Despite the exotic reputation of this
traditional Valencian dish, it is actually fairly simple to make a wonderful
paella. It neither requires a lot of preparation nor takes all that
long to cook -- we've made it, from start to finish, in about an hour.
But you do need to have a few basic items:
The pan :
The traditional paellera is a fairly thin carbon steel pan: wide, flat,
round, and shallow, with slightly sloping sides. You can order one
of nearly any size from The
Spanish Table or PaellaPans.com
(or PaellaWorld.co.ok in the UK).
However, you can use just about any wide, flat pan, such as a cast-iron
skillet or casserole dish. A lid is not necessary. The trick
is not to overfill it; ideally, the cooked rice should be about an inch
deep.
The heat source :
Traditional paella is cooked outside, over a wood fire, and though that's
still the best way to make it, there are plenty of alternatives.
You can place your paellera in the barbeque, frying the meat over the hot
coals and finishing the cooking of the rice as the fire burns down.
Or you can make it on the stovetop, moving the pan around on the burner
to ensure even heating, and finishing it in the oven. Our recipes
detail this stovetop technique, but we encourage you to try it over an
open fire sometime for that authentic taste.
The rice : Valencian rice is short-grained,
absorbs liquid well, and stays firm during cooking, but it is difficult
to find in American stores. You can order some from The
Spanish Table, where you can also get Bomba rice, which is reputed
to make the best paella (but is fairly expensive). However, you can
substitute Arborio rice, which is normally used for making risotto and
is becoming more readily available in supermarkets, or in fact you can
try using any short or medium grain white rice (avoid long grain and 'converted'
rices).
The saffron : True saffron comes from
the stigmas of the saffron
crocus and is available either as powder or as dried threads. Don't
even try to substitute for it. It's expensive, but you end up using
only $1 or $2 worth in a dish for 4 people. If that's beyond your
budget, just skip it and use some extra paprika. There are various
packages of paella spice mix that contain a little saffron, some yellow
dye, and other flavorings, but we recommend staying away from them.
Some people substitute turmeric to get that yellow-orange color, but the
turmeric flavor is not quite right for paella.
The paprika :
Hungarian sweet paprika, which is what is usually sold as paprika, doesn't
even come close to the rich flavor of Spanish pimenton. The
ideal paprika to use for paella is smoked paprika, in which the peppers
have been dried in the smoke of an oak fire. Our favorite is the
La Vera 'bittersweet' variety, which is available from The
Spanish Table. (You might want to call them at (866) 835-9777
and ask about the smaller-sized tins. The price on their website
sounds like the large tin, which is more paprika than you will need unless
you really get into making paella often!) If you want to substitute
something more readily available, try getting dried ancho chili powder
(or just get dried anchos, remove the seeds and grind them up). Anchos
are available in most markets that sell Mexican food.
Once you've taken care of the above items,
the rest is easy. Soak a healthy pinch of saffron in a half-cup of
warmed white wine, get all your meats and vegetables ready, heat your pan,
pre-cook your thick meats, saute your sofrito (onions, garlic, tomato),
add the rice, paprika, saffron and stock, layer your vegetables and seafoods,
and before you know it, you have an elegant and tasty dish!
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