SERVING UP A PAELLA ADDS AN AIR OF CELEBRATION TO A PARTY
Paellas are fabulous dishes to serve up for large gatherings and actually are much easier to cook than they look. They do involve a fair amount of chopping and preparation beforehand, but once the guests have arrived there’s not much work. Everyone can help themselves and enjoy the spectacle before the first spoonful disturbs the design.
This Easter it was wonderful getting some of the family together for a reunion so I promised to make our favourite dish, especially as it marked the anniversary of our Spanish mother’s death. Memories are so caught up in food and, I’m sure many of you will agree, family traditions and favourite dishes are hugely bonding, and are also a catalyst for many discussions.
People can be very purist about paella recipes – what region it comes from, what is a true paella, whether you should add mussels etc etc. My view is that life’s too short to quibble. If it tastes good and looks spectacular then it’s a great paella!
This is my favourite paella recipe, its excellence born out by all the stains splattering my cookbook. Now that’s the mark of a popular recipe!
As I don’t usually make a paella for a few people I’m giving the quantities for 12 people which I cook on a special gas ring that we bought in Spain many years ago. You can easily buy these nowadays locally, even on Amazon, also with a stand which is really useful. The gas ring has two rings and measures 40 cms and our paella pan is 50 cms across. Again, these are easy to buy these days. And there are many larger combinations available as well for larger parties.
I’ve tried cutting corners with this recipe and I would warn you not to. The two main things that have a large impact on the taste are frying some of the garlic and bay leaf and pounding together in a pestle and mortar. I’ve tried bunging in the garlic, all at the same time, and the flavour is not the same. Also, don’t be tempted to use tinned tomatoes. It just doesn’t work as somehow the paella ends up with a commercial-kitchen taste. So here goes:
INGREDIENTS
500 grams peeled prawns
500 grams clams or mussels in their shells
500 grams pork, cut into cubes
20 (approx) chicken wings
500 grams chicken (mix thigh meat/breast) cut into cubes
350 grams squid (if desired) cut into rings
12 large prawns in their shells
150 ml olive oil
6 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
2 onions, finely chopped
4 green peppers, cut into strips
4 red peppers, cut into strips
4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 kg rice – paella rice or arborio
2 litres stock – can be fish or chicken
1 teaspoon saffron
1 teaspoon paprika
10-15 peppercorns
2 teaspoons salt (more if stock is unsalted)
200 grams peas
DIRECTIONS:
- Clean the mussels and/or clams and steam lightly. Retain cooking juice. Discard any that haven’t opened.
- Steep the saffron in some of the hot stock to be used.
- Fry 4 of the cloves of garlic and the bay leaves in the olive oil until toasted. Pound in a pestle and mortar, together with the peppercorns, paprika, other 2 cloves of uncooked garlic and salt. Add this to the saffron stock, ready to be used later.
- Fry the chicken wings, then add the cubed chicken and pork and fry in the same oil. Once nicely brown, remove from heat and keep warm.
- Fry the onion and chopped green pepper, then add the squid rings and saute.
- Add the chopped tomato on a high(ish) heat so they actually fry.
- Add the rice and stir, cooking briefly until it looks partially opaque.
- Gather the cooking juices, saffron stock and combine with more hot stock to make up 2 litres hot liquid.
- Add all the other ingredients (apart from the large prawns in their shells and the mussels). Stir well.
- Add all the stock and lower the heat until simmering. Don’t stir but shake the pan if it’s sticking. (Don’t worry about this too much – as long as it’s not burning, the crusty bits at the bottom are often fought over!)
- After about 15 minutes add the prawns in their shells. Push down slightly so they can cook in the liquid. Scatter the mussels on top.
- Once done, around 20-30 minutes (you’ll need to taste) remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Note: if the air is cool lay some foil over the top so it doesn’t chill too much at the top.
- Put lemon quarters on top and serve.
Karumba!
