Vintage Urn: May 2011

Growing up with castles in Spain and spanish food...

...I jumped at the opportunity to tag along with my gal pal from Valencia, Spain Cristina to check out a family owned Spanish meats business in Harbor City, CA. It was a stretch to get there on our lunch hour from work but we did it anyways - anything to jazz up the workday right?! She was on a mission to find a large paella pan and some spanish goodies to host an upcoming family event. So off we went...

Upon arriving it looked more like a factory than a store but we walked ahead eager to give this a shot anyways.

The entrance?!

Yes! Loads of spanish goodies I grew up with in the small store of the spanish meats factory! Instant food memories flooded my mind of grocery shopping with my mother as a child of age 9 in Madrid...at the time it was all strange to me and now quite the opposite!

"Oh look!" I said, "fig jam, olive oil, jamon serrano, manchego cheese, wine and turrón!" A spanish bark nougat bar candy that is sold at Christmas. Heaven in Harbor City who would have thought such a delight!

On to more important things, Paella ingredients and the lunch hour clock is ticking, and we still need to eat! Thank goodness they serve traditional spanish sandwiches with olives, I wouldn't expect anything less!

La Espanola Meats

250 Doble Ave.

Harbor City, CA 90710

(310) 539-0455 or order online

http://donajuana.com/

Mission accomplished olé Cristina!

PAELLA VALENCIANA

2 cups olive oil

1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
3/4 chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 rabbit, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 1/2 pounds green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds broad beans, shelled
1/2 tomato, chopped
4 1/2 cups water
2 cups snails, cleaned, fresh or frozen
1 1/4 pounds plus 1-ounce rice 3.5 ounces per person recommended: Bomba – short grain rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pinch saffron, for coloring
Sprigs rosemary, as garnish
Special equipment: large shallow pan

DIRECTIONS

Heat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the oil in a pan. Add the strips of pepper and fry until they start to soften. Remove and reserve for garnish. Fry the chicken and rabbit at medium heat until golden brown, adding more oil, as necessary. Add the paprika half way through to add color to meat. Push the meat out to the edges of the pan and add the beans and tomatos in the center, mixing them well. Add 1/2 the water making sure to cover the pan until it is 1/2 full. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.

Add the snails and cook for 5 or 10 minutes.

Add the rice, distributing it evenly over the pan and fry for a few minutes, moving it around in the pan. Add the rest of the water and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a pinch of saffron for colour. Once this is done the paella should not be stirred anymore.

For the last 1 to 2 minutes increase the heat to medium-high, until the bottom layer of rice starts to carmelize, creating what Valencians call the "socarrat". If the rice starts to burn remove the pan from the heat immediately.

Garnish the paella with the strips of red pepper and the sprigs of rosemary.

Cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: 1 cup rice to 3 cups water

"Buen provecho"