Barcelona
- Recipes - Paella
Paella is an
original rice dish from the Spanish region of Levante, which is
cooked in a wide but shallow pan known as paella. The best paella
is not the one that has the most ingredients, but the one that combines
them in the most coherent way.
Many ingredients,
in fact, have to be added to the rice, including vegetables, fish,
seafood and meat, leading to a myriad of different recipes that
vary according to the proportions of the ingredients.
A good paella
should always have fresh vegetables in it (if possible, "garrofó"
beans, artichokes and peppers), plus any of the above-mentioned
ingredients. The cooking process is also important, as well as the
quality of the rice itself, which has to absorb all the flavours
of the ingredients in the pan.
Barcelona
Style Paella
Serving Size: 6
3 cups white
rice
1 lb franks
16 cocktail size mini franks
8 oz Italian sweet sausage or hard salami, thinly sliced
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoons saffron, crushed
4 cup chicken broth
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips or 1 jar whole
Pimento, drained and cut into strips
Bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven
to 350°F. Cut four franks into quarters length-wise. Slice remaining
franks into 3 pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet, add
frank strips and pieces and cook until lightly browned - strips
will curl; remove and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil and cocktail
franks and salami slices. Lightly brown; remove and set aside.
Add remaining
oil, garlic, onion to skillet and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
Add rice and saffron, cook and stir until rice turns golden. Add
chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 20
minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. In a shallow 4 quart oven proof
casserole, arrange rice, sausages, tomato, and bell peppers so that
some of each show on top. Heat in oven 15 to 20 minutes.
Paella
1
Serving Size: 4
2 cups enriched
white rice
1 1/2 lb chicken tenders, cut into thirds
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
24 shrimp
18 green lipped mussels, cleaned
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 pound chorizo, casing removed and sliced on an angle
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken broth or stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
2 lemons zested
To garnish:
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 scallions, chopped
Lemon wedges
Crusty, bread for passing
In a very wide
pan or paella pan, preheated over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, crushed garlic, red
pepper flakes, add rice and sauté 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron
threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil
over high heat. Cover the pan with lid or foil and reduce heat to
simmer.
In a separate non-stick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken
on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of
the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions
to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan and
cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
After about
13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking
rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood,
then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil
from the paella and discard any unopened mussel shells. Stir rice
and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of
their leaves. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo
around the pan. Top with parsley and scallions. Serve with wedges
of lemon and warm bread.
Paella
2
Serving Size: 4
2 cups Spanish
rice, short to medium grain, like Valencia
1frying chicken, cut in 12 pieces
2 Spanish chorizo sausages
2 lobster tails, split
1 pound calamari (squid), cleaned and cut in rings
1 pound jumbo shrimp
1 dozen mussels, cleaned
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
1/2 Spanish onion, diced
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch sweet paprika
2 teaspoons saffron threads
6 cups warm stock or water
Lemon wedges
Pimentos, cut in strips
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Rinse the chicken
pieces and pat dry. Season all over with salt, black pepper, and
oregano. Heat the oil in a paella pan or wide skillet. Brown the
chicken on all sides, when nearly cooked through, add the chorizo
links and brown.
Remove the chicken
and sausage from the pan. Cut the sausages into slices and set aside.
Drain out excess oil but don't clean the pan. Make a sofrito by
sautéing the garlic, onion, and tomatoes, cook until the
mixture caramelises a bit and the flavours meld. Season with salt,
black pepper, and paprika.
Add the rice,
stirring to coat the grains. Steep the saffron in 1/4-cup hot water
for 5 minutes then stir it into the rice. Add the stock/water and
simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice
cooks and absorbs evenly. Do not cover or constantly stir like risotto.
Add the shellfish and the reserved chicken and sausage. Simmer,
without stirring, until the rice is al dente and the mussels have
opened (do not eat any mussels that do not.)
Scatter the
peas on top and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed. The
ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat. Allow to
rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with lemon
wedges and strips of pimento.
Paella
a La Valenciana
Serving Size: 6
3 cups short-grain
rice
1 lb chorizo sausage
4 oz salt pork, coarsely chopped
1 lb large shrimp
12 little neck clams
1 broiler/fryer, cut into 9 pieces (3 1/2 lb)
1 large onion, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
6 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoons saffron threads
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 lemon, juice
Salt and pepper to taste
To garnish:
A handful of frozen peas
A few strips of pimiento or roasted pepper
In a saucepan,
combine the chicken stock, whole onion and the crushed saffron threads.
Cover the pan, and simmer over low heat while you prepare the rest
of the ingredients. Peel and devein shrimp. Wash the clams. Rinse
the chicken in cold water and pat dry.
