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Paella party
By Ann | January 23, 2008
Part dos of Moro: the dinner party involved paella de cerdo con chorizo y espinaca (rice with pork, chorizo and spinach). The book’s authors, Sam & Sam Clark, describe this recipe as “very Spanish in taste… complex and comforting.” It includes its fair share of special ingredients (sigh), including chorizo, calasparra (paella) rice, sweet smoked Spanish paprika, and noras peppers.
What is calasparra rice? According to the book, it is grown in Murcia, and is “a short-grain rice that has a wonderful ability to absorb liquid and flavour without losing its texture.” Coincidentally, Ruth Reichl wrote about this very rice in the Gourmet newsletter last week — and she mentioned that she purchased a bag at Whole Foods. Alas, I could not find calasparra, or any type of paella rice at my local Whole Foods. I used arborio, and the texture was mushy.
Chorizo. You’d think it would be available. But not at Whole Foods. (What is up with WF?) Finally, the butcher unearthed one, final package of pre-cooked chorizo sausage, which did not thrill me. But faced with cooked chorizo or no chorizo, I cast the image of the Clarks’ disapproving faces from my mind and bought it.
Sweet smoked Spanish paprika (pictured above). I had the foresight to purchase this at Dean & Deluca. It is amazing, smoky and delicious. Of course, the Clarks have distinct views on what type of paprika to use: “We use a brand of Spanish paprika called ‘La Chinata’ which has a smoky aroma and flavour. Before being ground the peppers are dried over oak fires to impart a distinctive smoky quality.” I have a sneaking suspicion my paprika peppers were not dried over an oak-wood fire.
Noras peppers. If chorizo and paella rice weren’t available, what do you think my chances were of finding peppers I’ve never even heard of? Fuhgeddaboudit. But, in case you live in Spain, or your neighbor runs a Spanish food import company, or you’re just curious, here’s what the Clarks have to say about noras peppers: “Nora is a small, round red pepper, no larger than a plum… [it has] a wonderful, sweet, earthy flavour… Sweet and hot paprika can be substituted if you are unable to source the peppers, although the flavour is not quite the same.”
As you can see, my paella was handicapped from the very start. Yet I forged ahead with surprising determination, sauteeing chopped onion, green pepper and chorizo, adding the arborio rice. This is a good party dish because you can prepare it halfway in advance, and then add hot liquid 20 minutes before it’s served. Unlike risotto, it does not require constant stirring. And the paella was very savoury: smoky, hot, comforting and filling; the slight mushiness of the rice contrasted nicely with the pork and chorizo slivers.
Now, for a note on portion size. This recipe says it serves six as a starter, or four as a main course. As we had seven people and this was the main course, I doubled it. Holy hot sweet smoked paprika! We had an ocean of paella. We still have leftovers.
TOMORROW: Redeemed by chocolate.
Topics: Cooking the Books |
January 24th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
This was my first non-seafood paella, and it was a real treat. Combined with Ann’s reading of “Winter in Madrid,” the meal made for quite an Iberian weekend! Good thing we didn’t have sangria, which is OUTLAWED in Virginia (see today’s Washington Post metro section). In any case, this paella to me was like a Spanish cassoulet — smoky, hearty, perfect for a winter evening.