TN: BTG Reuda and Rioja

OK, guess that would sound more appealing as vegetarian paella. Mushrooms, asparagus, peppers (too many yellow peppers actually).

Noticed the reference to paella, have you had fideau? A lot like paella, but the pasta is thinner and overall drier. Paella, unless done exactly right, is usually too clumpy and damp for my tastes.

Never heard of fideau. So it uses pasta instead of rice? Similar meat/ fish options?

It's from southern Spain, I think Valencia. Pretty much similar seafood, not much meat, though the occassional piece of lambchop. My wife and her family are from Catalunya and her mom makes the worlds best paella, second only to her fideau.

It is called Fideuada and usually shortened to Fideuà. And the wine is Rueda. :-)

OK, took me a while, typo in title (I was looking at text, couldn't see a misspelling) Sorry

Nah, the wine is Basa :P

Mark Lipton

I agree with most of the above except the Catalyns I know would throw me from a cliff if I call them Spanairds....

Like calling a Welshman, English !

I thought they were Basque. I guess that makes them Spaniards too... OUCH that's also a no no...

Hi,

Just for the sake of discussion ;-)

Paella is not a dish. It is the name of the cooking appareil.

The dish is called "Arroz en paella" (Rice cooked in a Paella).

It is a traditional dish of eastern Spain (where rice is planted) and it traditionally included the produce of the village were it was cooked. For the coastal villages, the kind of fish that was difficult to sell in the fish- shops. For the non-coastal, vegetables, snails, rabbit and even water-rats (ahem).

A traditional way to cook Arroz en paella is, as was pointed in the thread, to make a fire (optimally with orange-tree wood) outdoors.

Fideuá is also typically cooked in a paella, but it uses a special sort of wheat pasta, called "fideo hueco" (it is like a very, very thin rigattoni, about 1 mm thick when cooked).

When the pasta is more like a tiny spaghetti, (fideo), it is called "Rossejat). You may see a picture here:

About Basa, this is a branded wine, made at a winery but sold under the name of a spanish flying winemaker. Very constant in quality, year after year, and very cheap in Spain but quite uninspiring IMHO.

Best,

Santiago

Thanks for the information, Santiago. Arroz en paella is one of my very favorite dishes to cook and eat. Is saffron a constant in all regions, or is it more closely associated with the version from Valencia? I've also heard that rabbit and artichoke is a classic combination for arroz en paella -- is that correct?

Best wishes, Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote in news:frurm2$7lj$1 @mailhub227.itcs.purdue.edu:

This question, that could seem easy to reply, is not. I had to do some research amongst friends to come back.

It seems that if there is a place where saffron WAS NOT used in the past, this is Valencia. However, in Cataluña, it was more common.

We cannot forget that Arroz en Paella was the poor man's dish, made with local produce, and saffron is not typical of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast and is a luxury product. It is typical of La Mancha, about 200 km from the coast.

I've

Could be, specially in those areas where artichokes were cultivated.

Sorry for not being able to come with more conclusive answers ;-(

Santiago

Sorry, that was me!

Santiago

Vrey good Santiago, thanks. Only one additional comment regarding fideuá, there is a mayo based "sauce" that is added immediately before consumption. I don't know that actual components (my mother in law is very secretive about these sorts of things) but I know there is mayo and probably garlic involved.

I saw a reference below about artichokes as well. I know the Catalyns roast artichokes on an open flame (as I've seen it with dried grapevines providing the fire) after glazing them with olive oil. The taste is amazing and something I've been unable to duplicate here in the states.

Kamakazee wrote in news:d69432c5-6507-4667-b280- snipped-for-privacy@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

The real thing is called all-i-olli (garlic-and-oil) and is not a mayo, but the result of smashing peeled garlic cloves with a pinch of coarse salt while adding the thinnest amount of olive oil you are able to. A purist will not use egg (thus not a mayo).

I am not a big expert but I had the chance to share two "arroz en paella" in Alicante with one person that knew everything about this traditional preparation, and he said that all-i-olli, being quite strong in flavor, is usually employed at restaurants where the arroz en paella is not top-notch, following the idea that the strength of the all-i-olli will mask the defects of the main dish.

I will never forget what was the best "arroz en paella" of my life, in the little town of Mutxamel (Alicante), no fish, just snails, rabitt, garrofó (a kind of white bean) and vegetables. Just perfect. 1200 pesetas (7,5 euros) per serving, in year 2000. It cannot get better than that.

I am sorry that I cannot offer any help about this, I live as far from Cataluña as is possible in Spain ;-(

Santiago

Yes, that's exactly right, they call it something like "oli oli". When my wife makes it here (US) she uses mayo, but when her mother makes it while we're there she might not.

What part of Spain? My last trip there we went up through Pamplona, up to San Sebastian and along the coast. Amazing views, but I my heart still remains at the coast around Sitges and a bit further north.