Saturday, July 08, 2006
Paella
After I've bragged about my shopping for a
whole post, I will no longer keep you waiting and shall quickly show off my lute: Fresh peas, spicy chorizo, chicken, shellfish, tomatoes... Looks like the perfect paella mix, doesn't it?The best part about this mix was that, apart from the peas, it was all ready cleaned and chopped, so it needed no preparation at all. So I could take a long, lazy afternoon break on the sofa, reading recipes and trying to get my thoughts in order to continue writing my dissertation.
I didn't manage the latter, but I did get myself all worked up and ready to get cooking again. Paella was just the thing for that. You spend a lot of time with food, but it's all relaxed and stress-free. No juggling multiple pans, no calculating cooking times, just good, simple fun.
4 tbsp olive oil (a little more if necessary)
5 bits of chicken (such as wings, legs or thighs; as I said, I used some pre-marinated hot wings with surprisingly good results)
100g mussels, cleaned
100g clams, cleaned
2 large prawns, left whole (feel free to use more if you like than and can afford it)
600g fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 1 can chopped plum tomatoes)
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g peas (feel free to use frozen)
50g chorizo, sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a good pinch of saffron
1½ tsp mild paprika
1 bay leaf
750ml hot chicken stock (a little more if needed)
250g paella rice (alternatively use risotto rice; try to stay away from long grain rice, the texture does not really work with the cooking method)
salt and pepper to taste
lemon wedges to serve (optional)
Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and fry on all sides until they are lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Remove from the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Now add the prawns to the hot pan and seal. This should not take long, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set aside.
Add the mussels and clams and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have opened. Take care not to overcook them. They will later get some time in the oven and the last thing you want is for them to dry out. Remove from the pan and set aside.
If the pan appears dry, add a few more drops of oil. When this is back up to temperature, add the garlic and onion and fry until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Now add the chorizo, followed a minute or two later by the chopped tomatoes and peas. Fry for a few minutes, adding the saffron, bay leaf and paprika along the way.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celsius. When the tomato sauce in the pan is hot and fragrant, add the rice. Stir well and pour in enough hot stock to cover the mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more stock, one ladle at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Cook, uncovered, until the rice is almost tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the stove and lay the chicken pieces out across the top of the rice. Cover with a sheet of tin foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 more minutes. Now it's time to reheat your shellfish. Remove the pan from the oven and lay the mussels, clams and prawns out around the chicken. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through before adding the seafood. You don't want to be faced with the choice of rare chicken versus dry mussels. Cover again and cook for about 3 more minutes to heat through. Serve with lemon wedges and plenty of napkins.
Paella is not just a great summer dish perfect for entertaining guests (use a deep dish baking tray to finish it off if you have more diners than space in your biggest pan), much like risotto it is also very versatile and therefore great for people of all tastes and for using up all kinds of ingredients. Are you cooking for vegetarians? No problem. Substitute veggie stock for the chicken stock and such goodies as roast bell peppers, zucchini and aubergines for the meat and fish. You don't like chicken? Use pork cubes or firm white fish fillet instead. Just remember to adjust the cooking times. No chorizo in the house? Add a pinch of chilli and, if you have it, some Spanish smoked paprika. Got no real fresh ingredients? Even that is OK. Paella tastes great even with tinned tomatoes, sardines and mussels, packet sausages (but remember what Sausagelinks says about them...), bacon bits, sweetcorn. The possibilities are endless. Be creative and enjoy!
Christine at 11:02 pm
