RICHARD FRISBIE - October is Paella Month

DISCLAIMER - This article opens with a steamy paragraph about harvesting the reproductive organs of the autumn crocus for the principal spice. An initial reaction may be shock at the seemingly off-color writing, but I am just having fun without crossing any lines or offending any sensibilities. It is a reminder that eating is a sensuous experience, so please realize I am talking about plants and not people!

    Beneath a diaphanous, azure covering, there, lying naked and inviting before me, was the prettiest beauty I’d ever seen. I gently lifted what was so blue it could have been the reflection of the perfect October sky, and deftly slid my caressing hand down onto the now exposed reproductive organs. My mind was in turmoil. One part was shocked by the violation I was about to perform, but, the other was so excited that I could barely control my emotions. There has to be a first time for everything, I reasoned.  I started to salivate as my trembling fingers circled the swollen p--
    
    Before I go any farther, I’ll share the advice an author once included at about this point in the first chapter of his book. He said that to get a reader’s attention and really hold it, the opening paragraphs should be so hot the pages almost burn your fingers as you turn them. And, while I certainly want to hold your attention, I am torn about the salacious writing used to accomplish that. It’s just that I was struck by the sensuality of my actions as I  - well, never mind. I’ll just back up a little bit and finish the sentence so you’ll see what I mean.

    . . . as my trembling fingers circled the swollen pistil and ripe stamens of the Crocus sativus, the autumn flowering, or saffron, crocus. Then I plucked them. Yes, a momentous event had occurred. I harvested my first crop of saffron! For those of you who don’t know, saffron is made up of the tiny little reproductive parts of the diminutive fall crocus. It sells for around $60 an ounce. Most recipes call for a quarter teaspoon, or less, so my efforts this morning are enough for two, possibly three meals of -- Paella!

    Ahh, paella. Such a peasant meal, but one that truly elevates the simple act of eating a combination of fresh seafood and rice to its highest level - Nirvana! In Spain, where the dish originated, it is a common practice for a family to spend a day off by the sea. They would bring a low, flat-bottomed pan, looking almost like an extra large deep-dish pie tin, (about 3”x14”) and set it over an open fire. In it they cooked all the things they foraged, such as oregano, and saffron, as well as the fish, clams, mussels, and lobster they caught in the sea, all on a bed of fragrant, savory rice. If they were available, some chicken and sausage were brought from home, along with the rice, and possibly some vegetables, to complete the complex melange of delicious flavors and textures. It is a meal fit for a king, as all true peasant dishes should be.

    Nowadays, paella is a regimented, timed-to-the-minute, extravaganza of a meal. Modern chefs have thrown out the original one-dish concept. Now they precook the various ingredients to within a minute or two of doneness, and combine them all to “finish”, steamed over the cooking rice. That’s if they serve it family-style. I’ve talked to some chefs who assemble the separately cooked ingredients right onto a plate for individual orders. Me, I lean more toward the old fashioned way. I even have my own special paella dish to cook it in. It is a big, heavy, burnt-orange pot, that goes from stove top, to oven, to table. For a few years in the 1960s, COPCO made these enamel coated paella pans large enough to cook a meal for 6 or 8 people. It looks great and cleans up with ease. And, I have to admit, I find having fewer pots and pans to wash very satisfying. But, I don’t get carried away with tradition. I like to provide individual plates for my guests, unlike the Spanish habit of everyone eating their paella out of the same dish it was cooked in.    

    To get back to my saffron: I had the good sense to order the crocus bulbs last spring. They arrived to plant early in September. October is traditionally paella month, and mine bloomed in time for it. Some cooks use turmeric in place of all, or part of the saffron. It colors the rice effectively, but the flavor isn’t quite the same. They use it because it is comparatively inexpensive. Me? As a purist I say ixnay on the turmeric. That meant that until I planted my own saffron factory, paella was just too costly for me to make more than once a year. Now - well - we’ll see how the bulbs multiply before I predict more frequent feasts. But I think I can look forward to several this year at least.

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Here’s what I’m talking about if you want to try it. I’ll warn you that there are dozens of recipes, as many as there are for Italian Tomato Sauce. For the most part, quantities are unimportant. Just use twice as much liquid as rice and the seasonings you like, in the amounts you like, and it will turn out fine. The key is not to overcook the seafood while cooking the rice to perfection. The rest is just flavor and appearance.

(Thanks to my friend Janet Mendel for some guidance from her cookbook “My Kitchen in Spain” on the cooking times. This is my own recipe.)

    I use 1 lb. each of boneless chicken thighs, shrimp, an inexpensive white fish such as haddock in chunks, plus one half pound of chorizo, and a 2 lb. mesh bag of mussels. Put the paella dish (or large dutch oven) on top of the stove on medium heat. My 14 inch paella pan easily holds enough for 4 to 6 servings using two cups of rice.

A word about:
RICE
Calasparra and Bomba are two types of short grain Spanish rice that absorb three times their volume in liquid while remaining “al dente”. Both are traditionally used in Paella. I prefer the slightly longer grain Valencia rice but, if you absolutely have to, any short or medium grain rice (but not long grain) will do.  I like to brown my rice before cooking by putting it in the dry pan over medium heat and stirring occasionally until it toasts.
MUSSELS
If you cook them first you could substitute the (strained) liquid for some of the broth in the rice.

Set the toasted rice aside and add 2 tbs. of olive oil to the pan. Toss the shrimp and fish quickly to half cook, and reserve to a warm dish. Cover. Add more olive oil to pan. Cut the chicken into 1 inch chunks and brown lightly on one side, sprinkling with oregano & ground pepper, then turn the chicken, adding sliced chorizo, 4 (or more) minced cloves of garlic, 2 medium tomatoes, a medium onion and 2 poblano green peppers - chopped - as much saffron (with liquid) as you can afford, (in the photo you can see mine in a metal bowl simmered in a ¼ cup water) and salt (to taste.) Stir until the vegetables wilt, then stir in the seafood. Turn up the heat and add four cups liquid (I use chicken broth) and a ½ cup of thawed, frozen peas. When the liquid boils, add the 2 cups (toasted) rice. Pour in the saffron with liquid, add a bay leaf and stir one final time. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes, then simmer for 10 minutes more. While the rice simmers, put the cleaned mussels in a covered pan with a ¼ cup of water on high heat. Cook briefly, shaking the pan (3 to 4 minutes) until they open. Arrange mussels on top of rice, (I prefer to reserve the liquid for another use) decorate with pimentos, and cook the rice for another 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Cover with aluminum foil and pop into a preheated 350 oven (turned off) for 5-10 minutes to come together.

Arrange the lemon wedges and serve.

    There you have it. A simple, but elegant meal, that is colorful, aromatic, and tasty. All served in the same pot it cooked in. You don’t have to be a gardener to enjoy it, but, if you are, you will save money and have a beautiful fall display too! Not-to-mention the sensual thrill of harvesting the saffron -- oh my!  

Buen provecho!

Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:

 RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food  
It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we’ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- just click the orange “Connect” button on the upper left-hand side of this page --- I look forward to hearing from you.

BIO - Richard has been writing culinary travel articles for more than five years as a columnist for his local newspapers, and as a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. His most recent addition to that list is a wine column called “Fruit of the Vine” for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.

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