PAELLA Valenciana

Since it's Christmas time and in honor of the opening of our new La Paella branch in one of the malls in Manila, am posting my personal recipe of PAELLA VALENCIANA which I've road-tested several times, to much success.

As I learned in culinary school last year, paella is cooked differently in different regions of Spain such that what goes into the paella recipe in a given area depends on what kind of meat and seafood are abundant there. Hence, the many variations of cooking Paella. 

But what's constant in all is the slow cooking of the paella rice which owes its rich taste and color to the addition of a pinch of saffron threads, pounded to a powdery texture to extract a rich orange-red color that makes your paella true to its origins. Filipinos usually substitute kasuba or achuete for saffron because of the prohibitive cost of saffron threads. But for authenticity, you should go for real saffron threads - at P200 for as little as 10 grams or so in Santis, it will go a long way in giving your paella the stamp of approval of your discerning diners.

Paella must also be cooked slowly. Rice in a 10-inch paellera will cook for 1-2 hours and you can either let it cook on the stove or in an oven. Personally, I prefer to cook it on the stove so I can see how well the rice cooks and if I need to add a bit more broth to make the cooking even. Whichever way you cook the rice, make sure that you get much of the soccarat or browned rice bits at the bottom of the paellera which are the best portions of the dish!

Here's my version, a mix of several recipes, that has never failed me when our friends and family gather around the table for a meal to mark special occasions.

PAELLA VALENCIANA

¼ cup olive oil

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup onions, chopped

1 can Purefoods chorizo bilbao, sliced

250 g pork loin or liempo, cut into pieces (seasoned)

6 pcs. boneless chicken breasts (seasoned w/ calamansi, S&P)

red bell pepper / green bell pepper, sliced

150 g tomato paste

450 g long grain rice (soaked in water for 15 mins at least)

6-8 cups hot chicken broth

salt and pepper

pinch of saffron

frozen green peas

 

Toppings:

boiled mussels or clams (w/ salt and pepper)

squid sliced

8-15 pcs of shrimps (boiled in water w/ slices of calamansi, S&P)

2 pcs small crabs

sliced hard-boiled eggs

• Heat olive oil in paellera. Saute garlic and onions.
  
• Put in chorizo, pork and chicken. Saute till brown.
  
• Mix in tomato paste. Saute and stir well.
  
• Put in soaked rice and pour in some broth.
  
• Season w/ salt, pepper and saffron. Cover for 10 mins.
  
• Stir rice well every now and then. Pour more broth if needed.
  
• Cover and let rice absorb the liquid. Put in frozen green peas. Transfer to an oven and let the rice cook for 10 more mins.
  
• Top with seafood, garnish w/ eggs, bell pepper slices and lemon.