Paella like no other...put on your suspenders

Yes, I make the best paella. Other then my mother of course.

Paella Valencian is a Valencian rice dish with ancient roots that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near 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.

Types of paella include Valencian paella (Spanish: paella valenciana), vegetarian/vegan paella (Spanish:paella de verduras), seafood paella (Spanish: paella de marisco), and mixed paella (Spanish: paella mixta), but there are many others as well.

Valencian paella is believed to be the original recipe and consists of white rice, green beans (bajoqueta and tavella), meat (chicken, white beans (garrofón), snails, and seasoning such as saffron and rosemary.

Most paella chefs use bomba rice due to it being harder to overcook, but Valencians tend to use a slightly stickier (and thus less susceptible to overcooking) variety known as Senia. All types of paellas use olive oil.

-Taken from our friends at wikipedia-

Before you begin:

I bought my paella pans online. There are multiple retailers. I have a 14 inch and a 36 inch (its huge and great for 15-20 people).

Important to do between uses: Scrub the pan clean using hot soapy water and a steel-wool pad. If necessary, you can let the pan soak for several hours to loosen hard-to-remove particles. Rinse and dry thoroughly and then lightly coat the surface with fresh oil. Store in a dry place. Before the next use, wipe off the oil coating—a tinge of orangish residue on the towel is normal. Should you forget to dry and oil the pan and it rusts, just scrub the rust off with steel wool, then wash and oil the pan—no harm done.

Now for the good stuff.

Paella pan: grease it up with a nice layer of olive oil.

Begin a nice fire or if using a smaller pan can do over bbq grill on low heat. Low heat is key. You can always turn up the heat if the cooking is slow. What you definitely do not want is a pan that is too hot. It will ruin your rice and even if you manage to not burn the food, it may still have a burnt flavor from the heat of the oil. I' ve been there and done that.

Like mentioned above, there a many styles of paella. I like a mix of all of them. These ingredients will serve about 6-8 people.

Ingredients

• - 1 tsp saffron, you can by them in packets, can use liberally, 2 packets should do

• - 1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (Pimentón de la Vera), I like the smokey flavor so I go heavy on this

• - 4 chicken boneless breasts, dice into .5-1 inch chunks

• - 1-2 pounds of diced boneless pork

• - 1/2 cup olive oil

• - 2 bay leaves, crumbled

• - 2 medium onions, peeled, diced, does not need to be minced unless you have people who don't like onions, mince them so they don't see them

• - 2 cans of carrot, peas mixed

• - 1 can of fava beans, (chic peas)

• - 1/2 cup of Spanish olives, chopped

• - 1/4 lb of chorizo, in 1/4 inch slices, I like the hard spicey cured chorizo, bolder flavor

• - 4 scallions, chopped

• - 4 tbsp chopped garlic

• - 2 roasted piquillo peppers, chopped

• - 1 lb small or medium shrimp, shelled

• - 4 (Optional) Lobster tails, split lengthwise

• - 18 (optional) clams and/ or mussels

• - 1 pound of calamari rings

• - 6 cups beef or chicken broth (bouillon cubes are ok, I like to use them)

• - 3 cups short grain Spanish rice such as Bomba

• - 5 tbsp chopped parsley

Preparation and Cooking

STEP 1

Heat the olive oil with the saffron, pimentón, onion, olives, canned carrot and peas, roasted peppers, scallions, bay leaves, chic peas, garlic, and chorizo. Cover with large foil and simmer 8-12 minutes.

Step 2

After seasoning the diced meats with 1 packet of saffron and paprika, add chicken and pork to the pan. Cook until seared/ golden.

STEP 3

Add broth and bring to a boil. Then add the rice and stir together all the ingredients already in the pan. You may add the other packet of saffron seasoning at this time while stirring.

Bring to a boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium heat about 10 minutes.

Step 3

When there is some liquid remaining bury the shrimp in the rice. Add the clams and/ or mussels, pushing them into the rice, with the edge that will open facing up. Decorate the paella with the calamari and lobster pieces.

STEP 5

Cook, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, lightly covered with foil, for about 10 minutes. To serve, decorate with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.