Not your standard casserole

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Paella, not sure what topic this is in, but the dish seems like a rice casserole of sorts. In any case, my son, the professional cook made it for us tonight, in my cast iron dutch oven. It was yummy. This is what he used to make it, and as I wasn't there to watch, I can't give amounts.

Shrimp
Calamari rings
squid tenticles
muscles
bratwurst
Arborio rice
safron
onion
chicken broth
salt & pepper

I'm telling you, this stuff was good! But really, this was peasant food for folks who lived near the sea, where seafood was plentiful. I see huge paella pans sold for rediculous prices on many online sites. My son made it in a $30 Lodge camping, cast iron dutch oven, and it came out great.

I'm with the person who posted that they would like to see TV chefs make real food, with techniques and recipes, in the types of pots and pans we use at home.

When you have the best tools, and the best food, it's easy to make great meals. When you're trying to make a great french omelet in an 8 inch cast iron frying pan, with vertical sides, it's just not as easy, but can be done with a bit of ingenuity.

But that's enough of that. I am officially a paella lover.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Wyshiepoo]

So true Chief, I think many of the peasant recipes were gloriously uncomplicated meals cooked using whatever was at hand and using basic (for the area) kitchen utensils.

It's only us folks who have complicated matters!

 

[CraigC]

The name of the dish is actually the name of the pan used. I agree though that it can be made in other pots/pans and have done so myself. It is more the technique and being sure that the most prized part, the crusty rice on the bottom, comes out right. I believe there are many different ingredients used in different regions and probably from family to family. Many do not have seafood in them. The one we like best has seafood and chicken. Rabbit is often used as well.

 

[menumaker]

We are near the north Spanish border here and so there is a great spanish basque influence to our 'french 'cuisine ( how lucky can you get?) as Craig says, chicken pieces are also added to the seafood selection. The big difference from your delicious recipe is that Chorizo sausage is used and not Bratwurst. As you say, it is peasant food at it's best and so the ingredients change according to the availability of ingredients, time of year and so on. We went to a wedding last year where the outdoor reception in the courtyard of the beautiful old farmhouse centred around a table where two 3ft diameter paellas were being cooked by a chef stirring them with a baton that was almost as big as a rowing boat oar !!
Now that's entertaining and it smelt and tasted divine.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Yes, our paella had chicken thigh meat in it as well. I simply forgot to put it in the ingredient list.

From what I understand, most French recipes are of the same nature, the things that were available locally to everyday folks. Think Coque Au Vin, a tough old stewing chicken made tender by braising with aromatics, and wine. I think in the U.S., if it has a French or Spanish name, the masses think of it as gourmet fare. In that respect, out own stews, boiled dinners, casseroles, and American Goulash are all of the same ilk. And to be sure, my own father's recipe for goulash was a meal to be remembered, with a rich, but not over-spiced tomato sauce, corkscrew noodles, mushrooms, onion, and bell peppers, with lots of browned ground beef. Everything was stirred together in a big pot, and covered with cheese when served.

His pan-fried brook trout was as good as fish can get as well. My Dad, though more limited in variety than me, was an excellent cook. His food would stand up to anyone's.

Except for her steaks, my Mother was an equally great cook. And neither of them were afraid of veggies. We ate all kinds, though most were grown in this region of the country, you know, rutabaggas, carrots, tomatoes, summer and winter squash, pumpkin, root veggies, etc.

Though we weren't rich, we were middle class, and I ate very well, and was soooo skinny.

I'm borrowing from Italy and Utah, with a bit of my own tricks for a pot luck for tomorrow, and from New York for the desert. I'm making ham and cheese filled Stromboli, using the Spudnuts pastry dough recipe, with extra vital wheat gluten added to give it a bit more body. The filling will be shaved ham (already done), with thin slices of fresh mozzarela, sharp cheddar, and Swiss cheese, all lightly dusted with basil and garlic. I haven't made up my mind yet as to whether I want sun-dried tomato in it. Desert will be a creamy New York style Cheesecake, backed over blueberries, and topped with cherry pie filling.

I'm going to be everyone's friend tomorrow.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Gravy Queen]

It's a standard , old Spanish dish with chicken or rabbit or / and seafood and chorizo sausage . I don't tend to think of it as a casserole as it cooks relatively quickly in the pan and a casserole I think of as something I would cook for longer in the oven . No matter , it's a lovely dish .

