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ou’re never alone when you eat paella. That’s not some old Spanish saying. It’s a fact. Paella isn’t something delivered by DoorDash that you ingest while watching a new episode of the Colorado-situated Resident Alien. Spain’s most famous dish is revered as a social gathering centerpiece. It is made to be eaten with others as soon as it emerges from the kitchen in the paella (pie-ay-uh), the thin steel cooking pan. Spanish bomba rice slowly absorbs broth and flavor in the pan from olive oil, smoked pimento paprika and vegetables crowned with various meats and seafood. Paella is barely stirred in order to create the signature socarrat. Yes, the Spanish even have a word for that crunchy, snackable caramelized rice that sticks to the bottom of the paella pan. The paella experience is built around waiting for it to cook—up to 45 minutes—so you hang out, nibble tapas, and sip red and white Spanish wines. Paella has steadily creeped into Boulder County’s culinary awareness over the past decade or so thanks to a few dedicated chefs. Many locals know authentic paella because they’ve attended outdoor events where legendary chef and caterer Antonio Laudisio
A passion for paella
An armada of Boulder County chefs celebrates the famous Spanish rice dish
by John Lehndorff
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FEBRUARY 24, 2022
holds court over a gigantic round pan. Other eateries occasionally feature the dish, but we talked with chefs at Dagabi Tapas Bar, Piripi and Cafe Aion, where paella is showcased with individual approaches to making and serving it.
Learning the joy of paella
Antonio Rullo grew up with paella in Toledo, Spain. “I’m making the food of my country,” says the chef at Dagabi Tapas Bar. He has served paella daily for 14 years since the North Boulder eatery turned from Italian to Spanish fare. Paella is a flavor canvas, not a specific recipe, and Dagabi offers three variations. One is topped with chicken, pork and Spanish chorizo. The seafood variety usually includes mussels, clams, shrimp and calamari, Rullo says. The popular vegan paella is topped with in-season produce plus giant white beans and wild mushrooms. “Every region of Spain has their own paella. Every single one is different. Some places use lamb and mushrooms. You also get game like rabbit and duck. Sometimes we make a black paella using black rice,” Rullo says. Paella is still new to many diners, as is the time required. “Every night, paella is about education, introducing diners to the experience,” says Noah Westby, co-owner of Dagabi.
‘Paella means everything’
Chef Hugo Meyer squeezes a lifetime of global food adventures into Piripi, his intimate, 1-year-old restaurant in downtown Erie.
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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
