A traditional Spanish rice dish garnished with vegetables, chicken and shellfish. Its name is derived from that of the container in which it is prepared (paellera).
Paella originated in the region of Valencia. Its three basic ingredients are rice, saffron and olive oil. The garnish, which is cooked with the rice in stock, originally consisted either of chicken, snails, French beans (green beans), and peas or of eel, frogs and vegetables, but it became considerably enriched and varied as it spread throughout Spain and even beyond. The garnish may now include chicken, rabbit, duck, lobster, mussels, langoustines, praws (shrimp), squid, chorizo, French beans, peas, red (bell) peppers and artichoke hearts; chicken, chorizo, mussels, langoustines and peas are essential ingredients. Paella may be a rustic dish, cooked in the open air and eaten straight from the paellera, traditionally accompanied by small onions (not bread), or a very elaborate preparation, presented with great care, the different-coloured ingredients contrasting with the saffron-flavoured rice and set off by the green peas.
RECIPE:
Cut a chicken weighing about 1.4kg (3 lb) into 8 pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Place the crushed backbone and the giblets in a stewpan, cover with wather, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil and skim. Peel and chop 2 onions, cut the white part of a leek and a celery stick into fine strips and chop 3 garlic cloves. Add all the vegetables to the stewpan with a bouquet garni. Wait until the stock comes to the boil again, then simmer for 1 hour.
Wash 500 gr (18 oz) squid, cut into strips and put in a saucepan with some cold water. Bring to the boil, leave to boil for 5 minutes, then cool and set aside.
Heat 4 tablespoons oilve oil in a deep frying pan with a metal handle (or use a paella pan) and fry the chicken pieces in it until they turn golden. Drain them. Gently reheat the same oil and add 250 gr (9 oz) chorizo cut into round slices, then the squid, 2 sweet (bell) peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips, and 2 chopped onions. Add a pinch of saffron and leave to soften, uncevered, for 5-6 minutes. Add 6 large tomatoes ( peeled, seeded and crusched) and reduce for 5 minutes, still uncovered.
Measure the volume of 400 gr (14 oz, 2 cups) long-grain rive, tip it into the pan and mix everything together. Place the chicekn pieces on top, then add 12 scraped and washed mussels, 12 Venus clams (if available), a handful of brushed and washed cockles and 8-12 langoustines. Strain the giblet stock and measure two and a half time the volume of the rice, then pour into the pan. Cover with foil, bring to the boil over the heat, then cook in a preheated oven at 220°C (425°F, 7 gas) for 25-30 minutes. Add 250g (9 oz, 1¾ cups) frozen peas, stirring them into the mixture, and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the paella there for about 10 minutes before serving, to allow the rice to finish swelling.
