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Scallops, Pork Belly and Paella
Posted By Kerri
We had some friends over for dinner last night to celebrate the start of the long weekend. I’ve been waiting for the right time to cook scallops and pork belly since eating it in a restaurant last year and this was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, I didn’t take in to account just how much the pork would shrink in cooking so the portion sizes where slightly on the mean side. The combination worked very well though and the scallops were particularly fresh and tasty.
The pork was rubbed with garlic, rosemarly, salt, crushed bay leaf and olive oil before being slow roasted for four hours. This is my favourite way of eating pork belly and the flavours complimented the sweet scallops very well.
We followed this with paella which we haven’t cooked for ages. Our paella pan isn’t big enough to feed four so we had to use the wok which proved to be a fairly good susbstitute despite being the complete opposite of a flat-bottomed paella pan. As our last paella wasn’t brilliant, I spent a fair amount of time looking for a traditional recipe but, as with a lot of Spanish food, the variation was vast and often varied depending on the region. In the end I settled for a Gordon Ramsay recipe as it contained most of the elements I wanted to incorporate, it was a good starting point but not exactly as I hoped for.
Gordon’s recipe doesn’t require stock but we both felt it was needed. More garlic and thyme would have helped to increase the depth of flavour too.
Apr 10th, 2009
A very authentic paella Valenciana recipe can be found at Saveur: http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Paella-Valenciana
But the stock should actually come from the ingredients in the pan (plus water, of course). Your seafood paella does look tasty though!
Su-Lin’s last blog post..Taqueria
Your paella certainly looks the part even if you weren’t totally happy with it. I’ve made paella a lot (and eaten it a lot in Spain, too), and it’s one of those things that always seems to be a a bit hit and miss, even when using the same recipe. Don’t know why, never managed to figure it out. When it’s good, though, it’s very very good!
Caroline’s last blog post..Sunday Car Booty
Lucky mates of yours! That looks delicious.
Lizzie’s last blog post..Sake Tasting at Tsuru Sushi
Thanks, Su-Lin. I’ll have a read through. I do think it’s impossible to find a truly authentic paella though, due to the regional variations.
You’re right, Caroline. I guess we’ll have to keep on trying until we find something we’re happy with!
Thanks, Lizzie 🙂
On hindsight, I think I have only cooked scallops once! I ought to give it another try real soon!
Mrs Ergül’s last blog post..Onion Studded Mashed Potato
The pork belly and scallop looks really professional and the paella looks delicious even if you were disappointed with it somewhat.
Gourmet Chick’s last blog post..Djemaa al Fna (Gourmet Chick in Morocco)
Good luck if you do, MrsE.
Thanks, GC 🙂