Quarantravel…with Food Episode Two: Spain

I am happy to report Griffin and I successfully survived Quarantravel…with Food Episode Two:  Spain!

I posted a poll last week on my Instagram account asking followers “where” Griffin and I should go next in our quarantravels, and Spain was the overwhelming response.  We instantly knew what we wanted to make in honor of our trip to Spain last summer – paella and homemade sangria!

If you aren’t quite sure what paella is, let me enlighten you.  Paella is an authentic Spanish dish comprised of a variety of meats and rice that originated in Valencia, a region on the east coast of Spain, bordering the Meditteranean.  And as with any authentic dish, while everyone seems to have their own versions, there are three main versions of paella – paella valenciana, paella de marisco, and paella mixta.  Paella valenciana is made with chicken, rabbit, and sometimes duck or other livestock; paella de marisco includes seafood such as clams, mussels, and prawns instead of livestock; and paella mixta is a mix of both livestock and seafood.  All three versions include rice such as senia, bomba, or bahfa – essentially any short-grain rice that can easily absorb liquids.  Versions of paella also include different types of vegetables such as bell peppers, peas, green beans, tomato, or other varieties.

While visiting Spain last summer, we knew we couldn’t leave the country without trying paella.  This is quite easy to find in many parts of Spain, and in Barcelona it was really a matter of just picking a restaurant and sitting down.  We found one not far from our hotel in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona on our second night in the city.  We ordered the paella de marisco and, being the tourists that we were, obviously asked for a pitcher of red wine sangria to enjoy with our meal.

Sidenote about sangria – this delicious beverage has actually become a tourist thing more than anything else.  Many Spaniards will choose a cold beer or a glass of wine with dinner before ordering sangria.  This isn’t to say they don’t enjoy their own homemade sangria every so often, but when out and about in Barcelona or Madrid, or really anywhere in Spain, take a look around.  You’ll notice it’s mainly just tourists drinking the delicious concoction.  Proud tourist here!  No regrets.  Order the sangria.

The paella did not disappoint, and I’m pretty sure we ate enough to satiate us for the rest of the trip.  Or at least the rest of the day.  While we enjoyed many other delicious foods during our stay in Spain – tapas anyone? – it was the paella that stayed with us long after we’d come back home.  And so when coming up with our quarantravels ideas, it was an easy choice to attempt paella.  Cooked meats, veggies, and rice in a large pan?  What could go wrong?

As per my previous post on Quarantravels, it’s important to research any dish you plan to make that is authentic to another part of the world.  In our usual fashion, we looked up some recipes, read about the different rices and meats used, and set out on our quest to find the ingredients.  We knew we wanted to make a seafood version, and knew with all the restrictions it might be difficult to find the seafood we wanted here in Oklahoma, a land-locked state.  We called our local seafood market, and sure enough – no clams, no mussels.  Not only that, they discouraged us from buying any if we stumbled across fresh ones anywhere else as there was a current report out that many clams and mussels being distributed at that time were contaminated.  Noted.  No clams or mussels.  Dang.

We ventured to a larger grocery store in the area who’s meat counter happened to be open and functioning.  After surveying our options, we settled on fresh prawns, fresh cod, and scallops.  While not your traditional paella seafood, we were improvising.

The other trick was in deciding what rice to purchase.  Traditional paella dishes call for short-grain rice, and Spaniards use local Spanish rices in their paella.  Seeing as how we wouldn’t be finding any Spanish varieties, we settled on a substitute that was close to the rice described in traditional dishes – arborio rice.  More of a risotto consistency, it fit the rice profile we were looking for being a short-grain rice that easily absorbed liquids.

After venturing to two grocery stores and the liquor store for sangria necessities, it was time to head home and attempt our Qaurantravel meal.

Once again, we didn’t follow one single recipe for either the sangria or the paella.  We watched some YouTube videos, looked at some recipes online, and kind of went with our instincts from there!  I made the sangria first so it could chill for awhile, and oh wow was it delicious!  The key to a good red wine sangria (IMO), is a Spanish red and plenty of fruits.

As for the paella, Griffin did most of the work on that, but we had fun chopping the vegetables, and crushing fresh tomatoes.

Letting the paella simmer proved to take the longest amount of time (longer than we expected) but we patiently waited with olives and potato chips.

