ABOUT:
Paella is a Spanish cowboy dish, and classically made with snails and rabbit meat. Paella with chicken and chorizo sausage is more of a high end. Later the sea cities in Spain adopted this dish and added the seafood to attract tourist with the local food.
There are 5 things to make a perfect paella:
1. Rice – it should be medium grain which absorbs liquid very well, such as Spanish rice called bomba, Arborio rice.
2. The Pan – get a true paella pan or something similar to it, for simple way to rotate it.
3. The Heat source – need to place the pan over 2 burners, and keep rotating for heat distribution.
4. The Sofrito – sauté of tomato, onion and garlic. Some add paprika, herbs.
5. The Cooking Liquid – homemade chicken stock is always a great choice or the store bought that you trust.
The following recipe is with chicken and seafood, but keep in mind you can substitute the meat with what your imagination desires.
SERVINGS:
Makes 6 – 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb prawns, peeled and shells reserved
2 cups water
1 teaspoon saffron threads
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
31 lb boneless chicken meat, cut into inch pieces
1 lb mussels or clams, scrubbed
1 rep pepper, seeded and cut into julienne strips
12 green peas or green beans
2 cups rice
lemon and parsley for garnish
Sofrito:
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 large tomato
DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, combine prawn shells with water and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and strain the liquid, discarding shells. Place liquid back to the pot. Add saffron and chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium high heat and brown chicken pieces for about 5 minutes. Remove pieces from the pan.
Add prawns to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the prawns.
Make Sofrito:
Add extra olive oil if needed to the pan and cook the onions and garlic for 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook until all the of the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to caramelize, about 15 – 20 minutes. Bring the stock to boil
Place the paella pan over medium heat, with the sofrito in the pan.
Add rice and stir it around for a few minutes to toast the grains.
Depending on a size of the paella pan, you may have to use 1 or 2 burners for the cooking process. Add simmering stock to the pan. Shake the pan to distribute the rice and the stock. Place the chicken, prawns, peppers and peas in a decorative fashion over the rice, pushing them down into the stock. Tuck mussels or clams into the stock. Simmer paella, moving and spinning it in a various positions over the flame to cook it evenly for about 20 minutes or until rice is just barely al dente. Do not stir!!!
One of the true signs of a perfect paella is a the golden crust forms on the bottom, called socarrat. The best way to achieve this is to turn the heat up just a bit towards the end of the cooking time until you hear the rice crackle. It will smell toasty.
When the paella is cooked, remove it from the heat and cover it with a towel and let is rest for 5 minutes for the rice to have the last moment to cook. Serve it with lemons, parsley and aliolo sauce.
