Topic: how do you cook a paella

[sutton girl]

Please can anyone of you tell me how to cook a good paella as i dont know how to cook one doing it for about 6 people  thanking you Sutton Girl

[asbean]

Will post the recipe this evening - have to ask my son who is the expert (even Spanish people say so)  :P :P :P

[Fork]

I have a pan suitable for paella and Ive been looking for a recipe for two for ages....not seafood though.

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.

[Jeannine]

 can give you recipes, do you have a paella,(the  pan it is cooked in)and how authentic do you want it to be eg. from what region of Spain. It varies due to produce. Personally I prefer the versions from the coast as they contaon sea food  with chicken while the interior regions do not.  I can give you which ever ones you want. XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

I seem to be answering 2 posts at once!!

[tim]

You do NOT have to have a paella pan!

But first time for 6 is very ambitious??

Here's a basis, just a basis, from Pru Leith.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/cooking/paella001.jpg

[sutton girl]

Yes please jeannine any one will do if you think it's nice that will be o/k for me thanks.

[Fork]

Just shows how good you are at multitasking Jeannine.

I dont mind what region the recipe comes from so long as I dont have to use seafood(bad food poisoning experience on the Costa Del Sol once).

A recipe using chicken and pork would be nice,thanks.

[sutton girl]

Jeannine have an electric wok what i can use you can do a Paella in it so it tells me.

[Jeannine]

Tim I agree you do not have to have Paella, but it does make a big differnce to how I tell someone to prepare it if I know what they are cooking it in. XX Jeannine

[prink13]

Without meaning ti hi-jack this thread - I have a very large paella pan, if anyone would like it - would suit a guide/scout leader or caterer! Measures approx. 40cm across the pan, and has a large handle one side and a smaller one the other side. Free to good home! Think it's cast iron, so very heavy - too heavy to post!

I got it free on freecycle last year, used it once, now would like to pass it on

[sutton girl]

Prink to big for me but thanks anyway have you aske your local scout's group if they would like it?

[Jeannine]

Prink I would adore that big one, mine is far too small. XX Jeannine

[prink13]

Jeannine, it's yours! - I'll PM you

Kathi

[Jeannine]

The recipes are use are varied from a very expensive varied one that has lobster, chicken and fish to a very simple one.

One of my best sources for Spanish food is a couple of books from Penny Casan, one on regional Spanish cooking and one just on Paellas.

If someone wants recipes give me an idea of what you want in them and I will PM them to you. Copyright does not allow me to write them on here.

I do have a recipe of my own which I used to do for dinner parties , however it is very big and includes fish, squid,mussells,lobster,ham, chicken and pork with rice of course,saffron,peppers etc.

There are as many Paella recipes as pies or curries and I can't honestly say which one I like best.If you are trying to recreate something you had on holiday , give me an idea of ingredients and I can help further.

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Prink you are an angel, why I ever left my big one in Canada I don't know. Thank goodness for Hi jacking threads. Oh I can make my big recipe again XXX Jeannine

[sutton girl]

Jeannine just fish chicken prawns ect that will do thanks

[Melbourne12]

If you haven’t made paella before, it’s not as easy to get good results as it looks.  Like so many of these “one pot” dishes, it’s difficult to get everything just perfectly cooked at the same time.  If you’re unlucky by the time the rice is just so, the seafood will be overcooked and tough, and the chicken not quite cooked enough!

So (and this will probably be heresy to the aficionados) this is what we do.  It’s based upon a recipe that my mother learned when I was a child, and we lived in Brazil.  So if anyone complains about its authenticity, just say that it’s the Brazilian version.  But it has the great advantage that it gives a good result every time.

Essentially, it’s just an assembly job.  You prepare separately (a) a savoury rice (b) the veggies and (c) the meat and/or seafood.

The rice needs to be short grain Spanish or Italian rice.  In a liberal amount of decent olive oil gently fry chopped garlic and onions.  We chop our onions coarsely, but it’s a matter of taste.  Then add the rice and stir until it’s coated in oil and heated through.  You’ll need about ¾ pint of rice for 6 people, I guess.

Then add chopped fresh tomatoes (that you’ve prepared beforehand).  They need to be peeled, and you may want to discard some of the seeds if you can be bothered.  Depending on how many tomatoes you’ve added, add stock to provide sufficient liquid to cook the rice.  Chicken stock is good, or fish stock if you’re doing a seafood version.  Add a decent pinch of saffron for colour, or turmeric if you really haven't got any saffron.  Depending on the saltiness of the stock, you’ll need to add salt as well.

Stir once, and cook over the lowest heat until the rice is just undercooked.

Remove from the heat, mix in the other ingredients, plus black pepper and maybe a little paprika, and put it into your nice paella dish (thus adding to the illusion of authenticity).  Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.  You might like to keep some choice pieces of meat or seafood to arrange on top of the paella rather than mix everything in.

Both the veggies and meat can be prepared before you start on the rice (not too far ahead that they go sad).  Seafood really needs to be timed to be ready when the rice is, since it rapidly loses its zing.  The easiest way to go is just prawns and mussels.

Now the veggies.  At this time of year we’d use French beans, chopped into thirds, and broad beans.

For chicken, we’d grill chicken breasts (taking care not to crisp the outside), then slice them.  Pork steaks ditto.  You might like to add some small chunks of chorizo.

[Rosyred]

http://www.eatpaella.co.uk/about.asp

Recipes on here may help