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Chesapeake Bay Paella

Anne Arundel Community College/flickr

The Maryland pantry supports so many culinary traditions. While Al was in Spain this past spring, he had more than one plate of their famous national dish, paella. And it so happens that one of our creative local chefs has adapted paella to work with Maryland seafood. Chef David Ludwig, from Anne Arundel Community College, teaches cooking in their Hospitality and Culinary Arts Department and shares his recipe for a Chesapeake Bay paella. 

Here are some paella basics: First, you need the broad, flat, shallow paella pan. These are available for as little as $20 for a 15" model. Next, since this is a rice dish, you want the classic rice, a variety called bomba. This is also easily found in upscale grocery stores like Wegman's. After that, it's up to you. You must have a seafood protein and a land protein. A little cured meat of some sort is also in order. And don't forget your favorite vegetables: tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers are standard.

But it's the seafood that make the difference, and living on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, we have quite a lot to offer.  

Chesapeake Paella by Chef David Ludwig

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil                                                          

2 slices bacon, diced                                                   

1 cup onion, diced                                                   

cloves garlic, minced                                                 

1 green bell pepper, julienned     

6 oz. local chorizo sausage

1 cup bomba rice, sautéed in olive oil

pinch of saffron

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

3 cups vegetable stock        

1/2 pound shrimp

1/2 pound scallops

1/2 pound local mussels

1/2 pound jumbo lump crabcake, crumbled

1/2 cup frozen peas

Method

1.  Using a 12" paella pan, cook the bacon to crispy. Remove the bacon, and set aside for later.  

2.  Sauté the onion, garlic and peppers in the bacon fat. Supplement with the olive oil if necessary.

3.  Sauté the rice with the saffron and Old Bay in the remaining oil.

4.  Add the sausage, bacon and the cooked vegetables. Slowly add 2/3 of the stock. Continue to cook.

5.  Add the peeled and deveined shrimp, scallops and mussels. 

If the pan becomes dry add more stock. Continue to cook until the mussels open and the rice is just about done.

6.  Add the crab and peas at the very end, and cook until the peas are hot.

Serve hot and enjoy.    

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
Executive Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Corks restaurant is fascinated by food and wine, and the way they work in harmony on the palate. His understanding of the two goes all the way to the molecular level, drawing on his advanced education in molecular biology. His cuisine is simple and surprising, pairing unexpected ingredients together to work with Corks' extensive wine offerings.