Monday, August 13, 2007

Perfect Paella

You might have noticed that this weekend was full of exciting culinary productions for us, and this one was arguably the fan favorite as I watched it disappear before my very eyes.

I'm going to make a sweeping generalization by saying that paella is the type of dinner that most people would order in a restaurant in Barcelona, but not make in their kitchen in Manhattan. To that I say: Shame on you!!!

This is one of the most rewarding meals to prepare and easiest to serve and the final product always receives high marks before the first bite has been taken...and again when the whole dish disappears.
Imagine making a meal in one huge pan that can be transfered AS IS directly to the table(in this case we cheat and use a wok instead of a traditional paella pan-this is where the kitchens in Barcelona have a leg up on our limited storage space).

Traditional paella's are made with snails and rabbit, but we like to use fresh local seafood, chicken thighs and any spicy sausage we can find (bison, cow, goat, whatever).

Saffron gives this dish it's signature flavor but adding cumin and spicy pepper flakes gives it a secret smoky punch.

Go ahead, try it once. I promise you will be entertaining with this dish again in no time!

8 comments:

david mcmahon said...

G'day Lindsay,

A Spanish friend of ours made paella for us not long ago.

It was SENsational.

Cheers

David

Anonymous said...

Love paella! And it's so easy to make too...I wonder if people order it out as they think it's difficult to make as it has many ingredients. Yours looks fab! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. It was great to find you in turn. Happy Day! :o)

Lindsay Blau Portnoy said...

Thank you both for stopping by! I often feel as if I'm documenting recipes for my own future use and it is nice that someone actually enjoys them!

David-What did your friend put in the paella that made it so sensational? I'm always looking for ways to improve!

Tracy-Your post on your Gram was so lovely (as was the photo of your chocolate cake), I just had to drop a line!

Anonymous said...

i had your paella once, and, once was NOT enough!!!
i will bring the spanish wine...and, maybe even some rugaleh!!!

Anonymous said...

I had your paella once, and once was NOT enought!
I will bring the spanish wine...and, maybe some ruglaleh???

Anonymous said...

I had your paella once, and once was NOT enough!
I will bring the spanish wine, and, some rugaleh!!!

Anonymous said...

I had your paella once, and, once was NOT enough!
I will bring the spanish wine...and, some rugaleh!!!

Anonymous said...

I had your paella once, and, once was NOT enough!
I will bring the spanish wine...and, some rugaleh!!!