It was one rainy, gloomy and chilly late afternoon when I had the adrenalin rush to work around my kitchen and whip up what was to be served for dinner the other night. Jake scored a bottle of white wine and it was to be the missing link to this fantastic dinner dish. Wine, paella with good music at the backdrop equalled two hours of catch up chat with Jake who got busy at work the whole day.
Okay, quite unconventionally, I used corned beef instead of the usual combo of meats and seafoods associated with paella. I thought I’d explore a bit and scour the grocery cabinet for potential ingredients to complete ‘team paella’ for that night. So, shiitake joined, asparagus was in and all the other ingredients just blended well with the rest of my paella ensemble. Ending– the dish was a winner.
Corned beef paella
2 cups arborio uncooked rice
5 cups of water
1 can corned beef
1 can shiitake mushroom, sliced
6 asparagus spheres, stemmed
2 pcs of lemon, wedged
3 tbsps turmeric powder
4 threads, saffron
1 onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
In a paellera, saute onion and garlic. Add corned beef and shiitake mushrooms. Mix in arborio grains and turmeric. Coat well with the corned beef mixture. Add water and simmer until rice is cooked.
Meantime, season asparagus spheres with salt and pepper. Lightly fry in oil until cooked.
Top asparagus and lemon wedges on paella. Serve warm.
The Eating Room 