I think I would choose a soup that would have different flavors than those in the paella. Maybe a Butternut Squash soup, or Greek Avgolemono - something light to start the meal, not fill everyone up.

If I were doing this menu, I would start with a couple simple tapas starters served with a glass of wine or sherry before you sit down at the table, then the soup next, and then the paella.

If it were me and I was going to serve a soup, I'd start with something light. Maybe Stracciatella with spinach. And if you are going to serve a salad I'd serve it after the main course. That is when Moe prefers it , especially at dinner parties. This Roasted Red Pepper and Watercress salad is good either before or after. If you can't get watercress you can make it with a

I don't know if you already have a Paella recipe, but if you don't you might want to try this one from The Foods and Wines of Spain. A tried and true recipe. If you don't eat pork just leave it out.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Optional, add some fresh grated nutmeg and/or some fresh lemon zest
. Bring pot of broth to a boil. Add two cracked cloves of garlic and
simmer for a few minutes.

Add chopped spinach, simmer for another few minutes.

Beat eggs with salt and pepper and slowly add to broth stirring
constantly.

Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Optional: I beat some of the cheese into the egges before adding to
the soup.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

4 large red bell peppers
6 Tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch watercress, washed and dried
. Broil or roasted the peppers until the skins are blackened and
blistered. Place them in a plastic bag and let them sit for about 10
minutes, or until they are cool enough to handle. Rub off the skins,
seed the peppers, and cut into thin strips. Mix the oil and lemon
juice and add to the peppers. Add the minced shallot and salt and
pepper. Set aside. Just before serving place the watercress in a
bowl, add the peppers with the dressing and toss.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Paella A La Valenciana
======================
From:Penelope Casas: The Foods and Wines of Spain.
Chicken and Seafood Paella

6 cups very strong chicken broth, preferably homemade
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1 small onion peeled
2 small chicken or chicken pieces
salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 pound Chorizo sauces cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large pork chop, boned and diced
1/4 pound piece of cured ham, diced
1 medium onion chopped
4 green onions chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pimientos, homemade or bottled, diced
1 pound small or medium shrimp shelled
2 small lobsters, divided into tail sections and claws
or 4 lobster tails, split lengthwise, or 8 king crab claws or 8 jumbo shrimp in their shells
3 cups short-grain rice
5 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 pound fresh or frozen peas
18 clams, cleaned
18 mussels, srubbed
Lemon Wedges for garnish
Chopped Parsley for Garnish
. Heat the broth with the saffron and the whole onion. Cover and simmer
15 minutes.

Remove onion from broth - you neeed exactly 5 1/2 cups of broth.

Cut chicken into small serving pieces - whole breasts cut into 4 parts
and each thigh into 2 parts, the bony tip of the leg chopped off, the
wing tip discarded and the rest of the wings separated into two parts.
Dry pieces well and sprinkle with salt. In a metal paella pan, with
about a 15 inch base, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry over
high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter. Add the chorizo,
pork and ham to the pan and stir fry about 10 minutes. Add the chopped
oinion, green onions, garlic and pimientos and saute until the onion is
wilted. Add the srimp and teh lobster and saute about 3 mintues more,
or until the shrimp and lobster barely turn pink (the lobsters will
cook more in the oven). Remove the shrimp and the lobster to the
platter with the chicken. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat it
well with the oil. Sprinkle in the 5 tablespoons chopped parsley and
the crumbled bay leaves. (Make in advance up to this point).

Stir in the chicken broth, boiling hot, the wine, lemon juice and peas.
Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered and stirring
occasionally, over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Bury the
shrimp and the chicken in the rice. Add the clams and the mussels,
pusing them into the rice with the edge that will open facing up.
Decorate the paella with the lobster pieces, then bake at 325F
uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on top of
the stove, lightly covered with foil for about 10 minutes. To serve ,
decorate with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

This is a great winter gazpacho since you don't need fresh tomatoes.

Great Gazpacho
For toppings, provide some diced avocado and extra chopped cilantro.

Servings: Serves 8 to 10.

Ingredients

4 cups tomato juice
1 pint purchased fresh mild salsa
2 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 cup onion-and garlic-seasoned croutons
1/2 cup low-salt canned chicken broth
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
Preparation
Working in batches, blend all ingredients except hot sauce in processor to coarse puree. Transfer gazpacho to large bowl. Season to taste with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.) Ladle into bowls and serve.

I also like the salad after the main course. This salad is nice since oranges are so good this time of year.

Spanish Salad of Oranges, Fennel, Red Onion, and Mint with Dressing

Ingredients
2 cups thinly sliced red onion (about 1 large)
3 large navel oranges (about 5 pounds)
3 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Place thinly sliced red onion in a medium bowl; cover with ice water, and soak 15 minutes. Drain well.
Carefully remove rind and white pithy part of rind from oranges; discard rind and pith. Cut each orange in half vertically; remove white pithy core portion, and discard. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, reserving about 1/3 cup juice for dressing.

