Paella

There are two basic types of paella. PAELLA DE MARISCO, or seafood paella and PAELLA MIXTA, or mixed seafood and meat paella. We prefer the paella mixta at home, but if you would like a seafood only dish you can do so by following this recipe and just not adding the meat. That is the only difference between the two.

Paella is not difficult, but it does have a lot of ingredients and therefore the prep time is longer than most dishes. I am going to write out every little step to ensure you get delicious paella. Just don't feel overwhelmed by the length, just go one step at a time and you will be fine.

Please keep in mind that these recipes do not have exact measurements. The amounts are estimated and you can change them as you see fit.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup onions

1 cup peppers

½ lb. (250gms.) baby clams (or normal clams)

½ lb. (250gms.) fresh calamari

½ lb. (250gms.) fresh shrimp

8 King prawns

1 lb. (1/2 kilo) mussels

1 whole chicken breast

1 lb. (1/2 kilo) beef

2 cups of white rice.

Fish stock

Saffron


PREP

1. Finely chop the onion. Set aside.
   
2. Cut the peppers in strips about half an inch wide. Then cut the strips every half inch so you get small pepper squares. Set aside.
   
3. Chop the beef and chicken in squares, about an inch. Set aside.
   
4. If you bought the calamari as rings then just chop them in two so you get calamari strips. If you have to buy the whole piece ask your seafood provider to clean it for you and then chop into strips. Make sure to rinse with water. Set aside.
   
5. Rinse the clams in water and drain. Set aside.
   
6. Peel the fresh shrimp and set aside. (DO NOT PEEL THE KING PRAWN)
   
7. In a saucepan add about an inch of water and boil. Then add the mussels. In about 3 minutes you will see them open and the meat cooked. Take out the mussels from the pan and open them completely. You will have two sides. One with the meat attached and an empty side. Throw out the empty side and keep the mussels in their shell for later.
   
8. Drain the liquid from the mussels through a mesh colander add 2 cups of water and the fish stock and bring to a boil. Set aside.
   

COOKING STEPS

1. Hopefully you have a paellera (paella dish), if not then any pan will do. Try to get one not deeper than 3 inches and about 18 inches in diameter. This is not exact and it is no big deal if the pan you have is not this exact size. It needs to be metal as it will have to go in the oven.
   
2. Turn the heat onto medium-high and cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil. (Yes, it MUST be olive oil)
   
3. As soon as it starts to heat up throw in the onion and pepper.
   
4. Once the pepper and onion are poached, (onion will be see through and the pepper will be soft) add the meat and chicken and cook until all sides are brown. It does not matter if it is not cooked inside.
   
5. Now add the calamari, the peeled shrimp and the clams. Stir until they are cooked. The clams will open.
   
6. Add the two cups of rice, spreading evenly.
   
7. Now you need to add the fish stock. Usually it is 2 and a half cups of water for each cup of rice, but as the pan will have liquid from cooking the meat and seafood you need to estimate how much stock to add. About 4 cups should do it. It is preferable to add too much liquid than not enough.
   
8. Add the saffron.
   
9. Bring to a boil. Add the King prawns. As soon as the King prawns are cooked, take them out and set aside together with the mussels.
   
10. When the rice is almost cooked turn on your oven to high.
    
11. Place the king Prawns and the mussels in a decorative pattern on top of the paella.
    
12. The rice should be done, but there should still be some liquid at the bottom of the pan. Cover the paella with foil and pop into the oven. Check on it every 5 minutes or so and take out as soon as there is no more liquid in the bottom of the pan. You can check this using a spoon and pushing the rice away from the edge of the pan and looking at the bottom of the pan.
    
13. Once you have taken the paella out of the oven, let it sit for about 5 minutes.
    
14. Serve with lemons cut in half. A little bit of lemon juice brings out the seafood flavour. You do not need to add salt to the paella as the seafood makes it salty enough.