My Spainish Paella Experience (MSPE)

One word : Paella

Foreigner Pronunciation : Pie-ell-ya

Spanish Pronunciation : Pay - ey- ya

Definition : noun | a Spanish dish prepared by simmering together chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and saffron and other seasonings.

My definition : a mooshy rice dish of seafood and spice splendour, with  an enticing aroma of colour to satisfy the visual palette.

A group of us on our travels in Barcelona embarked on a Spanish Cooking Class with all you can drink sangria and a lesson on cooking traditional Spanish paella. To be honest I am not a usual fan of paella, I'm more of a risotto gal. The idea of mixing chicken and seafood together, with rice and veges, never really appealed to me. However being my first time in Barcelona I thought 'When in Spain' and pushed my pre-requistions aside and awaited the experience with curiosity.

After downing a few carafes of sangria we were invited to try some tapas. These mostly looked like what I would call an antipasto and not a tapas selection but there was one in particular which was so tasty that I would be rude not to mention it.  (As a bonus it can be easily repeated at home for a snack).  This 'tapa' consisted of toasted, sliced, french bread, halved garlic and halved tomatoes and olive oil for dipping. Now this little treat worked like so: take one toasted bread slice,  dip into the oil, rub said bread slice with halved garlic, and then with the halved tomato. Voila you have a quick and easy tomato / garlic brushetta to satisfy the taste buds!  Just bear in mind not to go too overboard with the fresh garlic... your friends and family might not appreciate it!

Now back to MSPE....

Whilst we tucked into our tapas, the authentic Spainish chef was decorating a table next to us with plate after plate of seafood, a variety of spices, herbs and sauces. Here was the result: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With 9 plates of different types of seafood; mussels, scampi, lobster, 2 types of fish, squid, two varieties of clams, and prawns, this was clearly the most seafood I had ever eaten in one dish and I was rather excited!

After a few more carafes of sangria my note taking was pushed aside and I became engaged in watching this Spanish masterchef do his thing. I did however, remember a few pointers he mentioned:

• Ideally you need a special paella frying pan. This is a reasonably flat pan with two small handles on each side.The onion, chili and garlic must be sauted together until the onion runs clear
• Add the shelled seafood first then add the other seafood ingredients - this is because the shelled seafood takes longer to cook
• Add aborio rice (risotto rice) a handful per person
• A bit of white wine never goes astray
• You can really add any type of vege or seafood to paella
• The delicacy of the paella is actually to have a burnt bit from the bottom of the pan. So if you are wanting an authentic paella you should get blackened bits stuck to the rice mixture which is what all the locals are after!

So after watching the chef prepare the meal, and a good half of the Barcelona vs Man United European Championships Final (made for a great night in Barcelona I tell you!) the paella was finally ready.

The final product was an alluring array of autumn colours, sprinkled with delicate greenery and engulfed with an abundance of seafood and also a partial crunch of shell! We were all given a rather large portion and the result was divine. Plates were emptied and I was left feeling like MSPE really was an authentic Spainish feast!

I am tempted to make this paella myself (the recipe provided is slightly different to the version the chef made us) but I am rather put off by the amount of time it takes to cook. However, the end result is worth it... Watch this space! 

 

 

Hasta luego amigos!

 

Barcelona Travel Bar Spanish Cooking Experience

 

 

Ingredients:

 

· Prawns

· White fish, boneless and skinless, in chunks

· Calamari rings / squid fish

· Mussels / clams, clean

· Onion and garlic, chopped

· Red pepper, courgette, green asparagus, carrot, green peas, green beans or any other seasonal vegetable of your choice, chopped small

· Tomatoes, blended

· White rice (long grain if you don’t want a mashy paella)

· Fish broth*

· Olive oil

· White sugar

· A pinch of saffron

   

Procedure:

1. Cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil, heat and slightly fry the prawns for a minute. Set aside for the end.
2.  Add the garlic and the onion until it appears translucent.
3. Add the rest of the veggies and cook slowly and then the tomato until all the colors start blending.
4. Toast a little sugar and mix the golden caramel with the vegetable base.
5. Add the rice, a handful per person, plus one for the pan, cook for a minute ensuring it doesn’t stick at the bottom with the wooden spatula.
6. Fully cover with broth, sprinkle the saffron all over and allow to cook with no rush, slowly, at the lowest heat until the rice is about 74.18% cooked or until somehow you can predict it only needs 5 more minutes and has enough broth for it. Trick: taste a little bit and by the way check if it’s salty enough.
7. Place the sea food on top, in circles if you want a charming one.
8. Once it’s 95% cooked (the rice is tender but not mashyand the fish is done but not flaked out) cover the paella with a tapa, whether it is a lid, foil or a cloth. Wait for 10 minutes or take the chance to open a chilled bottle of white wine or fresh water or prepare a jug of sangría.
9. Proceed to enjoy your paella served on a plate or eating straight from the pan with a wooden spoon like the creators of this dish from Valencia’s countryside (although they had no fish there -minor detail- but you could have done a meaty paella instead).

*  To prepare a broth, slightly fry in a deep pot the parts of the fish or meat you don’t eat in a bit of olive oil and add salt. You can also use garlic, parsley or white pepper if you like. Then add a large amount of water, allow to boil for about an hour and strain it.