Paella
Often viewed as the national dish of Spain, it is originally from Valencia and takes it’s name from the wide pan it is cooked in. It was originally a lunch time meal for farmers and laborers that they could make anywhere they could build a fire, making it from whatever they had on hand, usually rabbit or duck, with onion and tomatoes. As the dish moved to the Mediterranean shore, seafood became a regular addition. Now you can find Paella made with a variety of ingredients, I tried to capture many of these common ingredients without overloading the dish. We are a family divided, so I make one with and one without shrimp.
Paella
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Chicken – 4-6 boneless thighs cut into bite sized pieces or leftover chicken shredded into bite sized pieces.
- 1 # Pork – I like using Pork Shoulder cut into bite sized pieces.
- 1 # Shrimp traditional, optional
- 3 Roma Tomatoes or 1 can Rotel
- 1 diced yellow onion
- 1 diced bell pepper red or green (or half of both!)
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 cup Green Beans in season if beans aren’t in season, use 1 cup frozen green peas for your green, adding them later.
- 1 cup other fresh beans or 1 can of beans (drained) such as capellini or butter beans
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Saffron powder or 2 pinch Saffron threads
- 2 quarts chicken Stock
- 1-2 Sprigs of Rosemary
- 2 cups Rice – Bosco or Calasperra is authentic Spanish rice Arborio is easier to find and makes a great risotto too, you can also use long grain rice but it will likely not cook as evenly.
- Parsley and lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Season the meat with salt and pepper
- Add the oil to a large skillet (or two) and allow to warm up
- Add the salt – this will not only season the meat but it will also help prevent the oil from splattering.
- Add the meat and cook slowly to golden brown, keep stirring so that it cooks evenly.
- Add the onions and red pepper to cook until very soft.
- Add the tomatoes & garlic to the oil and stir through
- When done, push the meat to the outside edges and add the fresh green beans to cook through in the savory oil.
- Add the other beans and veggies along with the paprika and bay leaf and cook until just soft
- Add the Saffron to a cup of warm water or broth to help it distribute better, then add it to the pan and stir through
- Add the broth – increase the heat and bring the broth to a hard boil and then down to a steady low boil
- Add the rosemary and stir it around a bit.
- Taste the broth and adjust for salt and pepper.
- Let the broth boil for a while to develop the flavor, you would like to reduce the broth nearly by half.
- Add the peas, if using, and bring it back to a boil
- Add the rice, sprinkling it evenly across the pan. Jiggle the pan to distribute the rice evenly, or to loosen it up a little, but never stir the rice.
- Boil on high 8 minutes, and then on low for 8 minutes.
- If using shrimp, place them into the top for the last 5 minutes.
- Increase the heat again, to form the socarrat – the dry crispy bottom – but don’t over do it and burn it, 1 minute will probably do it.
- Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Serve by placing the whole pan in the center of the table, garnished with parsley and with lemon wedges around the edges.