This past Friday, my parents came over to join Vanessa and I for Shabbat, and for paella. The meal was about as unkosher as it gets: shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, and chorizo. No one seemed to mind. We lit shabbat candles, enjoyed a challah, some salad, some sauvignon blanc, and of course, the paella.
Vanessa took this photo of me and my folks after dinner, with empty plates and full bellies.
Here are some photos from the meal:
The Dinner Table
Seafood Paella
With Shrimp, Squid, Mussels, Clams, and Chorizo
Spanish paella is a food that I had always enjoyed in restaurants growing up. When my sister, Trish, was in college, she studied abroad a summer in Salamanca and a semester in Madrid. The family went to visit her on the later of these trips. Spain was my second time to Europe, and I was immediately entranced by the beauty of the landscape, the Moorish architecture, the cobblestone streets, and of course, the jamon and langostinos.
Paella became a family favorite and a special treat. Luckily for us, we were not far from Bridgeport, CT, where a sizable Portuguese community lives. Like their Spanish neighbors, the Portuguese cook paella. Two Portuguese restaurants became favorites of ours for paella. In recent years, I have come to attempt the dish myself. It is actually a fairly simple dish to cook, and it does not take a lot of time. Below is a pictures from the last time my parents came over for paella. This was shortly after we moved in to the Norwalk apartment.
Another Seafood Paella
As with any dish, the more you make it, the better you get at preparing it. This most recent paella, I think, was my best yet. I am figuring out how to time the different ingredients so that the clams open at the same time as the mussels, and so the squid and shrimp are not over cooked.
¡Viva España!
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