Thought these Spanish recipes in the Times today were quite interesting
If you want to make a good paella, you need to follow a few basic rules:
• Use Spanish ingredients – they are just too good not to be used in this case. If you can, use saffron from La Mancha (it’s the best in the world), Spanish olive oil and calasparra or bomba rice.
• Get yourself a good paella pan – it should be wide and flat so that the rice cooks in a thin layer. Never use deep pans.
• Never stir the rice. Ever! You will make the rice release starch and it will become too stodgy. At the end of the cooking time the rice should be soft, not sticky.
• Let it rest for 5 minutes at the end of the cooking time. The rice should not be soupy so give it a chance to absorb any trapped steam.
• Follow the recipe!
Serves 6
1g saffron
1 tbsp salt
8 tbsp Spanish olive oil
400g chicken pieces (on the bone)
400g rabbit pieces (on the bone)
200g runner beans, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm pieces
100g broad beans or fresh white butter beans
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, grated
Half tsp sweet pimentón
2 litres water or light chicken stock
2-3 artichokes (depending on the size), cleaned and trimmed
500g Spanish rice, such as calasparra or bomba
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp salt
8 tbsp Spanish olive oil
400g chicken pieces (on the bone)
400g rabbit pieces (on the bone)
200g runner beans, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm pieces
100g broad beans or fresh white butter beans
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, grated
Half tsp sweet pimentón
2 litres water or light chicken stock
2-3 artichokes (depending on the size), cleaned and trimmed
500g Spanish rice, such as calasparra or bomba
1 sprig of rosemary
1 Wrap the saffron in foil and toast it for 30 seconds on each side in a paella pan over a medium heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2 Increase the heat to the maximum and season around the edges of the pan with the salt. Wait until the pan is really hot and then drizzle with the olive oil. It should start smoking immediately; at this point throw in the pieces of chicken and rabbit (the meat needs to absorb the salt at this early stage). Fry the meat until nicely browned on both sides (this will add to the flavour of the paella).
3 Add the runner beans and broad beans and stir together for 1 minute before adding the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes (discarding the skin), pimentón and toasted saffron. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring all the time, until you see that the tomatoes have lost most of their juice and changed colour.
4 Add the water or chicken stock and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, allowing the bits of caramelised chicken and vegetable on the bottom of the pan to dissolve so you get a rich stock. If you use chicken stock instead of water, you will only need to simmer for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning but bear in mind that the rice will absorb a lot of saltiness, so it’s OK if it tastes quite salty at this stage.
5 Cut the artichokes into quarters and add to the pan – if you add them any earlier the entire paella will turn dark in colour. Add the rice, spreading it evenly over the paella pan, then stir once. Cook on the highest heat for about 10-12 minutes before reducing the heat right down and cooking for a further 5-7 minutes. Once you have added the rice and given it a good stir, you shouldn’t touch the pan with a spoon again. You need to keep the film that develops on the top of the stock from breaking, or the steam will escape and the rice won’t cook evenly.
6 When the water is at a lower level than the rice itself, add the rosemary sprig. If the layer of rice on the top starts to look a bit crispy, cover the paella pan with a layer of newspaper for the last 5 minutes of cooking. This will help to steam the grains on top while the bottom gets crispy. In Spain, this bottom layer is the most valuable part of the paella. Once the paella is finished it should look like a flat layer of rice.
Baked Rice
Serves 6
100ml olive oil
1 tsp salt
400g boneless chicken thighs, skin on
300g sausage, roughly chopped
100g pancetta or chorizo, cut into large pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 tsp sweet pimentón
1 pinch of saffron
2 tomatoes, grated
1 x 300g tin of cooked chickpeas, drained
1.5 litres chicken stock
500g bomba rice
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Zest of half a lemon
4 eggs, beaten
Salt
1 tsp salt
400g boneless chicken thighs, skin on
300g sausage, roughly chopped
100g pancetta or chorizo, cut into large pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 tsp sweet pimentón
1 pinch of saffron
2 tomatoes, grated
1 x 300g tin of cooked chickpeas, drained
1.5 litres chicken stock
500g bomba rice
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Zest of half a lemon
4 eggs, beaten
Salt
1 You need a wide ovenproof, flameproof pan for the rice, such as a 30cm-wide terracotta dish. Preheat the oven to 240C/Gas 9.
2 Pour the olive oil and salt into the pan, over a high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3 Add the sausage, pancetta and garlic cloves to the pan and cook for a few minutes until caramelised. Add the pimentón, saffron and tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, add the chickpeas and stock and bring to the boil.
4 Add the rice and thyme to the pan and give it a gentle stir. Don’t over-stir the rice or it will release the starch and become gluey.
5 Mix the lemon zest with the eggs and add a pinch of salt. After 5 minutes of cooking, the stock in the pan should be just above the level of the rice. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the rice, then transfer the pan to the oven. After 10 minutes, turn off the oven, open the door and let the rice rest inside the oven for a further 10 minutes before serving.
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