Market days in small towns across France are something special. They occur on designated days once or twice a week in towns that aren’t large enough to support a permanent open-air market. The atmosphere is low-key, but festive at the same time, as shoppers wander around and vendors and customers negotiate prices. And there’s always something cooking. In this case, as noted last time, it’s paella.
We’re using Aix-en-Provence as our home base as we explore Provence. The usual plan is to pick a destination or two, hop in the car, and make a day of it. But today is a “rest day.” We’re not going anywhere. Aix is a great place to be on market day.
The Cast and Crew
Every market has its own cast of characters. There’s always a fish monger. Since Aix is only twenty miles from Marseille, my guess is that much of today’s seafood came from Marseille’s fishing boats early this morning.
The butcher will be there with his mobile meat market. He requires a more sophisticated set-up than vendors who can just put their products on display on collapsible tables.
The baker’s stand is always popular. You might have to wait to get your boule or baguette.
The fish monger, the butcher, and the baker are the professionals here. Most other vendors spend their non-market days on the ranch, dairy farm, hog farm, in the orchard, vegetable patch, or maybe in the vineyard.
Every market will have its saucisse (sausage) guy. Maybe two or three. They make sausages on the farm and bring them to town to sell. He’ll have at least five or six different kinds. If you’re lucky, he’s giving out samples.
Cheese Samples… Mmmm.
The dairy farmer is here with milk, butter, and cheese for sale. There’s usually a cheese monger who’ll have an array of local cheeses. The cheese monger always has samples.
The spice merchant has the most colorful display. I have no idea where he gets his array of spices, but they don’t come pre-packaged. The spices are on display in baskets. Seems like they’d get stale, exposed to the open air like that. And if a big gust of wind comes up, he could be out of business, no? But that’s how they do it.
Almost everything for sale here is home-grown or home-made – jams, wine, nougat, and foie gras from the goose farmer who made the trip here from Perigord.
Paella Time
But let’s get back to that paella. When the paella guy starts cooking, all those other fresh market smells fade into the background as the smell of chorizo being sautéed wafts all around.
He sautés chorizo in a round, flat pan that’s 4-5 five feet in diameter. (Makes my 13-incher look like a toy). When the chorizo is done, he sautés chicken in the good stuff left in the pan from the chorizo. Mmmm. Everything is sizzling now.
When the chicken is done, he takes it out and starts sautéing onions until they start to caramelize. Then he’ll put in tomatoes, garlic, and his favorite blend of fresh herbs and spices.
When the onions, tomato, and garlic are happy he adds the rice. He uses short-grain rice that absorbs lots of water and plumps as it cooks. He mixes the rice all around so the grains get coated with the good stuff in the pan. Then he adds stock or water and starts cooking the rice.
After a while he’ll toss in some saffron, (procured from the spice merchant), and add the chorizo and chicken back into the rice. When everything has been warmed up and the rice is getting plump, it’s time to add seafood – probably something like shrimp, clams, and mussels.
Don’t Forget the Peas
The last thing he adds is a sprinkling of peas on top. They cook in minutes while the clams and mussels open up. He might turn the fire underneath up higher to toast the rice on the bottom of the pan. The crust that forms is called “socarrat.” It’s the finishing touch to all those other taste sensations that happen when it’s time to dig in.
This is what separates the men paella makers from the boy paella makers. You can’t disturb the rice during this final stage. Otherwise – no socarrat. If the fire underneath isn’t high enough for long enough – no socarrat. If the fire is too high for too long – no socarrat. Burnt rice instead.
With all those good things in it, any paella is bound to be amazing. But when you consider that THIS paella was probably made with fresh chorizo from the saucisse guy, chicken from the chicken farmer, and seafood from the fish monger here on market day… Mamma mia!
To be continued…
I feel as though I’m at the market myself! Great description!