Layer red onion, thinly sliced fennel, and orange evenly in a bowl or on a platter, and sprinkle with fresh mint leaves. Combine reserved juice, plain fat-free yogurt, juice concentrate, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk to combine. Drizzle evenly over salad; serve immediately.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Did you say Paella? Can I come for dinner?

Last March, we spent 2 weeks in Valencia, Spain traveling with friends from there. Our friend's uncle is a famous paella chef that has even cooked paella for the Pope. He made us a lobster paella that was to die for...

Before the paella came out, he served gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), foie gras on toast, and a simple vinegrette dressed green salad. Fruit and pastries for dessert.

Strachiatelli would be wonderful....or perhaps a mushroom soup...a broth based one with several kinds of "shrooms.
Linda C

I would suggest serving mushroom consommee and a salad of roasted asparagus and butter lettuce.

Here is a nice soup:

1 TBS olive oil
1 1/4 lbs butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 medium leek, trimmed
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 medium carrot
1/2 TBS fresh grated ginger
1/2 TBS fresh chopped thyme
1/2 teasp dried sage
1 small apple, peeled and cored
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/2 - 15oz can cannellini beans
chopped fresh chives
sea salt and FG black pepper

2. Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large saucepan, then add the squash, leeks, onion, carrot, ginger, thyme and sage.
Cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly soft, then stir in the apple.

3. Pour in the stock and apple juice and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Served with crusty bread and ali oli garlic mayonnaise, it is so delicious before a paella.
Although it's served as a starter, the salad is often kept on the table to continue eating along with the paella.

How about Garlic soup? I've made something similar and would suggest skipping the egg & giving the soup a run through with an immersion blender. The soup is creamy & light. This isn't my recipe but I do have a T&T that I can post if you think that you'd like it.
-----------------------------------------------
Sopa de Ajo (garlic soup)

Ingredients:
Water
5 Garlic cloves.
Olive Oil
2-3 pinches of Salt
One or two days-old bread in slices. The typical bread used for this soup in Burgos is "hogaza" a big rounded bread.
1 egg.
Sweet paprika, hot paprika, or both!
1 dried red pepper (optional)
Directions:
Add water to a saucepan (some 2 litres), the salt, 2 spoonfuls of olive oil, the dried pepper and 4 garlic cloves in thin slices. Bring it to boil.
Meanwhile, cut the bread into pieces, not very big, not very small.
When garlic slices had been boiling until they are tender, add the pieces of old bread and let it boil. (To know if garlic is ready, take one slice from the saucepan and try with a fork. It the slice of garlic is tender, its cooked).
Prepare a small frying pan and poor some olive oil on it (not very much, maybe 1 teaspoon will be enough).
When the oil is hot, add 1 garlic clove previously cut in very, very small slices.
Let them fry until they take a brown color, but be careful, dont let them get burned, as they would give this soup a very bitter flavour!
When garlic on the frying pan is brown, add some paprika or cayenne pepper, the one you prefer. Dont add too much. Just the quantity you can take on the tip of the knife.
Stir for a short time, after having removed the frying pan from heat, so that paprika (or cayenne) does not burn.
Add a little bit of water on it and poor this mixture on the saucepan, covering the already boiled garlic and bread.
Remove the saucepan from heat.
Bit the egg and add it to the saucepan, stirring at the same time, until you see the bitten egg becomes solid, dissolved in the soup.
Let it stand some minutes and the garlic soup is ready!
Tips:
We, at home, also add some chopped green pepper to the boiling garlic with bread. Other times, we add some slices of mushroom, but this just depends on your preferences.

---------------------------------------------------

Nina

Hi Blueiris,

I don't have anything to suggest, but was wondering if you
could please post your christmas paella recipe.

Thanks,

Shelley

Shelley, I vary my paella recipe depending upon who is coming to dinner - the following links show the type of recipe I like:

http://www.mediterrasian.com/cuisine_of_month_paella.htm

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/spanish/paella.html

I also have a vegetarian paella recipe that I really like. I don't know whether that is something you'd be interested in, but if it is let me know and I'll post it (it's long so I won't post it if there isn't interest) :)

Thanks Blueiris, Those recipes look really good. Copied the lobster ones. Thanks for the offer on the vegetarian one, but I prefer the ones with meat and seafood.

Shelley

My husband is from Spain, and I lived in Madrid for four years. I like to make paella because it reminds me of my time there and because my husband loves it, of course, as does everyone else. The trick is not to fill up ahead of time so I suggest something light like a White Gazpacho. Here is a good one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/228373/chef-johns-white-gazpacho/

Caldo verde.