Paella Valenciana Recipe

Paella is a robust dish of various seafood, meats and vegetables in various combinations, but always with Saffran flavouring and adding a lovely fragrance and colour to the rice. hat to drink with paella: With a seafood paella, try a Freixnet Cava, or whites like Torres Gran Viqa Sol or Nerola. Spain’s best known red, Rioja, is a great choice for paella with chorizio sausage and red meat.
Paella Valenciana picture

Summary

Preparation Time15 MinCooking Time1 Hr 0 Min
Ready In1 Hr 15 MinDifficulty LevelMedium
Servings4Cuisine
CourseTaste
SpecialityMain Ingredient
Interest Group

Recipe Story

Where did Paella originate? You say Spain of course. That is partially true. Paella is the typical, rich rice dish from Valencia, located on the east Mediterranean coast of Spain. Even though you can taste this food all over Spain and even world-wide, its true origin is the area of Valencia and Alicante. The region of Valencia and north of the Costa Blanca had and still has an extensive area of rice fields, rich soil which was always generous in producing fresh vegetables and knowledgeable farmers who raised plump chickens and rabbits, Valencia used these quality local products to make paella. Not only this but its coastal situation added its abundance in seafood and shellfish to make up another variation of it. And if we add the use of the flavourable olive oil produced in Spain, we have everything necessary to make whichever paella we choose: meat and vegetable, vegetarian, meat and shellfish and vegetable, or seafood paella. What is the proper cooking container to make the paella in? We do not use regular frying pans although it seems that the word is in the valencia language the Castilian translation of frying pan. Pans is a special low border frying pan about 1 1/5 inches deep and has dips in the central part like a golf ball and two rather large handles on each side. Curious, isn´t it? There are paella pans measuring from 7 inches to 1 yard wide or more and for special occasions for hundreds of people to eat from. The size is very important, having to know the amount of people who will be eating it to be able to choose the correct paella pan.

Ingredients

 Olive oil2 Cup (16 tbs)
 1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
 Chicken3/4 , cut into pieces
 Rabbit1/2 , cut into pieces
 1/2 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
 1 1/2 pounds green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces or peas
 1 1/2 pounds broad white beans, shelled
 Tomato1 , chopped
 4 1/2 cups water, or fill up the paella pan to the height of the handles 2 times
 Snails2 Cup (16 tbs), cleaned
 Short grain rice1 1/4 Pound
 Ground pepper1 To taste
 1 pinch saffron, for coloring
 Sprigs rosemary, as garnish
 Salt To Taste

Directions

Heat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the oil in a pan.

Add the strips of pepper and fry until they start to soften.

Remove and reserve for garnish.

Fry the chicken and rabbit at medium heat until golden brown, adding more oil, as necessary.

Add the paprika half way through to add color to meat.

Push the meat out to the edges of the pan and add the beans and tomatoes in the center, mixing them well.

Add 1/2 the water making sure to cover the pan until it is 1/2 full.

Simmer for approximately 30 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.

Add the snails and cook for 5 or 10 minutes.

Add the rice, distributing it evenly over the pan and fry for a few minutes, moving it around in the pan.

Add the rest of the water and cook for about 20 minutes.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Add a pinch of saffron for colour.

Once this is done the paella should not be stirred anymore.

For the last 1 to 2 minutes increase the heat to medium-high, until the bottom layer of rice starts to caramelize, creating what Valencians call the "socarrat".

If the rice starts to burn remove the pan from the heat immediately.

Garnish the paella with the strips of red pepper and the sprigs of rosemary. Cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Note: 1 cup rice to 3 cups water

Comments

Anonymous

Ronald Almeida says :

I agree nobody cares about what India has, especially the Indians themselves.
Posted on: 9 April 2010 - 7:12am
Anonymous

Ronald Almeida says :

It is very difficult to say where recipes and foods originate. We have similar dishes like Paella all over India but different in each region. With one big difference they are made with either vegetables, Meat or fish but never all of them together. Indians call it either Pillau or Biryani. Marco Polo brought spaggetti from China to Italy for example. Just as other aspects of culture are brought through the ages from one place to another, so is food. The British today eat as much Chicken Tikka as Fish and chips.
Posted on: 28 November 2009 - 3:02pm
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