Mitt liv som Tobin

This afternoon at the coffee shop, while paging through my notebook, I came across an old annotation: "paella," as in "try making that delicious spanish saffron-flavored rice dish at home." Coincidentally, cherryspecial had just invited me to a vegan potluck, and so my mission was obvious.

I took a look at a bunch of recipes at epicurious.com and then did my own thing.

One of the exicting things about paella is that it uses saffron, famously the world's most expensive spice. I bought a bottle that contained a paper envelope that contained a cellophane envelope that contained 1.7 grams of saffron for $8 at Albertsons (unit price: $133/oz). Fortunately, a little goes a long way. The flavor of saffron is potent yet subtle. (I first came to love it in the form of saffron gelato at the little ice cream shop in Lund, Sweden.)

The other spice, smoked paprika, is exciting too (and much cheaper). Paprika (powdered dried red bell pepper) is totally useless, as it is completely flavorless. But this stuff is powdered smoked red pepper and has a delightful, pungent smoky taste, in addition to its amazing brick-red color.

First I boiled a cup of water and added a pinch of saffron. Then, in large sauce pan, I sauteed the onions in olive oil, then added the bell pepper, garlic, and other vegetables. Once all this was hot and bubbly, I added the other liquids: the saffron-water, the vegetable stock, and the white wine. Once that began to boil, I turned the burner down to minimum, added the rice, and let it cook as usual.

Delicious!

The big chunks of mushroom work really well. The artichoke hearts and baby corn are good too. These guys are good because they provide interesting textures. Really, it's hard to resist adding shrimp, and I might have to add shrimp to my leftovers. For vegetable stock, I used vegetable bullion, which I think was a mistake because there is that unmistakable MSG aftertaste. I'm not sure the wine does anything, although it is delicious by itself. Maybe omit the bullion so that the wine stands out better; or add water in place of the wine and serve the wine as a beverage.

The potluck was fun, too, though I arrived late, and the other food was delicious. This is a weekly Sunday thing so I might make it a habit.