Paella

Paella

This dish is hugely popular all over Spain as many who have visited the country will know and have enjoyed eating it, but it originates in the province of Valencia from where it gets its name; "Paella" is Valencian for frying pan, the distinctive twin handled pans that are immediately associated with this dish.

Paella comes in many varieties, traditionally using rabbit or chicken, shellfish and fresh vegetables, so it is a perfect dish for making using leftovers from the fridge or freezer. I have used a traditional paella pan but a large frying pan, wok or saucepan will do perfectly well


If like me you throw out very little food then, with a little imagination, you can make a delicious and authentic homemade Paella.

Start off by chopping some onions, red onions work well but whatever you have available, white onions shallots and spring onions all work fine, you could even add some leeks and of course garlic is a must.

Add a generous splash of olive oil to the pan and gently cook off the onion mixture over a medium heat until they start to brown and soften.

Add some peppers if you have them and continue cooking for a few minutes only so that they keep their texture.

The best rice to use for this dish is Spanish Bomba rice which is a short grain rice that absorbed the liquid well, a bit like Arborio Risotto rice which makes a good substitute.

As this is a leftover dish you don't need to be that precious, use whatever rice you have, long grain, basmati etc. just adjust the cooking time.

Time to add the rice to the paella, add a splash more oil if it looks a little dry and gently fry the rice for a few minutes, at this stage you can add some wine if you can spare some but not essential. If you want to give it that authentic colour you can add a pinch of saffron if you have some, mixed with hot water, Turmeric works too.

You will need to have some stock keeping warm in a saucepan, use chicken or vegetable stock or both, depending what you have. Add the stock a label at a time and let it absorb before you add the next. Do not stop your Paella as you dint want the rice to get stodgy and the Spanish like the bottom to become crispy, what they call the Socarratt.



Now to add those extra bits to make it interesting. Plan ahead as you might need to cook some things in advance. 

I added some chicken breasts from the freezer that I roasted for around 40 minutes seasoned with thyme, salt and black pepper, then chopped into bite size chunks.

You can add the chicken to the pan at this stage but not the ingredients that don't take much cooking.

I was lucky enough to have some large prawns and scallops left over in the freezer from Christmas so I decided to use them too, but rather than add them to the rice mix I opted to fry them separately right at the end and simply place them on top. 

I did the same with a leftover piece of black pudding, which is a lot like Spanish Marcella, I would have liked to add some Chorizo to add that extra meat element but the black pudding 
substituted nicely.

All that was left to do now was fry off the prawns and scallops and place them on top of the Paella. You can either serve up individual portions or place the pan in the center of the table for people to help themselves. Some crusty bread works well.

Disclaimer: The suggestions and tips on these blog pages are meant to be used in conjunction with common sense. Keeping your family healthy is the priority. Do not use food that is unfit for human consumption and always follow sensible food hygiene guidelines.

  

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/food-leftovers-safety.aspx

Always be careful in the kitchen, we accept no responsibility for any accidents caused as a direct or indirect result of preparing any of these dishes.