A Carnival Paella with Saffron Sauce

How nice that there are infinite ways to prepare a paella, so that you can never run out in your whole entire lifetime! Think about serving with a creamy sauce, however, to embellish and enrich!

3/4 cup short grain brown rice

1/4 cup multicolor quinoa

1 carrot, peeled and cut into half moons

2 slicks celery, diced

1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced

1 cup chopped purple cabbage (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup carnival, multi-colored pasta

1 quart chicken broth

1 cup water

1 large chicken breast, or 2 chicken thighs, diced into bite-sized pieces

1/2 lb shrimp, (about 12, or so) shelled and de-veined

12-15 cherry tomatoes, halved

Saffron White Sauce:

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp olive oil plus 2 Tbsp butter

1-1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

1/8 tsp saffron, threads, crushed, or to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp powdered cayenne pepper, or to taste

Sauté the rice and quinoa in a dash of canola oil for about 3-5 minutes in a table-ready skillet or small Dutch oven. Add the carrot, celery and onion, and cabbage if using, and continue cooking over medium heat for about another 5-8 minutes.

Add the garlic and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken (and any leftover meat you might optionally want to add) in a separate skillet in a dash of olive oil, until slightly browned, or until the rice-veggie mixture is ready.

Add the pasta to the rice mixture and stir to coat, cooking about 2 minutes.

Add the broth and water (or broth) to the rice mixture, and stir in the chicken. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring dish to a gentle boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook about 20-30 minutes, or until all the water has evaporated. You have to be the judge of this.

While the rice cooks, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter in the oil. Add the flour and whisk until you smell a nutty aroma - about 3-5 minutes. Add the broth, wine, saffron, cayenne and garlic powder, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to thicken. Adjust seasoning with salt as needed, and with water to adjust thickness, if necessary. When ready, transfer to a table-ready saucier.

During the last 3-4 minutes of cooking the rice mixture, top with the shrimp and the cherry tomatoes. Re-cover and allow the toppings to cook through. You should have a carnival of colors and flavors.

Garnish with dill if desired.

Serve in skillet or Dutch oven at the table, and pass the sauce to serve on the side.

Serves 4-6.

Cook’s Note: Honestly, I added the purple cabbage because I love it, love the color, and had leftovers which needs to be used - fantastic but totally optional.

If you don’t have saffron, just use 1/2 tsp turmeric (or nothing at all) and you will still have a wonderful dish!

I added a few pieces of leftover lamb to the chicken, here. And this is not inconsistent with the many varieties and combinations thereof, of paella throughout Spain and its influences. I am convinced that cooks who made this throughout the hundreds of years past, welcomed what was available - much as in French Cassoulet. Using cassoulet as a guide, I would think that turkey, beef, lamb, or pork leftovers would find a welcome (and economical) home in this dish, as well as in its consumers pallets. Just don’t claim it’s “the authentic’.

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs. Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have. Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade. Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375F.

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Cuisine Eric

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