I was excited to see an article in this week’s Dining & Wine section of the New York Times about Paella on the grill. It’s a summer staple at our house, and I had just made it for friends last Saturday night. The article is about a yearly head-to-head competition, a paella-off.[level-members]
Both versions were done on the grill and one of the participants is Chris Schlesinger, author or many grilling cookbooks. His competitor has her own street cred, actually being Spanish and all. The full story is here.
One version this year was “land-based” with chicken, sausage, rabbit and ham. The other a more “traditional” seafood version that includes pork. (“Traditional” in that it’s not traditional at all, but an Americanized version of the original dish.)
Much discussion of socarrat, the charred bottom layer of rice, ensued, but both dishes turned out well, according to the voters, who favored the land-based version by a single vote.
A sidebar piece includes drink recommendations and not surprisingly, it all depends on the version of the dish you’re having … We prefer dry rosès on most nights but a friend suggested a tempranillo this past weekend, and it was perfect.
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