Best The Spanish Table Paella Recipes

THE SPANISH TABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat stock in a separate stock pot. Crush saffron and add it to the stock or a little bit of white wine. Heat paella pan over medium heat, add olive oil and fry chicken until it begins to brown. Next add garlic and onions and saute until translucent. Add chorizo and cook until heated. Add the rice, stirring until well coated with oil. Add the paprika and grated tomato. Stir while cooking for a few minutes.
• Add saffron flavored wine and hot stock. Bring to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan. Now the rice should be level and you will not need to stir from this point on. Adjust heat to maintain a nice simmer. When the rice has absorbed a good amount of liquid but still has a soupy appearance add the mussels or clams. Once the rice is cooked add the shrimp or prawns tucking them down into the rice, then the piquillo peppers, artichoke hearts, green beans, beans and peas. During this time the rice should be carmelizing on the bottom of the pan or creating what is called the socarrat. It will make a faint crackling sound and smell toasty sweet but not burnt. Set aside to "rest" for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
• OVEN: You can also use an oven if you find that your pan is too large to cook on the stove top, even with occasionally moving the pan around on the burner(s). Begin your recipe on the stove top but after adding the liquid carefully move your paella pan into the oven (350-400 degrees). Once rice is done return it to the stove top to create the caramelized layer of rice on the bottom of the pan.

ULTIMATE SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• In a paella pan or a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat; add chicken and sausage.
• Cook, stirring until browned, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer chicken and sausage to a paper towel-lined plate; cover with foil to keep warm.
• Drain off fat from paella pan.
• Wipe pan clean.
• In the same skillet, heat remaining oil.
• Add garlic and yellow onion.
• Cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice and turmeric.
• Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer.
• Add broth to pan.
• Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Return chicken and sausage to pan.
• Add bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and red pepper flakes.
• Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes.
• Add shrimp and peas; cook until shrimp are opague, about 5 minutes longer.

AUTHENTIC SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• It's best to have all of your ingredients prepared before you start cooking.
• Prepare the rabbit by separating the legs, cutting remaining meat into small slices and lightly salting. (In my area rabbit is seasonal. During the summer and fall I substitute with chicken legs).
• I peel my shrimp, leaving only the tail and then salt them. In Spain they tend to leave the shrimp unshelled.
• I always try to make my chicken stock from scratch (time permitting), adding a bit of rosemary, a tiny pinch of saffron and a bit of thyme. If you're going to use bouillon, I'd recommend at least heating it up with these herbs and then straining before you start.
• Keep your stock hot but not boiling as you cook.
• Coat the bottom of your pallera/pan with olive oil.
• Brown your chorizo over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Do not fully cook, just get the outside well browned. Set aside. This should add a nice red color and a hell of a flavor to your oil.
• Brown the Rabbit for 2-3 minutes. It should not be fully cooked. Set aside.
• Brown garlic, onion and bell pepper until they're softened, adding plum tomatoes shortly before the mixture is finished.
• Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and on the other add the half can of tomato paste. Caramelize it, flipping it and spreading it until it begins to loosen (1-2 min over hight heat).
• Mix all of the vegetables and meats together with the caramelized tomato paste also adding the paprika, parsley and thyme.
• Add rice, mixing together and stirring as the rice browns (1-1 1/2) minutes. As the rice browns mix in the saffron. Make sure to break it between your fingers and stir it in to release all those tasty oils.
• When the rice is slightly translucent add enough chicken stock to cover the whole mixture. If it's been kept warm, it will begin to boil almost immediately. Lower to a medium heat but keep it at a steady boil.
• This is where paella is made and broken. I stir a few times in the first 5-10 minutes, adding broth as necessary to keep the rice fully covered. After this you must let the paella SIT! Let it cook another 10-20 minutes (I find that this step takes longer on a stovetop), adding broth bit by bit to keep the rice submerged until the rice on the top is al dente. Don't worry about rice burning to the bottom, this part (which actually has a name which escapes me at the moment, it's something like socarrat) is a tasty delicacy.
• Once you've stirred the paella for the last time and are letting cook, when you have about 8 minutes left to cook lay shrimp on top, turning over after 2-4 minutes to cook other side.
• When the rice on top is still quite al dente, take paella off of heat and cover. You must let it sit for 15-20 minutes. I've taken the lid off prematurely and ended up with a crunchy mess. Patience is the key.
• Once you're sure it's ready uncover, garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy!