That said, I do have to add that the history of Spanish restaurants here in SoCal is not pretty. I’ve become a full-fledged, card-carrying pescatarian in my old age. And anyway, any excuse for gobbling an abundance of shrimp, crab, scallops, lobster, cod and what have you is much appreciated. But for me, at least, seafood makes paella so much more of a meal. Along with National Peanut Butter Day, National Cheese Doodle Day and National Meatball Day, we’ve got National Crabmeat Day, National Baked Scallop Day, National Lobster Newburg Day, National Clams on the Halfshell Day – and, on March 27, National Paella Day.Īnd, yes, I know that paella doesn’t have to include seafood to be paella it’s named for the flat metal pan with two handles in which it’s cooked. Paella is just one of many foods from the sea honored with special days in March – this may be the most aquatic month of the year. By the 15th century, it had become such a staple that it was the standard lunchtime meal for farm laborers, cooked in great pans over open fires, flavored with herbs and spices, with added ingredients like tomatoes and onions, saffron the pepper, rabbit and duck, and, closer to the ocean, seafood. That’s where it dates back to the 10th century, when the Moors of Spain began cultivating rice. And as is true of so many of our favorite dishes, paella has roots deep in history – in this case, in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. Her love of paella – a dish named for the pan in which it’s served – has continued, and perhaps even thrived. Or, at least, she did by that time, my wife and I had moved on to zarzuela and fideo and any number of other dishes. During five nights in Barcelona, we had another five paellas. And she obsessed very well.ĭuring five nights in Madrid, we went to five different restaurants famed for their paella.
She was captivated as well with sandwiches of jamón serrano on bocadillo bread, served at a chain wonderfully called Museo del Jamón. During a family trip to Spain, my daughter developed an obsession with paella.
0 kommentar(er)
