Le Creuset

[Tim]

Yesterday I bought a Le Creuset 2 3/4 qt. French Oven. Very excited to finally have it. I've wanted one for months, maybe even years. Anyway, to celebrate the purchase, tonight I'm making a paella. I've traditionally been a bit of a purist when it comes to Spanish food, and a paella should really only be made in a true paella pan, but I'm making it in the Le Creuset to see how it all comes out.

I'm doing a paella valenciana, btw. Chicken, peas, and red peppers. If I had shrimp I'd add them as well. I'm using rice I brought back from Spain last time I went there.

Tim

[Surfah]

Sounds delicious. Those Le Creusets are awesome. My mother had and orange one from like 1978 that she used regularly up until recently.

[RobinFinderson]

What is the difference between a Dutch and French oven?

We looked at the Le Creusets but finally opted for a Martha Stewart version (Dutch oven). Your paella sounds delicious.

[Tim]

What is the difference between a Dutch and French oven?

We looked at the Le Creusets but finally opted for a Martha Stewart version (Dutch oven). Your paella sounds delicious.

Truthfully, there's not much difference. Some suggest that the only difference is the way Le Creuset markets their ovens. I think I would personally refer to it as a Dutch oven if it's not enameled and a French oven if, like the Le Creuset models, it's enameled. That distinction, however, may just be a product of my brainwashing by Le Creuset.

Tim

[TripletDaddy]

tim, please be a total babe and post your paella recipe.

While I enjoy certain seafoods and love sushi, I do NOT like the smell of fish in my house, so if you have a non-seafood paella recipe, I am DOWN.

[Tim]

tim, please be a total babe and post your paella recipe.

While I enjoy certain seafoods and love sushi, I do NOT like the smell of fish in my house, so if you have a non-seafood paella recipe, I am DOWN.

Well, I've made Paella so many times that I don't really follow a recipe. I spent considerable amount of time watching old women cook when I was on the mission, and I simply watched them and learned the principles of Spanish food, rather than specific recipes. Here's I would do a Paella Valenciana:

1. Put some olive oil in a pan and heat over medium. Throw in some chicken and let it fry up.
2. Add some sliced red bell peppers, peas (even better: whole pea pods), and, if you want, some artichokes. Add more olive oil if you need. Fry that all up for a couple minutes.
3. Throw in your rice, chicken broth/stock, and however much saffron you want. Salt. Stir once and only once.
4. Cover. Spaniards would normally cover the paellera (the pan) with a sheet of newspaper. Not even kidding.
5. Let it all simmer on medium for a while, depending on how well you want your rice cooked. Don't stir it, though. I usually wait until it looks like all the liquid will be gone in a couple of minutes, and that's when I take it off the heat and uncover it.
6. Serve.

So the key is to understand the flavors more than the specific mechanics of making the paella. Here are some thoughts:

A. Try different meats. Chicken, rabbit, chorizo (Spanish, not Mexican), shrimp, mussels, whatever.
B. Salt: Only use sea salt. Go to Whole Foods and invest in a nice $10 container of sea salt. It'll last you well over a year and you'll love the way it tastes.
C. Rice: Unless you have no choice, only use short-grain rice, preferably from the Albufera rice paddies south of Valencia, Spain. Paella tastes awful when made with brown or wild rice.
D. Don't be so precise in the way you measure the rice. I generally do 1 cup of rice, 1.5 cups of chicken broth, and 1.5 cups of water. This is totally variable, though, and I don't measure that well. Many Spaniards measure the rice by the handful and the liquid by sight.
E. Saffron: I use a pre-made "preparado de paella" that I get in Spain... it comes in a shaker and has cheap saffron and food coloring in it. It tastes amazing, though. Don't feel that you need to spend $20 on your saffron. You'll likely never taste the difference.

Tim

[Mrs. Funk]

Having come into some birthday cash, the Funk family is considering a foray into the enameled cocotte. Having researched a fair amount, it seems to come down to a Staub or Le Creuset (both French, both highly recommended).

1) Can anyone recommend one brand over another, or had good luck with another brand? The biggest benefit people seem to tout with Staub is that the black enameled interior doesn't stain as much. Le Creuset apparently has a better warranty. Other brands can run a lot cheaper, but we're willing to invest in the best (if it is really the best?).
2) Oval or round?
3) Best size? We're considering something at least 6 quarts.

