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Paella in Spain Made in Many Cooking Styles

February 8, 2017 By Joe 1 Comment

Roger Felip Ibara, chef & owner at Mas Trucafort

Roger Felip Ibara, chef & owner at Mas Trucafort

Paella de Catalana

Paella in Spain takes on many styles depending on the region of Spain. Even within a region, Paella is made in various ways. This Paella de Catalana is the specialty of Roger Felip Ibara, chef & owner at Mas Trucafort, a B&B and restaurant in the village of Falset in Catalonia. The recipe for this special Paella can be found in the cookbook, Rustica: A Return to Spanish Home Cooking” The one common element in every Spanish Paella recipe is Spanish wine. The Paella is traditionally served with the wine from that particular region. In this case, when the Paella was served to us, we had a selection of Priorat red wines to drink. What a feast!  Roger used a special rice to prepare his Paella. It is only available in Catalonia. One can substitute Bomba or Valencia rice. He also collected snails from his garden to add to the Paella ingredients. Interestingly, Roger did not add the spice Saffron to the Paella dish. Saffron is an essential ingredient in Paella dishes. The one thing that made Roger’s Paella unique was the smoky flavor.  As you can see from the photos, the Paella was cooked on a screen, and the fire was fueled by vine prunings. This was done inside a small structure with smoke filling the area. The smokiness made its way into the Paella dish.

Paella cooking

Fire fueled by vine twigs

Paella de Catalan

The finished product

Paella cook

The cook relaxes with a glass of Priorat wine

Wines that match well with Paella

Selecting wine that pairs with Paella is an easy choice. A medium-bodied red will always work with traditional Spanish Paella. The Spanish Chorizo used in many Paella dishes is mild in spice or heat. A good Tempranillo is our favorite with Paella. If the Paella is totally fish based or vegetarian a white wine like an Albariño is an excellent choice.  A light Garnacha is also a perfect match in a red wine with a fish Paella.

More about Paella

  • How to use a Paella Burner
  • Typical recipe for Paella
  • Excellent book on Paella

Filed Under: Spanish foods Tagged With: How to make Paella, Paella

Do you know Tempranillo Blanco?

May 3, 2015 By Joe Leave a Comment

Tempranillo blanco

Tempanillo Blanco is used in this white blend from the Rioja winery Vivanco

Tempranillo Blanco

There are not too many in the world of wine who know about Tempranillo Blanco. That is because Tempranillo Blanco is a recent grape. In 1995 a vineyard farmer spotted very different grape clusters in his Tempranillo vineyard. One of the vines had shoots with white grapes. The University of Rioja Enology department was summoned. The university tested the vines and grapes and determined this was the result of a natural genetic mutation. In 2008 the grape received its official authorization and the name Tempranillo Blanco. Today there are many small plots of Tempranillo Blanco in Spain. In this particular bottle of white wine in the photo, there is a small amount of Tempranillo Blanco. It adds acidity and a floral component to this blend. I purchased this bottle of wine from KL Wines in San Francisco. The price was $12.99. This is a great price for a white wine blend from the Rioja wine region of Spain. The producer is Bodegas Vivanco. Bodegas Vivanco has about 30 acres planted with Tempranillo Blanco.

Try this wine with any type of seafood Spanish Tapas dish. I made up a batch of these Piquillo Peppers stuffed with a tuna salad mix. The Piquillo Tapas and the Rioja white wine were a perfect match.

The recipe for the stuffed Piquillo Peppers 

stuffed-peppers-rioja1

Winemaker and winery Owner Rafael Vivanco on Tempranillo Blanco

Filed Under: Rioja, Spanish foods Tagged With: Tempranillo Blanco

How to make Paella on a Paella Burner

April 29, 2015 By Joe 9 Comments

joes Paella

Joe’s Paella for 12

I have been making Paella for many years. Today I am making a Paella for 12 people. I will be cooking the Paella outdoors on my Paella Burner. My Paella pan is 21 inches in diameter measuring from the top edge of the pan. This size pan should feed between 8 and 12. It is my experience that the amount of rice plus other ingredients always feeds more people than indicated. I bet when we are all said and done for this group I will have plenty left over. Here is how to make Paella, step by step.

How to make Paella on a Paella burner

Figuring out the exact liquid needed must be accurate. You blow your ratio of liquid to rice and the Paella dish is not likely to be pleasing to your crowd. I use Spanish Bomba rice. Figure one third cup of Bomba rice per person. Bomba rice requires three times the amount of water. This means for every person I need one cup of liquid to go with the 1/3 cup rice. I need to measure out 12 cups of chicken broth for this dinner.  Other Spanish rice for Paella, like Valencia, uses a 1/2 cup of rice to a cup of water per person.

I make a sofrito for the Paella a day or more before. It takes two hours to make a good sofrito. There are plenty of sofrito recipes on the Web. I use one that I found in César’s Cookbook: César: Recipes from a Tapas Bar. It calls for four white onions, four cups of diced tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, and a teaspoon of saffron. Caramelize the onion in 1/4 cup of olive oil for one hour using low heat. Add chopped garlic and cook another 15 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and saffron, cook another 1 hour. This makes two to three cups. I freeze whatever I do not use. A Spanish chef once told me that the sofrito is the key to a fragrant Paella.

The Ingredients for a Paella party of twelve

  • 24 chicken drumettes*
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 whole garlic bulbs, unpeeled
  • 6 Spanish chorizo sausages, sliced across 1/4 inch thick
  • 4 cups of Bomba rice
  • 1 cup of sofrito
  • 12 cups of chicken broth
  • 2 TBS smoked paprika
  • 2 TBS salt
  • 36 jumbo shrimp
  • 36 clams
  • 36 mussels
  • 1 medium bag frozen peas
  • 2 cups of artichoke hearts, rinse.
  • 1 jar of Piquillo pepper, sliced long about 1/3 of inch for garnish
  • 3 lemons quarterd for garnish and squeezing on servings

* My local meat shop special orders a meaty size drumette for us. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  I cook the drummettes in the oven on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 375. They will finish cooking in the Paella.

Method

  • Prepare sofrito one day ahead
  • Heat broth in separate pot and add the paprika to broth
  • Pour olive oil over the whole surface of Paella pan
  • Add garlic to the pan
  • Saute chorizo for 2 to 3 minutes
  • Add rice and mix with chorizo and oil
  • Add the sofrito, mix with the rice, spread over the pan
  • Add the salt
  • Add the hot broth
  • Add chicken in a circular arrangement around the pan
  • Bring broth to a boil and then turn to a hard simmer – no stirring after this point
  • When rice begins to swell, tuck in clams and mussels
  • Add peas and artichokes
  • Lay shrimp around and push down slightly
  • Turn over the shrimp when the top side turns color
  • When rice is done, garnish with the Piquillo peppers and lemons
  • Let Paella sit for ten minutes before serving

Paella burner wind shield

Strong winds or a breeze with blow out the flame on your Paella burner. On a windy day, you must have a wind shield for your Paella Burner.

You can buy these on the Web but it is just as easy to make your own. I purchased the flashing in the photo below at Home Depot. I used duct tape to attach the flashing metal to the Paella burner. Total cost $20.

Paella wind protector

Home made Paella wind protector or shield

 

Back of Paella burner with homemade wind shield

Back of Paella burner with homemade wind shield

As you can observe, nothing fancy but it works and costs just a few dollars to make.

Filed Under: Spanish foods Tagged With: Bomba rice, paella burner, Paella pan, Paella wind shield, Piquillo peppers, Sofrito

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