Last Saturday I went to the open-air market to buy some of the paella ingredients from the fishmonger there. I was unsuccessful — the seafood vendor was nowhere to be found. On vacation, I guess. So we had something else for lunch on Sunday. A couple of days later, I was at the supermarket and as I walked past the seafood counter, I noticed there was no line. I went and asked the young woman in charge if she had any moules (mussels). She did, a huge burlap bag full of them. « Il vous en faut combien ? », she asked me. « Douze », I told her. That's 12. She stared at me blankly.
"What are you going to do with 12 mussels?", she then asked me, laughing. I'm going to garnish a big pan of paella with them, I told her. Do you have any extra-large mussels? She showed me one of the moules she was taking out of the bag. It was pretty small, so I told her I'd take 20 instead of 12. She still looked dubious and amused. Anyway, I told her I'd also like some shrimp. How many?, she asked hesitantly. When I again said 12, she laughed. Then she carefully counted out an even dozen (she's not a baker!).
The mussels cost 64 cents, and the shrimp €2.91. That didn't break the bank. We already had some chicken parts, a package of Spanish chorizo sausages, and plenty of rice on hand. Also some tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Spices of course. I had set out to make a small batch of paella, but it turned out to be a lot more copious than I intended. We ate all the seafood, some of the chicken and vegetables (I diced up and threw in a zucchini from the garden and some artichoke hearts out of a can...), two of the six sausages, plus a good amount of rice. The rest will go into the freezer this morning and can easily be turned into another pan of paella whenever we want to eat it again. Here's a recipe.
When I spent a vacation in Spain, eons ago, I enjoyed several times a paella valenciana in situ. Typical Spanish and delicious!
ReplyDeleteAccording to what I've read, the paella valenciana is made with chicken and rabbit, and sometimes duck, but no seafood at all. Was that your experience? The fr.wikipedia.org article I linked to above describes the seafood version as la paella hétérodoxe.
DeleteI was traveling with a friend and we went from San Sebastian to Valencia and then to Murcia and back to Montauban through Valencia again, Barcelona and France. The paellas I had in Valencia on the first leg had fish, shrimps and mussels and what else?, and they were fine and delicious. On the second stop in Valencia, on our way back, I had once again paellas with the same ingredients, but that time one dish didn't agree with me (bad fish or mussels) and I was very sick!
DeleteI don't remember if there were different kinds of paellas or just that one.
I assumed that Paella valenciana was a paella made in Valencia! I didn’t know it was one of a kind. AOP? AOC? Etc…
DeleteIt seems to be a specific variety with specific ingredients, as are cassoulets de Toulouse, de Castelnaudary, or de Carcassonne.
Delete".... but it turned out to be a lot more copious than I intended. "
ReplyDeleteThat always happens with any dish like this...
I do it with pasta and rice salads... end up with enough to feed the five thousand and their close relatives!
This looks wonderful,,,,
I know: quantities pour un bataillon, as they say in French. Or enough to feed "Coxey's army" as we say in the U.S. That is a 19th century reference. We just decided to go to Montrichard tomorrow for the Friday market and see if we can find some clams, mussels, or prawns to have with another feast of paella on Saturday.
DeleteWell this looks delicious. "The mussels cost 64 cents, and the shrimp €2.91"...you're killing me, those are 1980s prices. Never see any see food that well priced here. Wonder why she was amused. Are dozens and Anglophone phenom?
ReplyDeleteI think she was amused because the quantities were so skimpy. Normally mussels would be sold by the livre/pound or kilogram. Shrimp, I'm not sure. Anyway, it was all very pleasant and good-natured. As for dozens, it's true that eggs here are usually sold 10 to a carton, or 6 for the smaller cartons.
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DeleteThere is a French expression, treize à la douzaine, which means much too much and seems to be borrowed, if not translated, from the British Baker's dozen.
It's interesting that in France people can take an expression that originally expressed the idea of generosity into something negative. Mindset?
DeleteThat's what happens when expressions or words are borrowed from foreign languages or cultures, the original meaning is usually lost.
DeleteI've never been happy freezing cooked rice...it gets kinda mushy....do you use saffron? I love the taste but so expensive. I will report back on Valencia paella as our daughter & family moved there recently & we will visit in late fall.
ReplyDeleteI'll report back on the frozen-and-thawed rice. Rice is so different every time you cook it... like beans. But both are always good, in their own way. Did your daughter and family leave Bayonne then? Sounds like a big move. Language issues?
DeleteI'm beginning to think that paella is actually a French dish. It seems like any decent-sized French outdoor market has a paella vendor with a giant pan. And as 12-o'clock approaches, the paella is almost always gone.
ReplyDeleteSounds right to me, Bob.
DeleteThis looks delicious too.
ReplyDeleteI / we have only ever made paella once. Time for a second go methinks.
I've eaten paella in the Balearics but not in France. I think we had it with various seafoods and sausages -- those incredible summer sausages. Adding it to my list of things to try in France.
ReplyDeleteYour paella is picture perfect!
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