January Paella
Location: Costa brava
Chef: LT.
Photography by: AL.
Dish: Paella de setas y calçots
Paella, for us, is never just about the meal. It’s about the process, the slow fire, and the shared time.
What fascinates us most isn’t only the flavor, but its rhythm with the land. Each month tells a different story, guided by what the “huerto” is ready to give. Every month brings a different harvest, a different color, a different flavor — and yet the feeling stays the same.
For today´s paella we decided harvesting the first calçots of the season.
Calçots are a type of sweet, mild green onion native to Catalonia, and they are at the heart of one of the region’s most beloved traditions: “La Calçotada”
Calçots are typically harvested between January and March, and are traditionally grilled over open flames until the outer layer is charred black. They’re then wrapped in newspaper to steam, peeled by hand, and dipped into romesco before being eaten.
Ritual: calçotades are social gatherings.
Ingredients:
- Rice bomb
- Onion
- Mushroom
- Calçots
- Olive oil
- Salt & peper
- Azafran
- Pimenton de lavera
- Tomato sauce
You first pre-cook the ingrediants in the paella, so it leaves its flavours. Then you set them aside and start with the most important part... the sofrito. The sofrito consists of; small choped onion with olive oil and tomato sauce. Once you have a rich paste you add the rice. The rice has to be well integrated with its sofrito.
Finally you add on the broth. In this case the broth consisted on the extraction of dried mushrooms with a pre-made vegetable broth.
I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of the end result... for next time.