Paella your way
Rice dishes in Spain take so many shapes, but the most popular is Paella. Valencians argue that if it’s not done according to their recipe, it should just be called rice.
I like to call my rice Paella, no matter what ingredients I put in. This recipe and the steps have proven to work for me, but feel free to make variations until you find the right taste for you. The main difference is that the rice should not be stirred unlike arroz caldoso or risotto.
PAELLA MIXTA
Paella is about layering the tastes on the pan, and then adding the broth to cook the rice in the juices and ingredients. Best is if you have a Paella pan, if not, a narrow big pan where you can keep heat consistent everywhere.
INGREDIENTS:
You can choose to omit or replace any of the protein ingredients.
•1/2 cup or round white rice (Bomba, Arborio) per person
•8 oz of the best shrimp you can get (whole shrimps )
•10 oz cuttle fish/ squid
•12 oz of chicken cut in pieces
•8 oz of pork cut in pieces ( costilla/ ribs..it really helps with flavor but you can skip it)
•10 oz green beans
•you can add the hearts of fresh artichokes
• 1 small red pepper cut in slices
• fresh tomato purée (grate 1-2 soft tomatoes)
•4 spring onions
•1 cup of broth or water per each 1/2 cup of rice
•garlic and parsley
•olive oil
•sea salt
•pepper
•2 tbsp samorreta (fried tomatoes, garlic and ñora peppers in olive oil all blended as a thick paste)
•1 tbsp sweet paprika
•saffron
Directions:
Add a generous splash of olive oil and delicately stir the prawns until they are done. One minute on each side. Set aside.
In the same oil, cook the chicken first, then the pork. Move the meat to the sides, and add oil if needed. Then spring onions and when softened the cuttle fish and finally the tomato. This is the “sofrito”, it needs to look brownish.
Then start layering the vegetables, cut in small cubes, stir, add garlic cut in slices, the sweet paprika, stir and add the samorreta. Try and adjust seasoning.
The whole process takes 30-40 minutes so be patient and careful that the pan doesn’t burn.
Add oil if needed, then the rice and the saffron and stir until all is well mixed and the rice looks transparent. Add the broth or water, stir once to spread the rice homogeneously. Rice cannot be stirred beyond this point. Start at high heat and when the broth starts bubbling lower the heat. Check for salt before the broth evaporates, correct as needed.
One the broth is in, cooking time is approximately 20’. Add the shrimps at the top so the steam finishes cooking them. The broth must have evaporated completely, and the bottom of the pan must feel crunchy for the socarrat (the burnt part underneath). Even if it doesn’t look cooked at the top. Don’t stir it. Once it’s burnt at the bottom, turn off the heat.
Rice must sit in the pan off the fire, for 5’ to finish cooking, covered with tin foil or cloth before serving.
Serve by scraping the bottom of the pan. So you mix burnt with less cooked rice in each plate, add lemon wedges or alioli, and a side of green salad to clean the palate after. Enjoy!
