Spanish Recipes: Paella

Paella

Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish.
Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck, land snails), beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces land animals with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of land animals, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans.

Baca Juga

I will be giving you the mixed seafood Paella but you can easy replace the ingredients to your own taste, vatieties are endless.

Serves: 10 people

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1 yellow or white onion, diced

- 2 tomatoes, diced

- 1 whole chicken or 8 drumsticks or thighs

- 1 1/2 lbs pork loin (fat trimmed), cut into 1-inch cubes

- 1/2 lb calamari (squid)

- 1 - 1 1/2 lbs medium grain or "bomba" rice

- 4-6 cups fish broth (or chicken broth if unavailable)

- 1 large pinch saffron threads

- 1 1/2 lbs raw mussels in shell (frozen or fresh)

- 1 lb small clams (frozen or fresh)

- 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, medium or large - shell on

- 1 sweet red bell pepper

- 1 10 oz. pkg frozen peas

- Spanish olive oil, salt to taste

Step 1:

Prepare the ingredients:

If using a whole chicken, cut it and the pork into serving-size pieces.
Clean the squid of innards and spine, the remove the tentacles. Cut the squid tubes into rings.
De-seed and cut red pepper into long strips. Chop onions and tomatoes, set aside for later.
Warm the chicken broth in a medium sauce pan.

Step 2:

Place the paella pan on the heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. When pan is hot enough, sauté the onions and tomatoes in the olive oil. Add olive oil as needed to prevent sticking. Once the onions are translucent, add the chicken and cook, browning on all sides. Add squid and cook, stirring often for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 3:

Add the rice, sprinkling in the form of a large cross on the pan. Stir for 2-3 minutes to thoroughly coat the rice with oil.

Step 4:

Crush the saffron threads and add to the warm chicken broth. Slowly pour broth into the paella pan until ingredients are all covered. Spread meat and vegetables evenly over bottom of pan.
Arrange mussels around outside edge of pan, pointing up. Place clams and shrimp in pan, spreading out evenly around the pan. Add slices of pepper on top.

Step 5:

Simmer, cooking rice. Add more broth if necessary. When rice is almost cooked, sprinkle peas over the top.
As soon as the rice is cooked rice, remove from heat and cover with aluminum foil or large tea towel, allowing paella to “rest” for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Slice lemons into wedges and serve alongside paella.