove garlic -- minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato -- finely chopped
2 large shrimp
2 small clams and/or mussels -- (2 to 4)
red piquillo peppers cut in strips
artichoke hearts, green beans or peas
cooked judíon beans (called garrofón in Valenciano) – optional
lemon wedges for garnish
Heat stock and keep warm. Toast saffron gently in a small pan. When aroma is released, add white wine. Allow to come to a boil then remove from heat. Heat pallera over medium heat, add olive oil and fry chicken. When chicken is golden and the juice runs clear, add garlic and onions and saute until translucent. Add chorizo and cook until heated. Add the rice, stirring until well coated with oil (about one minute). Add the paprika and grated tomato. Stir, add saffron flavored wine and hot stock. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of pan, then add piquillo pepper and artichoke hearts, green beans, cooked garrofón beans or peas. Adjust heat to maintain a slow boil. After about five minutes, add the seafood. Cook another 15 minutes, or until rice is done. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, garnish with lemon wedges and serve. (To ensure proper cooking, clams may be steamed in a separate pan, then added to the paella with their nectar substituting for some of the chicken stock).
Traditionally, Paella is not stirred during the second half of the cooking time. This produces a caramelized layer of rice on the bottom of the pan considered by many to be the best part. With a large pan, it is difficult to accomplish this on an American stove and you may prefer to stir the Paella occasionally or move the pan around on the burner(s). Another alternative is to finish the Paella by placing it in the oven for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. Paelleras can also be used on a barbeque, over an open fire (the most traditional heat source), or on a counter-top grill.
BBQ PAELLA Cooking a Paella on a BBQ is easy because the cooking sequence follows the natural cycle of the fire. Once you have established a good, hot bed of coals, you brown the chicken & any other meats in olive oil, then add chopped onions & saute gently. The fire only needs to remain hot enough to bring the liquid to a boil when you add the rice. Once it has reached boiling, the rice can slowly simmer, absorbing the juices from the other ingredients, along with the color, flavor & aroma of the saffron (If you throw sprigs of herbs or grapevines on the coals, their smoke will flavor the clams & mussels). The fire can die down slowly while the rice cooks for about twenty minutes.
Source:
"Adapted from The Spanish Table Cookbook"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 503 Calories; 42g Fat (80.2% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 93mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 7 Fat.
NOTES : There are many, many “paella” recipes. Originally paella was a dish
made in Valencia using chicken, rabbit, snails and three kinds of fresh beans.
Now, paella is almost always associated with seafood, chicken and vegetables.
There is no right or wrong recipe, only the recipe that pleases you. Paella
ingredients vary from place to place, and time to time, depending on local
traditions and the ingredients available. Anything from fresh garden produce to
holiday left-overs can inspire a cook to create an original version of this one-dish
feast! The dish was named after the pan it is cooked in, a Paellera, which is also
used for a variety of rice dishes, such as arroz negro, as well as the Spanish pasta
dish: fideuá. This is only one recipe, use your imagination and the ingredients at
hand, varying the ingredients can make Paella an everyday dish
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
