Skip to main content

New book, new year, new paella recipe


Arroz En Paella De Barcelona, Los Jueves (Barcelona-style Thursday Paella Rice)


I wanted to try out one of my new cookery books, I also had two new paella pans from Lisa so it was a bit of a no-brainer that it was going to be 'Paella' from Steve and Neet that got 2012's first run-out. The book has a remarkable 118 different paella recipes.
This is a bit of a bastardisation of the above recipe made to accommodate Martha's dislike of fish and the fact that this was a lazy saturday night in.
However the thing I was most interested in was the use of hob and oven to finish the dish off.
All in all I think it was successful.

Serves four

Ingredients

1litre fish or veg stock
100ml olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
400g chicken, deboned and cut into 30g pieces
8 king prawns (jumbo shrimps), heads removed and tails shelled
150ml passata
6 small chorizo, cut in half
200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths
1 green pepper, seeded, skinned and sliced into thin strips
400g bomba or other short-grain rice
1tsp Spanish sweet smoked paprika
⅕tsp saffron threads, soaked in warm water
1 lime
salt


Method

Heat the stock but do not allow it to boil. Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Heat the oil in the pan over low heat, add the garlic and saute until lightly browned.
Add the chorizo then the chicken pieces and saute for a few minutes until brown all over, then remove from the pan. Add the king prawns and saute for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Add the green beans and green pepper strips to the pan and saute for a few minutes until the vegetables have softened.
Reduce the heat to low, add the rice and cook for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula, until thoroughly coated and translucent; do not allow the rice to burn. Add the passata and stir the ingredients well, deglazing the pan by scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula.

Add the smoked paprika, stir through and cook over moderate heat for a few seconds, taking care that it does not burn. Pour in the hot stock, stir until combined and spread out the ingredients evenly in the pan. Add the saffron and grate the zest of the lime over the paella, and bring to the boil. If you have a timer, set it to 17 minutes. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes until the rice rises to the surface of the liquid. Taste and season with salt if necessary, bearing in mind that the flavours will become more pronounced as the liquid evaporates. Put the paella in the preheated oven for 7 minutes.


Remove the paella from the oven and arrange the king prawns, monkfish, quid, langoustines and mussels on the top of the price, put the pan back in the oven for a further 5 minutes, then remove the paella once again. Cover the paella with a clean, damp dish towel (or leave in the oven once turned off), allow it to rest for 3 minutes, then serve.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast f...

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind...

Sweet potato 'fries' Ottolenghi style

Who doesn’t love sweet potato fries? Many years of going to Vermont have given us a preference to these over your bog standard Maccie D's variety. The addition of a touch of Middle Eastern flavour and the polenta crust make these a real easy crowd pleaser. The oven bake also makes them even healthier. Recipe from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi Ingredients -About 5 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2” thick fries -1 tbs Sweet Smoke Paprika -1/2 tsp cayenne -3 Garlic cloves, crushed -3 tbs Polenta -3 tbs Olive Oil -Flaked Sea Salt -1 tbs Sumac Method Preheat oven to 200c  Mix the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the paprika, cayenne, garlic, polenta, oil and 1 tsp flaked salt.   Once combined, tip the sweet potatoes and all the oil, onto a large parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the potatoes are cooked, crisp and golden brown.   Remove from the ove...