Hosting Dinner, Free Essay about Paella

Hosting a diverse group of people requires a meal that meets the nutritional needs of every member of the group. Such meals should be served just like fellowship meals would. The most appropriate meal to serve in this case would be paella. By definition, it is a Spanish Main Course rice dish. More precisely, it is a Valencian dish owing its origin to Valencia, a region in Spain. Internationally, though, it is recognized as Spain's national dish. Even so, the ingredients are quite available everywhere across the world. It is a dish whose preparation allows room for creativity and flexibility. Therefore, given the recipe, every culinary enthusiast should be able to prepare it. The most critical ingredient, however, is the rice that is used for it is specific. Bomba rice is what makes the dish Paella. Although produced in Spain, this rice is available almost everywhere across the globe quite affordably. Its choice is based on the fact that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan in which it is cooked. Also, it absorbs a lot of water during cooking but doesn't get mushy.

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What makes Paella ideal in this situation is that it is economical in the sense of time and cost. During cooking, all the ingredients are mixed in one cooking pan. When serving it is presented in the same pan in which it has been cooked. Individual guests serve themselves. Both the cooking and presentation can easily be handled even by one person. In this scenario, two sets of paella would be prepared; Mixed and Vegan Paella. The basic ingredients include; Bomba rice, seasonings (saffron and rosemary) and vegetables. In addition to these, therefore, seafood such as shrimp, fish chunks, and octopus may be added to make Seafood Paella. Chicken meat may be added to the basic ingredients to make Chicken Paella. In this instance, the basic ingredients are mixed with seafood and chicken to make Mixed Paella. In each type, a corresponding stock is usually used instead of water. Therefore, equal proportions of fish, chicken and vegetable stocks are used.

In Vegan Paella only the basic ingredients are used with additional vegetables more than that which would be used in the other types. Also, vegetable stock is used instead of water. Both of these two sets would actually be cooked side by side with an estimated cooking time of one hour. Traditionally, the primary ingredients except rice are fried first preferably using olive oil. The chicken meat may be grilled slightly beforehand. After all, have been fried, Bomba rice is added and mixed with fried content evenly. Following is the addition of the respective stocks and seasonings. One must be careful when adding salt to the Seafood kind because it tends to be naturally salty. After the addition of stock, it is left to cook for forty-five minutes like any other rice. It is then served hot.

With just a little organization like; setting the table prior to the arrival of guests, getting all the ingredients in time and sparing two hours for the cooking, hosting this dinner is a walk in the park. This is a convenient meal because all ingredients are easily available, it is easy to cook, it is a one-man job and it is a simple meal yet serves guests from all walks of life satisfactorily. The chicken meat and seafood can be swopped with any locally available items of the same kind. Also, a wide variety of vegetable can be used.