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Paella recipe
Paella is one of the world's most famous rice
dishes, and this version is a seafood extravaganza.
Although traditionally paella is prepared
in a paellera (a wide, shallow pan with looped
handles) and cooked over an outdoor fire,
it's easy to cook paella to authentic perfection
in your own kitchen over the stovetop. The
following paella recipe serves 4, and for
best results cook in a 14 or 15-inch paellera.
A large shallow frying pan makes an acceptable
substitute. |
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Chop
the vegetables |
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Finely
chop 1 red onion, dice
1 red and 1 green pepper (capsicum), finely
chop 4 cloves of garlic, and finely chop
2 tablespoons of fresh flat-leaf parsley. |
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Using a box grater, puree 2 ripe tomatoes
(vine-ripened are best), discarding
the skin. Alternatively you can use
a cup of canned peeled tomatoes mashed
with a fork.
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Peel
and devein 16 large raw shrimp (prawns),
cut 2 squid tubes into rings, and scrub and
debeard 12 fresh mussels. Cover and refrigerate.
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Sofrito
is a Spanish tomato and onion sauce which
is used as a flavor base for a variety of
dishes, including paella. To make the sofrito,
heat 2 tablespoons of extra
virgin olive oil in the paella pan over
a medium heat and cook the chopped red onion,
2 tablespoons of parsley and 3 of the chopped
garlic cloves for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the pureed tomatoes and 2 teaspoons
of paprika (preferably Spanish
smoked paprika) and cook until all the
liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated
and the sofrito has the consistency of jam.
Transfer the sofrito to a small bowl and
wipe clean the paella pan.
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While
the sofrito is cooking, place the mussels
in a saucepan with half a cup of simmering
water. Cover and steam on a low heat for 5
minutes. Remove mussels and set aside, discarding
any that haven't opened. |
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Cook
the shrimp and squid
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Heat
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive
oil in the paella pan over a medium-high
heat. Add the remaining clove of chopped
garlic and the shrimp and cook for
1½ minutes, tossing continuously.
Add the squid rings and cook for a
further 1½ minutes. Remove
the shrimp and squid from the paella
pan and lightly season with salt and
freshly ground black pepper. Cover
and set aside.
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Cook
the diced red and green peppers |
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Heat
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in
the paella pan over a medium heat and cook
the diced red and green peppers for 6 minutes,
stirring occasionally. |
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Add
the sofrito back to the pan along
with 1½ cups of Spanish Calasparra
or Bomba rice (regular medium-grain
rice makes a good substitute) and
cook for a minute, stirring to coat
the grains.
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Add
hot stock, saffron, salt and pepper and cook
without stirring |
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Add
3 cups of heated fish or chicken stock, a
pinch of saffron
threads, 1½ teaspoons sea salt
and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper. Stir to combine, and bring to a rolling
simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered without
stirring. (To make sure the rice cooks evenly
you will need to regularly move the paella
pan around the heat source, or you can stradle
the paella pan over two burners.) |
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Lower
the heat and continue cooking
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Lower
the heat to a gentle simmer and cook
for a further 15 minutes without stirring.
After 15 minutes, turn the heat up
to medium-high for a minute or so
until you can smell the rice toasting
at the bottom, then remove the paella
pan from the heat. (The toasted rice
bottom of a paella is called socorrat
and is highly prized.)
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Add
seafood and peas and cover |
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Push
the reserved shrimp, mussels and squid into
the cooked rice, and scatter with half a cup
of defrosted green peas. Cover the pan with
foil or a clean cloth, and let the paella
rest for 5 minutes. |
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Present
the paella in the pan at the table
with lemon wedges on the side for
drizzling.
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©
2013 MEDITERRASIAN.COM
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