Paella time

Portugal is separated from Spain on its northern border by the River Minho. Pleasant villas line the high banks of both sides of the river, all sharing the view of another country.

Valenca, Portugal

We visited one of the border towns, Valenca, an enclosed town built inside high castle rampants, very picturesque and now given over primarily to visits from Spanish neighbours seeking good-value textiles. Meanwhile the borderland Portugese come in the other direction to buy petrol, which is 30 cents cheaper a litre in Spain.

The meal to have was arroz de marisco, a Portugese rice and fish dish, like a saucy paella. It was very tasty, with a strong crab bisque flavour through the stock and plenty of seafood.  Three of us shared the serving for two and we couldn’t finish it, but we had been devouring percebes back over the border as a first lunch a couple of hours earlier…

Arroz de Marisco

Back in Galicia we found a large paella pan lurking in the cupboard of the house we’re staying in.

Paella is from Valencia but is much-loved all over Spain.  Chefs have outdone each other to produce record-breaking communal servings – the largest served 110,000 people in Valencia in 2001.   

Rice such a generous platform for the base of a dish – picking up all the seasoning and spice notes while still holding its nubbly, moreish textures. Risottos, biryanis, jambalayas… whenever I have them I think I should eat these more often…

I’d read about Claudia Roden’s new book a Taste of Spain in this interview on epicurious.com. she comes across as a very serious personality but I enjoy the way she tells a story of culture and history through her food writing.

We used her seafood paella recipe and added red peppers and monkfish. The highlight was the squid, beautifully softened from the half-hour cooking with the stock, seasonings and wine.

Our seafood paella

Great for a party, ours made a bit much for two us. Paella leftovers for a couple of days…