Another sidenote – while in Spain, for whatever reason, every time we sat down at any restaurant or bar, they would bring us a bowl of potato chips.  We could never quite figure out if this was a Spanish thing, or if our waiters always just assumed that since we were Americans, maybe we’d like to snack on some Lays potato chips before ordering.  Either way, we didn’t mind.  Though by the end of the trip, if I saw one more potato chip…I might’ve screamed.  In Barcelona they serve olives first, and I am never one to turn down olives.  Griffin doesn’t care for them.  That’s fine – more for me!  So be forewarned when traveling to Spain – you will be given a lot of potato chips and a lot of olives.

Paella Cooking Advice:  True paella dishes are made in a traditional paella pan.  Obviously we don’t have one, as I’m sure most people living outside of Spain or regions where they cook paella regularly also don’t have one.  Instead we settled for our All Clad Weeknight Pan.  It proved to be the perfect size for our paella.  So if you are tempted to try your hand at paella but find yourself without a paella pan, check out the All Clad Weeknight Pan!  It was just what we needed, and we use it for far more meals than paella.  It has well been worth it’s price.  We use it for everything!

The paella turned out to be quite good!  We both remarked that it didn’t taste quite like we remembered in Spain, but we were improvising!  I ate two servings (this was after eating an entire bowl of olives and about 2/3 a bag of Lays potato chips.  I have no self-control), and we made enough for leftovers the next day.  Re-heated, the paella tasted just as good.

We both agreed the true winner of our night was probably the sangria.  It turned out perfect.  I don’t know how I managed it, but I cannot wait to make it again!

Was Quarantravel…with Food Episode Two a success?  I’d wager that yes, it was.  Even if the paella didn’t turn out quite as we hoped, it was still yummy, and we still had fun making it!  And remember, if you try something similar at home, that’s the whole point of this!  To have fun, to try something new, and to remember happy memories while creating new ones.  I can’t wait to see where we go next!  Want the chance to chime in?  Head over to my Instagram stories to cast your vote!

Many have been asking for the recipes for both the paella and the sangria.  While we didn’t follow any single recipe, I will do my best to recount the ingredient lists and some basic instructions below.  Happy cooking!

Quarantravel Paella

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound Shrimp (prawns)
• 1/2 pound of scallops (about 6 scallops; but this could be substituted with clams or mussels)
• 1 cod fillet (once again, I would substitute with clams or mussels)
• 5 crushed tomatoes
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1/2-1 cup of frozen peas, slightly thawed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cups of short-grain rice (we used arborio)
• pinch of saffron
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley for garnish

Instructions:

1. Heat a large paella pan or oversized skillet on medium-high heat.
2. If you’re using scallops, sear the scallops slightly on either side first, set aside.
3. Throw in the onion and garlic in the pan and saute until cooked through.
4. Add whatever vegetables you plan to cook – for us that was bell pepper, green onion, and peas.  Cook for 5-10 minutes until cooked through.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes (you can buy a large can of crushed tomatoes if you’d rather not crush them yourself for convenience) and cook for 5-10 minutes.
6. Add the rice, chicken stock, saffron, and dry white wine.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes until liquids are absorbed.
7. When liquids are boiling and almost absorbed, add in your seafood.  Continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed.
8. Top with fresh parsley and serve!

*Please note this is in no way the official way to cook a traditional paella dish.  We consulted dozens of traditional recipes and YouTube videos to create our concoction, and I highly recommend you research the recipes yourself if you want a traditional paella experience.

Quarantravel Sangria

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of Spanish red wine
• 2 large oranges
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 1 apple (green or red -we only had red on hand)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Rum
• Simple syrup

Instructions:

1. Chop up one orange, a lemon, lime, and apple (you can vary with whatever fruits you want).
2. Combine the fruits, the juice of one orange, about 1-2 shots of rum, the red wine, one cinnamon stick, and about 2-3 tablespoons of simple syrup in a large pitcher.
3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes up to 4 hours to allow the sugars from the fruit to mix with the liquids and the flavor to solidify.
4. Pour into individual glasses, making sure to top with the fruit from the sangria, and serve!

 

Will you try your own version of paella and/or sangria?  Let me know in the comments below!