La Paella

Why do I post so much about food? Well, people just eat really good things here. AND I'm in Marseille, where people eat good things from all over the world, not just France. So today my post is about a spanish dish the Marseillais call "La Paella"... 

In the last few weeks at work, I feel like I've heard people talking about this dish like it's a celebrity. 

Person 1: "Remember that one dinner we had at Le Manier once?" 

Person 2: "Yes, it was fantastic. They made La Paella..." 

So I was confused at first. What is this mystery dish? Why is it so special? Why have I never heard about it before? 

Well, yesterday I finally asked someone to tell me about the dish (what's in it, where does it come from, etc.) AND THEN today I was assigned to help with a luncheon at Le Manier and guess what he had prepared? Yes, LA PAELLA. It was meant to be. And since I'm totally  a believer in the Baader-Mienhof Phenomenon I should have guessed this would happen. 

So what is La Paella? Well basically it's rice cooked with lots of different kinds of "fruits de mer" (mussels, shrimp, scallops, and something that reminded me of squid but I can't remember what they said it was) and a few spices (paprika, saffron). Our chef added in green peas, onions... and a few other things I couldn't identify. It gets cooked in the oven in a big, covered metal dish. 

It was so good. The accompanied elderly people we plan these luncheons for were all very happy about it too. 

So beyond all the delicious food I am eating here what really interests me is the history and culture-mixing that makes Marseille such a special place. People keep saying (partially joking), "Oh, I'm not French--I'm Marseillais". But really it is a really interesting world here! Nearly 60% of the elderly people we follower or bring to meals originally come from outside of France. 

At the table I sat at for lunch there were two Algerians, one Turk, one Tunisian, two Marseillais, and me. I don't even think I'd ever met an Algerian or a Tunisian before I got to Marseille and now I meet one nearly every day. 

It's just incredibly diverse here in Marseille. So cultural things that originate elsewhere start to belong to the Marseillais too (like La Paella, or Kabob, or an interest in Hamams--to be discussed later). I'm a big fan of that! There are Indian cultural things that I will keep eating and doing for the rest of my life even though they are different from what I would have originally done!

Now go try some paella! :) 

Coming up: My trip to the Hamam!

Stéf