What is Paella? (Valencian pronunciation: ( Paejya); Spanish: (Pa-eya) is a Valencian rice dish that has ancient roots but its modern form originated in the mid-19th century in the area around Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain adjacent to the city of Valencia.
Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
Just like many dishes from various countries, Paella too is has a lot of variations within Spain itself, however Valencia Paella is considered to be the original recipe and it consists of white rice (which must be round grain), green beans , meat(chicken and rabbit), sometimes duck), a variety of Lima beans or butter beans, sometimes snails, and seasoning such as saffron and rosemary
Just like many dishes from various countries, Paella too is has a lot of variations within Spain itself, however Valencia Paella is considered to be the original recipe and it consists of white rice (which must be round grain), green beans , meat(chicken and rabbit), sometimes duck), a variety of Lima beans or butter beans, sometimes snails, and seasoning such as saffron and rosemary
Other types of paella include , vegetable paella , seafood paella , and mixed paella . Another very common but seasonal ingredient is artichokes. Seafood paella replaces meat with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables , but I like mine with veggies as well .
Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat(Chicken, duck or rabbit) , seafood, vegetables, mostly beans or peas. Mixed Paella is what I was accustomed to for many years until I started preparing it myself at home.
Most paella chefs use bomba rice due to it being less likely to overcook, but Valencians tend to use a slightly stickier (and thus more susceptible to overcooking) variety known as Senia, however any type of short grain rice would work as well. All types of paellas use olive oil.
Most paella chefs use bomba rice due to it being less likely to overcook, but Valencians tend to use a slightly stickier (and thus more susceptible to overcooking) variety known as Senia, however any type of short grain rice would work as well. All types of paellas use olive oil.
There are still a lot more variations of Paella prepared all over the world and of course I have my version too. What I understand about the Paella is, the most important part is the rice with its very simple yet with prominent flavors and the rest of the ingredients can easily be substituted.Paella pan also to be put into consideration because the rice is supposed to be cooked in single layer to be able to get that perfect "SOCARRAT" (toasted rice at the bottom of the pan) although many chefs recommend a wide shallow pan as an alternative just like the one I used
2 1/2 cups short grain rice.
So for my 17th wedding anniversary this year, I planned to make Paella simply because I had already picked my dessert before I set the main menu. The dessert was this pistachio cake that I was dying to try ( I need to make it again with few changes) The theme was kinda Mediterranean style in my own way it actually blended well than I thought.
We started with lentil soup and stuffed eggplants with hummus and pita bread as well as garlic pita chips...and some green salad with feta cheese.
Paella was great with lots of flavors but the protein was not so filling, in future I hope to remember and have another protein side dish to compliment the dinner.
I have always loved Paella and I have cooked it several times but I have been very skeptical on sharing the recipe...NO! I am not selfish.. The ingredients have always been a challenge for me and I cannot imagine some of my viewers not having access to main ingredients like saffron and the right rice which at this point it doesn't really matter! As much as I love authenticity , sometimes we just have to enjoy the recipes with what we have.
My search for fresh seafood and short grain rice was really stressful , I never thought that there was such a scarcity of short grain rice such or may be there is not market at all since long grain rice is a favorable rice in many recipes, honestly I was confused and tired . I did manage to find short grain rice in one of the Asian stores but , it was in a 10lb packaging !
I checked online many stores like Target and HB seem to have them but I did not have such time. There is a type of rice that I came across at Fiesta (Hispanic supermarket) its the PAELLA rice already with saffron but I did not want to confuse my viewers by using such rice and besides not everyone would be able to find it. I did not want to use Arbor rice used for Risotto simply because its not something that is found in your typical grocery store, I get mine from whole foods...I settled for medium grain rice
My search for fresh seafood and short grain rice was really stressful , I never thought that there was such a scarcity of short grain rice such or may be there is not market at all since long grain rice is a favorable rice in many recipes, honestly I was confused and tired . I did manage to find short grain rice in one of the Asian stores but , it was in a 10lb packaging !
I checked online many stores like Target and HB seem to have them but I did not have such time. There is a type of rice that I came across at Fiesta (Hispanic supermarket) its the PAELLA rice already with saffron but I did not want to confuse my viewers by using such rice and besides not everyone would be able to find it. I did not want to use Arbor rice used for Risotto simply because its not something that is found in your typical grocery store, I get mine from whole foods...I settled for medium grain rice
The sea food was already pre-cooked except for calamari which was fine but I missed to show how to make the broth out of clams! I still have some clams lets see if I can manage some clam chowder !
Now lets get on with this wonderful the recipe:
4 cups broth of your choice
3-4 Tbl olive oil
1 Medium size chopped onion
4 Medium size crushed or grated tomatoes
1/4 tsp saffron (20-25 strands)
1 Tsp Spanish paprika
8 -10 Mussels
8-10 Clams
1 large calamari
10-12 large.jumbo shrimps
Salt to taste
Vegetables ( optional)
Get the broth ready, I used to shrimp cubes just because
I had them! or use clam juice , make homemade shrimp
broth or fish broth , you can even use the juice of mussels
after you boil them. Just use enough water to boil the
mussels or clams with about 3 cloves of garlic , celery,
onions and carrots. and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes
Lets smoke the saffron , place 25-30 strands of saffron at the center of a piece of rectangle aluminium foil paper and fold in the 2 sides, place on the heated pan for 2-3 minutes.
Make sure the heat is on medium so the Saffron does not get burnt. You can use pastel to crush the saffron into a fine powder by just rolling it over.
Get the pan ready on medium heat on add about 3-4 Tbl of Olive oil, add the onions and saute for about 3-4 mins until they become soft and translucent.
If you wish to use the tomato paste you can add at this point ( saute for 3 minutes) , if not just add the saffron and the paprika, saute for 2 minutes before you add the crushed or grated tomatoes
After adding the tomatoes saute and cook the sauce on low heat for about 20-25 minutes , do not forget the salt at this point.
If you wish to use the calamari , you may add them at this point while the sauce is cooking at 15 minutes
Continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
Add the veggies (optional), saute for about 3 minutes and then add the rice
Saute the rice for about 3-5 minutes until all the thick sauce is coated on the rice
Add the broth , cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes
Cover and reduce the heat to low , cook for about 15 minutes
5 minutes before the rice is completely cooked, add the sea food
Cover and continue cooking for about 5-7 minutes, turn off the heat. Let the Paella rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish with parsley ( optional) and lemon wedges.
Hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did!
If you wish to watch how I made mine, kindly follow the link
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