Thanks for any info or thoughts.

[Katy Lied]

At our Pioneer Day BBQ yesterday, the host, who went on a mission to Catalonia, made some paella valenciana in a paellera he brought back from his mission. I caught the tail end of him making it, as he was running late and I was obnoxiously early.

Final reduction: boiling off the last of the soupy broth on the grill.


Removing the paellera from the grill. I think he built his grill to fit the pan exactly.


Garnished with lemon wedges on the table:


His recipe seemed pretty standard. It was absolutely yummy.

[Tim]

At our Pioneer Day BBQ yesterday, the host, who went on a mission to Catalonia, made some paella valenciana in a paellera he brought back from his mission. I caught the tail end of him making it, as he was running late and I was obnoxiously early.

Final reduction: boiling off the last of the soupy broth on the grill.


Removing the paellera from the grill. I think he built his grill to fit the pan exactly.


Garnished with lemon wedges on the table:


His recipe seemed pretty standard. It was absolutely yummy.

He used the wrong kind of rice. If you're going to make a paella the right way, you have to use short grain rice. A bomba of Calasparra is cheap and can be purchased all over the country. Even if he didn't want to spend money on Spanish rice, he could've at least used any other type of short grain rice. It's just not the same when it's made with long grain rice.

And way too much lemon.

[wuapinmon]

It's just not the same when it's made with long grain rice.

And way too much lemon.

1. I agree completely with both assertions.
2. Tim knows how to cook Spanish food.
3. I can never get used to hard sea shells in my food.

[Katy Lied]

I think he put a slice of lemon in for every adult there. You pull it out and squeeze it over your paella. Alternatively, he could just have put the slices on lemon on a plate to the side. It looked festive actually in the dish.

I look forward to Tim's pictures of his paella, cooked al fresco in a paellera. Im sure it will look delish.

[Portland Ute]

Yesterday I bought a Le Creuset 2 3/4 qt. French Oven. Very excited to finally have it. I've wanted one for months, maybe even years. Anyway, to celebrate the purchase, tonight I'm making a paella. I've traditionally been a bit of a purist when it comes to Spanish food, and a paella should really only be made in a true paella pan, but I'm making it in the Le Creuset to see how it all comes out.

I'm doing a paella valenciana, btw. Chicken, peas, and red peppers. If I had shrimp I'd add them as well. I'm using rice I brought back from Spain last time I went there.

Tim

Your paella is missing not only shrimp, but mussels and scallops!

[Portland Ute]

He used the wrong kind of rice. If you're going to make a paella the right way, you have to use short grain rice. A bomba of Calasparra is cheap and can be purchased all over the country. Even if he didn't want to spend money on Spanish rice, he could've at least used any other type of short grain rice. It's just not the same when it's made with long grain rice.

And way too much lemon.

Other than the rice and the lemon, the ingredients are perfect, from what I can see. I see mussels. That makes me happy.

Lemon is a personal thing. Some people love it on their paella, others do not. I like a bit of lemon if it's seafood. WIthout seafood, I think it's gross.

I actually like the seafood paella with a small bit of chicken and some chorizo. However, just a bit of chorizo. I like the flavor it gives the sofrito if you add it early with the chicken.

BTW, the suggestion of using "preparado de paella" is a great one. Using saffron alone can be very expensive.

You can get Bomba rice in a lot of places. Even in Utah. It's not that hard to come by. If you want a true paella, that's the way to go. It sucks up the liquids and flavor much more than even other short grain rices. The long grains are terrible.

Every once in a while we'll have a get together of some close friends from the mission. Inevitably, someone PRE-PREPARES a paella. As if that's not bad enough, they use long grain rice. Geh.

[Tim]

Your paella is missing not only shrimp, but mussels and scallops!

You'll note, of course, that I said I was making a paella valenciana, not a paella de marisco.

[Mrs. Funk]

So, back to why I bumped this thread. Help! Pretty please:

1) What brand of enameled French oven to buy? We've researched a lot, and it seems to come down to Staub or Le Creuset.
2) Oval or round?
3) Size?