Paella

Credit and permission to share: La Chinata

My lasting memories of paella are –

-       in college preparing a Spanish themed evening where I learned how to make it and pronounce the word properly! 

-       paella in Spain on a college trip a largely meat based version (corn fed chicken being the key ingredient)

-       many paella dishes on holiday, from visiting food markets or made at home. 

This recipe comes from one of those destinations and the spice used is one of the most distinctive Spanish flavours you can find.

You will need:

Serves - 4

Preparation time – 20 minutes

Cooking time – 30 minutes

Total time – 50 minutes

Ingredients

300 g bomba rice

1 liter of fish stock

200 g large prawns

200 g mussels

150 g clams

1 red bell pepper, diced

Granulated smoked garlic from Finca La Barca or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 ripe tomato, grated

1 sachet of paella seasoning from La Chinata

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil from Finca La Barca

1 pinch of saffron from La Mancha de La Chinata

Smoked sea salt Finca La Barca (to taste)

Smoked black pepper Finca La Barca (to taste)

Lemon (optional for serving)

Instructions

Prepare the seafood: First, clean the prawns, mussels and clams. Reserve them to add at the end of cooking.

Base stir-fry: In a large paella pan, heat a good splash of extra virgin olive oil from Finca La Barca over medium heat. Add the granulated smoked garlic from Finca La Barca and the chopped red pepper, and fry until tender and fragrant. Then, add the grated tomato and cook for a few more minutes, until the sofrito is well integrated.

Add the rice: Add the rice to the paella pan and stir it well so that it is impregnated with all the flavor of the sofrito. It is important to make sure that the rice is well coated by the oil and stir-fry so that it is very tasty.

Prepare the broth with the seasoning: Dissolve the sachet of La Chinata paella seasoning in the hot fish broth. This will give the paella the authentic and balanced flavor that we love. Pour the broth with the seasoning into the paella pan, and also add the saffron from La Mancha (La Chinata), which will provide that characteristic color and aroma of a good paella. Adjust the salt to taste.

Add the seafood: After 10 minutes, distribute the prawns, mussels and clams over the entire surface of the rice. In this way, the seafood is cooked just right, maintaining all its flavor.

Final cooking: Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes more, until the rice is just right and the broth has been completely absorbed. It is important not to stir the rice during this time to prevent it from breaking!

Rest and serve: Once the rice is cooked, remove the paella pan from the heat and let the paella rest for a few minutes. This helps all the flavors settle. When serving, we can add a few slices of lemon to give a fresh and citrus touch that enhances the flavor even more.

Notes

La Chinata's paella seasoning gives a smoky and very traditional flavor to the paella, with a touch of paprika that enhances the flavor of the seafood. Make sure you don't stir the rice too much during cooking so that it forms the traditional crispy layer on the bottom (socarrat).