Slice the chorizo
into 1/8" discs. Place in a paella pan or skillet, and cook
over medium heat until fat is redered. Remove with slotted spoon,
and reserve. Wash or wipe out the skillet. sauté shrimp in
1 tablespoon olive oil until pink; remove and reserve.
Wash or wipe
out the pan. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Brown chicken in 1
tablespoon of oil, turning until all sides are browned but not fully
cooked. Remove from pan and reserve. If desired, remove the skin
from the chicken pieces and discard.
Drain fat from
pan. Add final tablespoon of oil to pan. Add onions and salt pork.
Over medium-high heat, sauté the mixture until onions are
wilted. Add garlic, and sauté about 30 seconds. Add white
wine, stir and cook over medium-high heat until most of the wine
has evaporated.
Remove pan from
heat. Add paprika and tomato and parsley, and stir well. Return
pan to heat, and cook until mixture thickens. Add rice, and stir
until rice is coated with tomato mixture.
Remove whole
onion from chicken stock. Add chicken stock and saffron to rice
mixture. Raise heat to high; stir and add chicken pieces, shrimp,
clams, chorizo, bay leaf and lemon juice. Gently stir ingredients.
Cover and cook
over low heat until the rice has absorbed the liquid and the clam
shells have opened, about 25-30 minutes. Five minutes before the
end of cooking time, sprinkle top of paella with peas. Cover and
continue cooking. Garnish with pimiento.
Paella
Valenciana 2
Serving Size: 4
2 cups rice
1 small chicken
3 1/2 oz lean pork
8 crayfish
1/2 lb clams, cleaned and soaked 1 hour in cold water
1 medium tomato, peeled, squeezed and chopped
1/2 cup green beans, cut in four
1/2 cup shelled peas
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 tablespoon saffron
5 cup boiling water
Salt, to taste
Cut the chicken
and the pork into small pieces, season them with salt, and fry in
olive oil heated to the verge of smoking in a medium-sized pan.
Brown briskly for 5 minutes. Add the tomato, garlic, beans, and
peas. When this has browned a little, add the paprika with the pan
off the fire.
Return pan to
fire, put in 2 cups of rice, and fry until rice has browned a little
while you bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add salt to taste, saffron
previously crushed in a mortar, and the boiling water. Stir briefly
to mix. Cook on high fire for 5 minutes, then on moderate fire for
another 12 to 15 minutes. When the rice is half cooked, add crayfish
and
clams. Once cooked, let rice rest 3 to 4 minutes before serving.
Seafood
and Chicken Paella
Serving Size: 4
2 cups rice
4 prawns
4 langoustines
1/2 lb mussels, cleaned
2 small squid, sliced
1/2 lb chicken chunks
4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/8 oz peas
1 green pimento, chopped
1 small jar of pimentos in oil
Parsley
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 strands of saffron/person
A pinch pimento
Salt, to taste
Chicken or fish stock
Lemon wedges to garnish
Use 1 part rice
to 2 parts stock. In a large pan, sauté the chicken until
golden (10 minutes) and set aside. In the same oil, sauté
the prawns and langoustines for 1 minute and set aside with the
meat. Add the garlic and onion and fry until golden, then stir in
the tomatoes and pimento. Let the mixture slow cook for 10 minutes
and then add the rice, stirring in well. Season and add boiling
stock.
Make a paste
with the saffron, garlic and parsley and stir this into the rice
mix in the pan. Add the green pimentos, peas, seafood and chicken.
Give this a good stir. Bring the rice to boil and then simmer gently
for 15 - 20 minutes. To finish off, decorate the pan with the mussels
and the pimentos in oil and place in the oven for 5 minutes. Once
you turn off the oven let the pan rest for 5 minutes and decorate
with the lemon wedges and serve.
Seafood
Paella
Serving Size: 4
2 cups rice
4 prawns or langoustines
4 shrimps
8 mussels
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of sweet pimento
12 saffron strands
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Fish stock (2 parts stock to 1 part rice)
Stir fry the
seafood gently until golden. Remove from the pan and start frying
the garlic until browning and through in the sliced tomatoes saffron.
Then add the rice and slow boil for 20 minutes. The last thing is
add and decorate with the seafood a few minutes before the dish
is finished and the seafood will poach in the broth.
Vegetable
Paella
Serving Size: 4
3 cups rice
1 red pimento, chopped
1 green pimento, chopped
2 eggplants, cubed
Green beans
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 artichoke, sliced
Navi beans mushrooms, sliced
Peas
Olive oil
Salt
Saffron
Water or vegetable stock
Stir fry the
vegetables lightly. When they are done, add the rice, then add the
stock. Use half the normal amount of broth because the vegetables
do release a lot of water. Let this simmer for 15 minutes. Check
the seasoning and let rest a few minutes before serving.
