La Cuisine (2012MAY21)

L a   C u i s i n e  - Paella

ingredients

• olive oil
• 2 raw chorizo sausages(approximately 250g intotal), thickly sliced
• 300g pork belly, skin removed, the best quality you can afford, cut into1cm pieces
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a good pinch of saffron
• 400g clams or mussels, scrubbed clean and debearded
• 300g paella rice
• 200g jarred red peppers in oil, drained and torn into pieces
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic
• 12 large prawns, shells on
• 150g squid, cleaned and finely sliced
• 150g green beans, sliced very thinly at an angle
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
method

It's one harmonious, exciting, stomach-pleasing smasher of a dish. The combination of textures and smoky flavours completely wins me over. Some locals will say you don't add chorizo, but because I love it, I'm adding it here. You can pick up a proper paella pan (like the one in the picture) at most department stores, but a large shallow pan about 30cm across will also work a treat.

Although incredibly flexible and delicious, it was never intended to be as visual and flamboyant a dish as it is. It was invented by farmers, grabbing whatever bits of meat, veg and fish they had available to them and using rice to bring it all together. That’s the great thing about paella, you can make it your own by taking the principle of it and adjusting it to embrace whatever ingredients are in season and around you.

Heat a large wide-based pan over a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil, the sliced chorizo and the pork belly. Fry for around 10 min, stirring occasionally. As soon as the chorizo starts taking on colour and the fat is beginning to cook out of it, add the chopped peppers, garlic, onion and parsley stalks along with a good pinch of salt and pepper and the saffron. Fry gently for another 10 min, or until the vegetables have begun to soften. Meanwhile pick through the shellfish and get rid of any clams or mussels that aren't tightly closed.

Add the rice and jarred peppers and keep stirring for a few minutes until the rice is coated in all the lovely flavours, then pour in the tinned tomatoes and 800ml of stock, seasoning again with salt and pepper. Bring everything to the boil, then turn down to a medium to low heat and stir constantly for about 15 minutes. This combination of flavours will be absolutely beautiful, but you’ve got to help the dish along by doing your job and making sure each grain of rice gets the same amount of love. So every now and then, stir from the outside of the pan into the middle so you get a sort of pile of rice in the centre, making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Flatten the pile out with your spoon, then start the whole process again.

After 15 minutes the rice should be cooked, but still have a bit of a bite, so add the mussels or clams and the prawns. You may want to add an extra splash of stock here if the rice looks a bit dry. Keep stirring, and as the clams and mussels start to open and the prawns begin to turn pink, add your squid and green beans and cook for a further 5 minutes or so. Discard any clams or mussels that don't open. Stir in the chopped parsley leaves and the juice from half your lemon wedges, and bring to the table with the remaining lemon wedges on the side.

* This recipe is forwarded by Claudia who demonstrated this delicious dish in the session of the International Cuisine on May 8th. Thanks Claudia!