Fireside Paella

Fireside Paella

Camping Food Evolution

Ill admit, growing up, when I thought of camping food it was the usual fare. Hot dogs, sandwiches, chips, marshmallows, and pop. Basic American crap. Of course we live in the Pacific Northwest, so there was a decent amount of fresh-caught fish added to that menu. But for the most part, crap. Occasionally, there would be some cowboy beans cooked over the fire in a cast iron pan, but other than fish and marshmallows, I dont recall using the fire for cooking. It was pureColemanstove for this crew. Nonetheless, I have fond memories of the many camp trips our family took throughout the years. Food was just not that important to me then.

Food with Reservations

That last line couldnt be further from the truth now. It took me a couple of decades to change this truth in my life. When I was 20 and moved across the country to attend school in NYC, food was still pretty far down on the scale of importance. I think it went something like; friends, fashion, exercise, water, dance, cigarettes, coffee, sleep, food. In an effort to decrease a New York Minute to 45 seconds, I would downTiger Milkbars and slices of pizza while hustling from work to school. Since my tiny studio apartment in Midtown Manhattan didnt have a kitchen, I would muse to friends that I didnt make food, I made reservations. I bought into the idea that The City was my living roomandmy kitchen. Eating out at restaurants or ordering take-out to consume with friends while watchingMelrose Place was standard at that time. Evenings would usually bring me in contact with some of New Yorks finest dishes at any number of swanky, hip, or old school eateries. Each morning, before dashing into the N/R subway line, I would grab a large regular coffee (which means light and sweet) and a toasted bagel with butter on my way to the office. I really didnt give food much thought. I was living the single girl dream in NYC. As long as I stayed thin, who cared?

My Oregon Trail Adventure

Fast forward a few years. Ive moved back to Oregon. I feel frustrated because Im an adult, but I cant prepare food for myself. Well, at least not in the style that seems appealing. So, I start out on one of the biggest and most pleasurable undertakings of my life. I learned to cook. Unaware of cooking shows, without a collection of cookbooks, pre-internet, and too broke to afford classes, I just looked for whichever recipe was on the box or package and made that. Needless to say, my food standards were pretty low. But, with time, as I honed both my skills and my knowledge of ingredients, my food bar was set pretty high.

Impress Yourself (and Others Too)

And I dont lower the bar when Im out and about . . . anywhere. When we started in on our camping kick a few years back, we brought our love of food with us. Enjoying a delicious, well thought-out meal while in nature feels like the perfect expression of my love for those with whom we make camp. If your thinking you're ready to use food to express yourself fireside, apaellais the perfect way to start, whether out on a multi-day group camp trip or just having a nice family dinner in the back yard. Where there is a fire, a paella can be. Enjoy!

Fireside Paella

PROTEIN
  • 1 1/2 lb boned Chicken Thighs
  • 8 oz frozen shelled and deveined cooked Small Shrimp
  • 1/2 lb Spanish Chorizo or spicy sausage
FRESH
  • 1 small Onion
  • 1 Red or Green Bell Pepper
  • 1 Fennel Bulb with feathery greens
  • 3 large Garlic Cloves, minced
SPICES
  • 1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt, divided
  • 2 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika, divided
PACKAGED
  • 1 cup Pimento-Stuffed Green Olives
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced Tomatoes
  • 2 cups Arborio Rice
LIQUIDS
  • 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
  • 3/4 cup Spanish Fino Sherry or other dry sherry
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) reduced-sodium Chicken Broth
AT HOME Cut chicken thighs in thirds. Devein and peel shrimp. Freeze your chicken and shrimp in separate containers or plastic, resealable bags. This gives them a couple of solid days in your cooler. Measure Arborio rice into a quart-size plastic bag. Measure sherry into small container with tight-fitting lid. Use masking tape and a marker to label each item. IN CAMP 1 hour before cooking, prepare a fire. Once a fair amount of coals have been accumulated, move the coals to the side of the flame part of the fire. Adding more coals to this pile as time goes by. Place a grate over the coal pile (many fire pits at established campsites have them) or you can bring your own. Prep all ingredients while fire is burning down some cooking coals. Chop onion and bell pepper. Trim the ends of the fennel and reserve the tops. Halve the fennel lengthwise. Remove tough outer layer and the base end. Thinly slice. Mince the garlic cloves. Thinly slice chorizo. Move all ingredients fire side along with cooking utensils, heat proof gloves and an empty plate. Place a paella pan on the grill and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Swirl to coat the pan. Add sausage and saut until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon or tongs, keeping as much oil as possible in the pan. Brown chicken in paella pan, turning over once, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. While browning, add a sprinkle of salt and some paprika before turning. Transfer to a second plate. Add another good pour of olive oil to the pan. Toss in the fennel, onion, and bell pepper. Saute' until the fennel softens a bit, 8-10 minutes. Stir in garlic and a good sized dash of salt. Add about 2 teaspoons of paprika and the saffron threads. Cook, tossing to coat, until fragrant for a couple of minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring until it thickens a bit, about 5 minutes. Now add the rice and stir it up until it is well coated. Add about a cup of water, the sherry, chicken broth, olives, and chorizo. Stir. Add the shrimp. Reduce heat and simmer until the the liquid is almost absorbed, shrimp is cooked, and the rice is tender. Maybe 25 minutes, could be a bit more. Add liquid if needed. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Add cooked chicken and fold the pieces into the mixture. Taste for salt. Chop up the fennel fronds and serve on top. Cook once for two meals: Leftover paella makes a great breakfast or lunch the next day. Reheat stovetop in a pan. Stir to avoid sticking. Perhaps add a couple of pan fried eggs, some chopped cilantro, and a dash of hot sauce on top. Or serve hot or cold over some greens with a drizzle of olive oil for a lunch time salad option. Mieke Johnson is a native child of the Pacific Northwest. With her husband, Caleb, she founded Tula Gluten Free Bakery in Portland, Oregon in 2011, and then shut it down in 2017 to focus on raising their daughter, June. Her blog, itsybitsybeautiful.com shares food inspirations, life tales, camping hacks, travel adventures, and community mindfulness.
Bob's Red Mill
June 21 2017

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