Paella

Pho3nix

Pho3nix

The Legend
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
32,826
Reaction score
3,033
Location
On the toilet
Hi all,

Is there a stock standard method for making Paella? Looking to make some for dinner sometime this week and while Google is good help. MyBB is better :D
Do you only use sea-food or can you use chicken and or red meat? :o

Disclaimer : I suck at cooking and learning.
 
You can use whatever meat you like. There are many different kinds of Paella, with regional variations in ingredients.

First, make chicken stock, and dissolve some saffron into the chicken stock. Also add 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika - Woolies sells this for R25 which is actually quite a good price. About 500ml to 750ml of stock, depending on how many people you are catering for. You could probably substitute white wine for some of the stock.

Fry your meat first to brown it. I find chicken pieces with bones in take too long to cook, so I dont use those anymore. I use chopped chicken breast, diced bacon, and chopped Woolies chorizo. Woolies chorizo is worth it. You could probably use prawns too. I dont bother browning the chorizo, but some brown the chorizo first and then brown the chicken in the fat left behind by the chorizo.

Finely chop onion, red pepper, and either celery or fennel bulb. Fry that for a few minutes, then add chopped garlic, a chilli or two, and some fresh chopped parsley. Add some sliced skinless tomatoes - you can use the canned variety here. Fry that for a few minutes, then add the meat back in. Add your stock/wine, then your rice. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir it from time to time.
 
For the Ultimate paella taste... Capies should head to the Hope street market opposite the Frog School on Saturdays and there's a Spaniard at the back of the room who makes the best Paella eva. Although not every weekend- usually only when they sell out of frittata. He's most helpful.
But the chicken one *kisses thmbs*
 
Paella is actually the name of the pan that it is traditionally made in. (Who cares though, its incredible)
You can use almost any meat combination in it with rice.
Once at my brother we raided the freezer and made a Chicken, Prawn and Escargot Paella.
It was awesome. Almost as good as my wife's Cassoulet.

I'm going to try yours this weekend Ancalagon.
 
Hosehead said:
For the Ultimate paella taste... Capies should head to the Hope street market opposite the Frog School on Saturdays and there's a Spaniard at the back of the room who makes the best Paella eva. Although not every weekend- usually only when they sell out of frittata. He's most helpful.
But the chicken one *kisses thmbs*
Click to expand...

thursday they have the food market by the food lovers in town

there is a guy who sells paella

i can never taste cause its not halaal but damn it looks good
 
There are a few tricks to paella.

First, do not stir. Yes, don't do it. There is no need to and it just releases the starch and makes it gloopy. You can move the pan around a bit, but don't be tempted to put a spoon in there and stir. It will also prevent the crisp layer developing on the bottom.

Second, use as little liquid as you can get away with so that it forms a crispy layer on the bottom while cooking.

Don't go berserk with paprika. It might be traditional to use, but the dish shouldn't taste like paprika chicken and fish.

Cook your seasoned chicken in an incredibly hot pan to brown it but not cook through. Cut them into large chunks. If they're small, they will overcook in the oven.

Add your seafood towards the end of the cooking process or it will overcook and go tough and dry.

Traditional paella is made with a short grained rice that resembles risotto rice, not with long grained "normal" rice.

Do not precook your vegetables apart from the onion. They will turn to mush. Do not use frozen veg - they will turn to mush.

Paella is a complicated dish to make well. Think of each component of the dish and cook each to perfection. That's the key. Break it down into its individual components.

While stove top cooking is traditional, the oven with a foil lid works best in my experience as it cooks more evenly. Use the bottom element of the oven to get that crisp layer to develop. Start on the stove top and finish in the oven.

Measure your rice to determine exactly how much liquid you need. Don't be concerned if it looks a little dry. Paella is not a stew. It shouldn't pool with liquids and it needs to be a little dry for it to crisp up on the bottom.

Do not overcook it. Timing is everything and it will take trial and error.

You will fail the first time around. Don't give up. It's worth it to persevere...
 
Risotto rice only releases its starch if you stir it or overcook it...
 
Hosehead said:
Risotto itself is a bittch to make. Takes a good half hour of stirring and adding stock.
Click to expand...

The stirring of risotto is a complete myth. At high temperatures the amylopectin in short-grain rice is ready to be released as the starch softens. All it requires is agitation to do so. It doesn't require constant stirring and I have tested this method on countless occasions. All it requires is aggressive agitation towards the end of the cooking cycle. This means that you can more accurately control the consistency of the dish without constant stirring.

Give it a shot. Chuck in the correct amount of stock or close to it for your rice variant, and then let it simmer until the rice is al dente. Then give it a really good stir to release the amylopectins into the remaining liquids. Result = perfectly creamy risotto at just the right consistency that you want...
 
Paella was traditionally made over a wood fire. I've never tried cooking it this way but I'd like to give it a go on my braai sometime.

You also get black paellas in Spain which are made with squid ink. Definately something on my culinary bucket list.
 
ponder said:
You're doing it wrong is all I can say.
Click to expand...

Well I'll try DJ's method. I could be stirring for an hour so 30 mins is some improvement Ponder :mad:

@DJ
Gordon Ramsays quick method of preparing risotto.

This is the quick method that he used to prepare risotto for the F Word TV restaurant on his TVseries, according to a British website. It's probably also used on the Helll's Kitchen series.

Risotto

400g (about 1 lb - 2 cups) risotto rice (such as arborio or carnaroli)
1 litre (about 4 cups) brown chicken (or vegetable) stock
150g (about 1-1/4 cups) shelled broad (fava) beans
150g (about 1-1/4 cups) peas (or petits pois), thawed if frozen
50g (about 1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra shavings to serve
25g (about 1-1/2 Tbs) butter, cut into cubes
handful fresh chives(optional), chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the risotto, wash the rice in cold water and strain off. Put into a pan with 500ml (about 2 cups) of chicken stock, 500ml (about 2 cups) water and a generous pinch of salt. Bring the liquid to a simmer and blanch the rice for 7 minutes. Drain well and spread out on a lightly oiled tray to cool down. Store, covered, in fridge for up to 24-hours.

To finish the risotto, place the blanched rice in a shallow pan and pour in just enough chicken stock to cover. Bring to the boil quickly and cook, stirring frequently, until nearly all of the stock has evaporated. Taste the risotto to see if is al dente, adding a little more stock if it needs a bit more cooking. Add the broad beans, peas, Parmesan and a few knobs of butter. Cook for a further few minutes until the beans are tender. Season to taste. Finally add the fresh chives if desired.

The second half of this recipe takes about 10 minutes.

This uses 2 cups of rice so it should make 4 main dish servings or 6 side dish servings.The basic point of this recipe is to do most of the work making risotto ahead of time. This technique is mainly used in restaurants. The rice is cooked partially, refrigerated and then finished, quickly when the dish is ordered. That's why it is refrigerated. Just for storage. Using this method gets the risotto to the customer quickly, they don't have to wait 20 or 30 minutes for fresh risotto to be made.

If you are cooking the risotto from beginning to end at home, I would just use a regular risotto recipe. You could use the recipe above and just cook it until it's done without the refrigeration part.

This recipe comes from the British TV website that produces Gordon Ramsay's programs.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X