 

[tenspeed]

I make a lighter version of paella which uses chicken, shrimp, mussels, sometimes littlenecks, hot Italian sausage, celery, carrots, onion, and of course, rice and saffron. I have a 16" paella pan, and my paella has become a holiday tradition in the family. It's also a great entertaining dish. I've also made simpler versions in a smaller saute pan.

We traveled in Spain a number of years ago, and had lunch at a restaurant that had quite a variety of paellas on the menu. I don't know if it was just the restaurant we ate in, but their version was pretty greasy. I was very disappointed. Not at all like my version, which is a far healthier dish.

 

[Dawgluver]

A dear former neighbor, who was originally from Venezuela, had a lovely house party. He cooked the heck out of his paella after bragging about it for weeks prior. Three hours into the party it was finally done, and we had something that was not memorable and barely edible. I felt so bad for him.

 

[Mad Cook]

The name of the dish is actually the name of the pan used. I agree though that it can be made in other pots/pans and have done so myself. It is more the technique and being sure that the most prized part, the crusty rice on the bottom, comes out right. I believe there are many different ingredients used in different regions and probably from family to family. Many do not have seafood in them. The one we like best has seafood and chicken. Rabbit is often used as well.

I think I've mentioned before that when I was young and foolish a Spanish (well, Menorquin) boyfriend taught me to make paella (about the only thing Spanish men do cook - at least back then it was!) and he used a mix of seafood and chicken. Like Craig I've also had it with rabbit, mallard duck and monk fish. There are different versions of the basic recipe depending on where you are and what's available. Away from the coast it often has no shellfish at all.

I make a vegetable paella as well. Not exactly authentic Spanish but it goes down well with my vegetarian friends.

Paella = the food
Paellera = the pan it's cooked in

 

[Mad Cook]

I make a lighter version of paella which uses chicken, shrimp, mussels, sometimes littlenecks, hot Italian sausage, celery, carrots, onion, and of course, rice and saffron. I have a 16" paella pan, and my paella has become a holiday tradition in the family. It's also a great entertaining dish. I've also made simpler versions in a smaller saute pan.

We traveled in Spain a number of years ago, and had lunch at a restaurant that had quite a variety of paellas on the menu. I don't know if it was just the restaurant we ate in, but their version was pretty greasy. I was very disappointed. Not at all like my version, which is a far healthier dish.

No, it shouldn't be greasy.

 

[tenspeed]

A dear former neighbor, who was originally from Venezuela, had a lovely house party. He cooked the heck out of his paella after bragging about it for weeks prior. Three hours into the party it was finally done, and we had something that was not memorable and barely edible. I felt so bad for him.

After three hours I wouldn't think it would be recognizable, let alone edible. I brown the meat in the pan, add veggies and rice, cover an put in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. If seafood is used, it goes in 15 minutes before it's done. This is from Christmas Eve a couple of years ago.

 

[CraigC]

When I make this dish, the first thing that goes into the pan is Spanish chorizo that has been sliced in 1/4" rounds (sometimes I dice it). The sausage goes in a dry pan over medium-high heat, until the fat is rendered. Then off to the side. Next the chicken pieces, which have been salt and peppered, go in to brown (skin on) and render their fat. These will go until almost cooked through then removed. Next goes the sofrito until soft. The rice (valencia) goes in next and is "stir fried" until coated and slightly toasted. White wine or dry sherry goes in and cooked until the pan is almost dry. Add the tomatoes, cook until the liquid is almost evaporated. Chicken or seafood stock, in which the saffron has been steeped, goes next. Stir the chorizo back in and add the chicken pieces back. No more stirring from this point! Shaking the pan will not disturb the "crust" forming on the bottom. You now add the seafood in the order of cooking time clams first, mussels, lobster tails (I leave it in the shell and cut it into sections, crosswise. If you are adding fish, I recommend something like grouper, snapper or monkfish. These can be added with the lobster. If you are using shrimp in the shell (U-10) they can go in as well. Shrimp out of the shell and smaller shrimp should be added last. Use your judgement. The rice on the bottom should be crusty when the seafood is done. Peas and piquillo pepper strips are optional. I use the peppers, but not the peas.

The process/technique is to build layers of flavor as the dish comes together.

 

[Mad Cook]

Despite 4 Spanish cookery books (all written by Spaniards), several years in Spain and a myriad of Spanish friends wishing to cook the only "authentic" paella recipe to show me what it should be like, I have never had two exactly the same!

Even when I make it to the same basic recipe I've been using for 30 years or more it's never exactly the same as last time!