The Prague Post
May 12th, 2008
Reader's Survey     Endowment Fund     Book of Lists ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre

Home » Archives » Night & Day

Spain and beyond

From a regional delight, paella has gone global
From the chef | Search restaurants | Archives

August 29th, 2007 issue

Rarely does a dish exist in a single form, unchanged by the passage of time. Each generation adapts new flavors and tosses out those ingredients deemed less trendy. Not only that but recipes often vary from region to region or family to family, making the search for “authenticity” difficult to achieve.

Paella, the well-known Spanish dish, is a good example. Most people trace the origins of the dish to the Catalan region, although recipes using a single pan are common to a number of cultures. The essentials — rice, saffron and olive oil — are present in every version. Beyond that, familiar ingredients include chicken legs and seafood. Some cooks add bacon or keep it strictly vegetarian.
Techniques vary as well. Debates rage, for instance, over whether it’s proper to sauté the rice.
When a recipe crosses borders, ingredients naturally change. Jambalaya is what occurs when people of Spanish origin bring old habits to a new world.
This happens with almost every native dish. The all-American burger has origins on the steppes of Russia and in Germany. Schnitzel, when transported into Texas cattle country, became chicken fried steak. Goulash differs from Hungary to the Czech Republic. And the French call it beef bourguignon.
There are many more examples. The point is to understand the basics of a recipe and search for traditional, regional variations. Or try a few of your own.
David Diaz Delgado is chef at La Degustation, located at Haštalská 18, Prague 1–Old Town. Tel. 222 311 234
PAELLA DE MARISCO
Note: this recipe works best if you use a paella pan (at least 40 centimeters)
1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) round rice
500 grams (1.1 pounds) cuttle fish
8 crayfish
8 shrimp (medium)
300 grams mussels
300 grams cockles
100 grams red pepper
100 grams onion
3 cloves garlic
250 grams skinned tomatoes (with liquid)
A large pinch of saffron
2 liters fish stock

5 grams chopped parsley

1 lemon
1 deciliter olive oil
Salt, white pepper
Preparation:
Sauté fish in olive oil, cook shellfish until they open and set aside.
In the same oil, sauté rice, chopped pepper, onions (chopped or pulled apart in rings), sliced garlic.
Add tomatoes and saffron, stir and simmer for a few minutes.
Add the fish stock and cook until the rice is done.
Stir in salt, lemon juice, parsley and pepper.
Finally, put fish and shellfish on the top, allow to heat, then bring to the table in pan.
 


Help us improve The Prague Post - fill out our Reader's Survey.

Other articles in Night & Day (29/08/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Book of Lists

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.