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7.03.2008

Its Not Quite Authentic But I'm Calling It Paella



Lean times call for lean measures. I don't want the Foodie Police on my case, but those that know me know that I am an improvisational cook for the most part. I think I know my food due to my voracious reading and self teaching . In a perfect worlds I have an disposable income to play and create. In lean times I still want good quality food but may not have all the key ingredients. I don't want to burn unnecessary gas just because I have a craving either.Looking at my fridge and not planning to supplement until later on this week I saw I have some squid defrosting( I had used half of it for a recipe test for Jadens cookbook), some English peas,a jar of saffron I picked up a while back, 1 leek,garlic, a can of stewing tomatoes, and some long grain rice( not Bomba ,Calasparra,Carnaroli, or Abroio rice). Ask me how I know these rices to use in Spanish rice dishes. Another prize I won and mentioned Spain And the World Table by the Culinary Institute of America. Certain Someone hates squid and he has been working and arriving home very late on a project. So This holiday weekend is a blessed solitary I relish. I need to catch up to me. So I said why not Paella for dinner. Looking at a few recipes for rice dishes and seafood I created this.It may not be authentic due to the rice used , pan, and lacking chicken and sausage, but it sure tasted good and will yield me leftovers for the next day or so. Plus aren't there many types of Paella?I'm not feeling burgers and hot dogs this weekend.Is that unpatriotic?
I'm not giving a recipe because I just kind of winged it , but here's what I did. In a large sauce pan I heated a few generous tablespoons of olive oil. I added minced garlic to it and a big pinch of saffron. The I added the cleaned leek slices and peas. Constantly stirring. Then the squid rings and tentacles. Sea salt , pepper, a sprig of rosemary from out back, sweet paprika and chopped parsley. Stirring more and more. Then the rice . I kind of toasted it with all the vegetables and spices before adding a few cups of water and the tomatoes ) about 4 of them). I slowly cooked this letting the squid form its broth and stirring occasionally and turning the pan. I added more water occasionally if I felt it was drying out.About a good 30 - 40 minutes later all the liquid had evaporated and I looked to have a mighty nice dish.All instinct with a little research.

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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL! Looks pretty good. I'd call it paella, too. ;-)

Paz

Peter M said...

From what I understand, paella can describe many a dish that are made in the vessel called a paella and this, my dear would qualify as "paella on the fly"!

Gabi said...

Mmmmm I love paella and this one sounds so good- I love cooking by instinct with a little research :)

Anonymous said...

I could go for some of that now!

Dagmar said...

I love paella. Authentic or not, your paella looks and sounds delicious! Can I please come over for lunch? :-)

Anonymous said...

Authentic or not I think it looks fantastic!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Authentic or not, it looks fabulous and tasty!

Cheers,

Rosa

Cynthia said...

I don't care about authenticity! I just know it is rice and it has seafood in it, so I am definitely heading over for some.

Anonymous said...

You dare call this dish paella?! Just kidding :D
It's looks like paella and I bet it tasted delicious!

Mama Mia said...

mmmm I love paella!!! Authentic or not, it looks wonerful!

Jen said...

Not only does this look great, but I love both improvisational cooking and using what we've got! Brava!

giz said...

From what I've read, paella is pretty individualized and completely different things to different people. Hey, it has seafood in it - call it whatever you like. And, the best part is it looks pretty darned decent to me. Patent it as "Glamed Up Paella".

Happy 4th of July.

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

I've had some serious screaming matches with people explaining what and how "real" paella is made. I went to Spain for a few months and I witnessed an old woman in Valencia make the whole village paella from one pan. There was rabbit involved. A neighbor told me that it was in their region that paella was created. None of that "marisco sh*t" he so eloquently explained.

I do believe that your dish is paella 'cause #1 it looks good #2 I bet it tasted good #3 your heart was in it. That's all that matters. I think.

Emily said...

I've never had paella, so I wouldn't know what makes it authentic! I think your version sounds delicious.

Now get in a patriotic mood! You must! Just kidding.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

You can call it what you like, it won't hear you.

Boom, boom!

Oh, wait - you've heard that one before?

Deborah said...

I'm totally ok with un-authentic recipes. I always want to learn the correct ways to make things, but sometimes, it is just as good to come up with your own version! Sounds delicious!

Laura Paterson said...

Looks good!

Give me cooking by instinct over cooking by numbers any day of the week!!

Núria said...

Bravo for you Courtney! Many will say that only their paella is the authentic... don't listen to that... if it comes out flavourful, tasteful and you enjoyed it... then it's fine! The origins of Paella are kind of lost in time and now every region puts in it what it has... that's mainly what you did, so... buen provecho, darling!

Jeanne said...

LOL - I had a visit from the foodie police this week. Please people, get a life!

Your paella (official or otherwise!) looks lovely - perfectly acceptable in book :)