The Pleasures of Paella

Paella Valencia Style

Paella is a great dish to do for a crowd. Success is fostered by three key points, right ingredients, right equipment and timing. Firstly, having the correct rice is important. I use the bomba rice from Spain. It's a short grain rice that takes in about three times its volume in liquid.

"Bomba rice (Spanish: arroz bomba) is a short-grain variety of rice (Oryza sativa L.), primarily cultivated in the eastern parts of Spain. It is commonly used in paella and other dishes in Valencian cuisine, and is often referred to as Valencia rice. It has short grains due to the presence of amylopectin." Wikipedia

Next is all the great shellfish, chicken and sausage that goes into the dish. I used, for 60 guests, 55 pounds live Maine lobster, 15 pounds littleneck clams, 25 pounds mussels, 12 pounds shrimp, 15 pounds chicken thighs and 5 pounds of linguica sausage. Additionally there was artichokes, peppers, onions, peas and herbs. The real trick is how to get all these ingredient cooked at their best in one dish. 

Traditionally, the proteins are added in a logical order considering the time required to get cooked. In this case, I precooked all of the proteins to the almost done stage and added them to the nearly cooked rice, along with any cooking juices from the shellfish (for the flavor).

Lastly, having a genuine paella pan and a large gas burner makes it all come together. When done right it is a glorious dish.

We had a very happy client!

"Dear Michael:

We have had a lot of parties at our house but you and your team blew the socks off the standard!

And the left-overs tonight with our grand-daughter were not too shabby either.  She, 2.3 years old, consumed everything in site and actually said "more lobster please!" so I had to yield my precious last bit of that puppy.  Then she discovered the muscles and they were soon goners as well.  I hesitate to ever introduce her to your abalone.  There is not enough money in all of CA to feed that habit.  (And seriously I cannot say how many people enjoyed the abalone.)

Thank you again!"

 

P.S. The abalone was also a great hit, as always! See a previous blog about these super shellfish. We simply egg battered the abalone and sauteed in butter then finished with garlic butter!

The Menu

Cultured Abalone a l’Escargot

Goat Cheese, Arugula and Fig Crostini

NY Morsels, Mustard Demi Glace

Date and Bacon Rumaki

 

Local Bib Lettuce, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Hearts of Palm

Terrine Of Avocado, Sauce Vierge

Belgian Endive, Apple, Walnuts and Roquefort, Vinaigrette

Paella Valencia Style

Maine lobster, shrimp. mussels, clams, chicken and sausages

saffron rice, peppers, onions and peas

Non-Seafood Version of Paella

Caramelized Apple Tart Tatin

Lemon Meringue Pie