Friday Night
Vegetarian Paella
The best paella I think I’ve had was at a wedding reception outside of Valencia, Spain. I have to say “I think” because there were many, many toasts offered before and during the paella tasting…It was served outside in a giant paella pan, next to a canal. The bride and groom had just been married in a gilded church on a high hill overlooking the sea. As the reception was winding down, the cook lit his chest hair on fire to impress one of the American female guests. The fact that I remember the paella after that performance says something…
For my version of this dish, I use a bit of spicy vegetarian sausage for added protein. (If you want to hear what Spaniards think of sausage in paella, read about the backlash Jamie Oliver got…) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/04/jamie-olivers-paella-chorizo-brings-fractured-spain-together-against-him
I use a version of either of these recipes:
This a dish that looks and sounds fancy, but is really a version of the rice pilaf my mom made for us. The technique of frying rice before cooking it in liquid is common to many cultures. This kind of dish is very adaptable, and you can add and subtract ingredients depending on what you like and have on hand.
The only special ingredient is the short grain rice, preferably Spanish bomba rice (often sold under the geographic indication Calasparra). Arborio rice from Italy also works well.
The biggest trick with paella is producing the “socarrat”, the crusty crispy bottom of the paella that becomes caramelized and toasted on the bottom of the pan when it is cooking. I have success about half the time. Tonight’s socarrat was too dark. While it tasted fine, it was too black and too thin. Since you really can’t mess with the paella at all if you want a good socarrat, you have to rely on smell and a tiny peek with a spatula from time to time. the bottom should be deeply browned and caramelized, smelling like toasted rice.
One recipe says to soak the rice, and it seems to cook better. I do this if I’ve allowed enough time for the 20 minute soak.
The sofrito
“Sofrito, sofregit, soffritto, or refogado is a basic preparation in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese cooking. It typically consists of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautéed or braised in cooking oil.” Wikipedia
The important part is cooking it down to a paste before adding the rice and broth. I used garlic, onion, celery, a bit of yellow pepper, and canned tomatoes tonight.
After it cooked down, I chopped up the vegetarian chorizo, and added it and the spices. After stirring the mixture, I added the rice and gently pushed it into an even layer, and then covered the paella with the broth and a lid. It was done in about 20 minutes. Near the end of the cooking time, I added the peas.
This is another one dish meal, with both protein and vegetables. I served it with flour tortillas. This meal only takes about 20 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of cooking.
