Paella (maybe)

Eva and I were recently discussing paella, which I have really been wanting to try. I decided to make it last night, although I am not entirely sure how traditional my version may be (or whether it really tastes like paella should). I took pieces from about 4 recipes I found online and combined them, and it turned out pretty tasty. 

It seems that paella can be anything you want it to be, with the only commonality between recipes being saffron and rice, so here is how I did mine...

1 Yellow Onion

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper

2 Garlic Cloves

2 Chicken Breasts

2 Sausages (I used andouille because I couldn't find good chorizo)

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

3 Cups Rice

Saffron (a few pinches)

Paprika

2 Bay Leaves

Shrimp (around 20-25 pieces) 

Peas (about 1/2 cup)

Diced Tomatoes (about 2/3 cup)

Dice the onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Begin to saute them in olive oil in a large, shallow pan over medium-high heat. Cut the chicken into strips as well as the sausage and add these to the pan. Saute until the chicken is more than halfway cooked. Then, add the chicken stock, rice, and the rest of the spices. Combine well and stir several times as it simmers. After approximately 6-7 minutes (when the rice is mostly cooked and the paella no longer seems very soupy), add the shrimp, peas, and tomatoes. Cook until these appear done and the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add some hot pepper flakes for heat if you like.

Here is what the paella looked like. It was very colorful and yummy. And the recipe made quite a bit. Enough for leftovers for lunch :-) 

As you can see in the picture, I served it with some bread that I happened to bake a day or two earlier. I absolutely love bread but do not have much experience making it, so last week I got a few books from the library on bread making and gave it a shot. The recipe I used came from the book Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads by Richard Bertinet. 

In theory, I liked the organization of the book. It covers several basic dough recipes (e.g., white, olive, sweet) and then gives you several variations of each to try out (e.g., baguettes, fougasse, and spicy Moroccan rolls for the white dough). However, when making the dough, I found the book's organization to be a little frustrating because I had to keep flipping back and forth between pages, and I managed to get flour all over it in the process! The beginning of the book explained the basic techniques for working the dough. It wasn't traditional kneading, but more like slapping and folding, so I had to keep looking at that part. Then, the basic white dough recipe was on another page at the beginning of the white dough chapter. But I had to keep flipping to the baguette page to check out the specifics. This and the fact that I was tired and stressed from school, led me to make some serious mistakes along the way.

On my first batch of dough I forgot to let the dough rest before shaping it into baguettes. I didn't want to skip the first rising, so I combined the dough back into a ball, but I was scared that I had overworked it. So during the first rising of the first batch, I decided to make a second batch of dough to get it right. But I messed this up too because I forgot to add salt and didn't realize that until after the first rising. So now I had two batches of dough that I didn't think would turn out well at all. I proceeded anyhow.

As intended, I shaped the first batch into baguettes. The dough didn't seem as easily workable as the book described, but I managed to get 3 baguettes out of it (I kept back what would have been the 4th baguette to start a ferment). The baguettes were smaller than what I usually buy, so next time I will try to make larger ones. With the second batch of dough in which I forgot salt, I decided to make some rolls. I topped them with sea salt and dried rosemary from my garden to add some extra flavor. 

Surprisingly, both types of bread turned out well! They were crusty (maybe not quite enough though) on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Apparently, the outside will get crustier if you use a spray bottle to spray water in the oven when you put the dough in. Sadly, I do not yet have a handy spray bottle around the house. Anyhow, Adrian and I both have been devouring the bread plain, dipped in olive oil and spices, and as sandwiches. I made myself a fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich this morning for breakfast :-) I have to tell you, this is probably the greatest thing in the world. I used to get these sandwiches in Germany almost every day at the cafe near die Technische Universität in Dresden when we had a break between classes. Seriously, if you've never had one, make it. I think I might have to go eat one now...

Baguettes!

Rollz!