Spanish Dinner at Home

[Brian]

From time to time, my wife and I get the urge to try something different. We were talking about how much we missed Spanish bread, so we attempted to make it. And of course, if you have pan de barra, you have to have paella. And a fresh salad. And agua de limón.

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Off-site link to photo gallery (http://www.mcmurtryfamily.net/index.php?module=Photoshare&func=showimages&fid=5)

[Marina]

Hi Brian,

I really enjoyed looking at your pictures, I was very touched to see that you even cooked bread by hand... you really have to miss it ;)
For anyone that wants to know the set of things that can be found on a spanish family table on a Sunday lunch this is a great example!!!

I've heard that people cook their paellas on their barbacues before, but I actually never tried. I think that would make a great podcast, any tips?

I specially like the pic with all the food and your children... one question, are they bilingual??? In fact I'm going to open another thread for that in the foroum under off topic.

[Marina]

Here is the new thread. (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1361#post1361)

[ValenciaSon]

Brian, that bread looks sooooo goood! Is it difficult to make? Is it time consuming or messy? Any chance you could share that recipe with us?

[Brian]

Brian, that bread looks sooooo goood! Is it difficult to make? Is it time consuming or messy? Any chance you could share that recipe with us?

It's definitely time consuming and quite messy, but it's worth the effort. I suppose that the next time that we make it, we'll be a bit more experienced, and it will turn out even better-- the barras turned out quite misshapen! They weren't as crunchy as I would have liked, but I would attribute that to my lousy electric stove and over-processed American white flour.

I found the recipe at:

http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipe/bread.htm

[Brian]

Hi Brian,
I've heard that people cook their paellas on their barbacues before, but I actually never tried. I think that would make a great podcast, any tips?


It would be a wonderful podcast!

For me, cooking paella on the barbecue grill is more of a necessity than anything, as I live in an urbanizacion where cooking on an open fire is frowned upon! :)

The key that I found lies in having a wood fire. The wood gives the paella a more smoky flavour that can't be obtained by cooking with gas. Usually, I will put a bit of charcoal in the grill to start a fire, then gradually add small pieces of wood to generate sufficient heat to cook the paella for a half hour or so. Charcoal alone will not sustain enough heat to cook the rice thoroughly.

Here's my general procedure, although it varies as I learn to make paella:

If we are using chicken as the principal meat, I will typically pre-cook 6-8 chicken thighs in a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, and salt, until they are mostly done. I do the chicken over the kitchen stove, because it's very easy for the olive oil to splatter in the wooden fire, and catch the entire paellera on fire!

On the paellera, I will make a generous criss-cross pattern of rice, sauteeing it for a moment so that it browns just a bit. To this, I will add a bit of olive oil and water. I let it come to a boil, then add the Paella mix, which is generally mostly pimenton with saffron. I will also add more pimenton dulce by hand to give it a darker color. When the rice has cooked for 5 minutes, I will add a few cloves of garlic, usually chopped fine, plus a chopped onion. Then, I add the chicken meat (unless we're having seafood paella), a fresh sprig of rosemary, more salt to taste. About 10 minutes before it's done, I will put in the fresh vegetables, such as chopped red pepper, green peas, a few green beans, perhaps chopped carrots, whatever we have in the refrigerator. Often I will also quarter some artichoke hearts.

It usually takes about a half-hour to cook. Make sure to pick up the paellera with mittens- the handles will be scorching hot!

It's a lot of work, but very much worth the effort!

[Polly]

On the paellera, I will make a generous criss-cross pattern of rice, sauteeing it for a moment so that it browns just a bit.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Browning the rice before adding the liquid is KEY to a fluffy, firm rice, and not a crunchy or /mushy mess!
That's how I was taught to make Spanish rice, and have shown others to make it for years. I can't get it to turn out at all unless I do it this way! ;D