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please
can
i have
some
more
paella?
a
paella how-to
by
Yee-Fan Sun |
1 2
|
Perhaps
Spain's most famous culinary contribution to the world, paella was
originally born in the country's southeast coastal region known as
El Levante. There, the genius combination of meats, rice, broth, saffron
and a cornucopia of veggies was first thrown together into a shallow
metal pan, and paella was born. Today, paella is often referred to as the
national dish of Spain, and there are as many variations on the theme as
there are cooks who make the dish. Fortunately, you don't have to fly
all the way to Valencia to taste a proper paella -- with a few simple
tips, you can recreate this fabulous dish in the comfort of your very
own kitchen.
As much a feast for the eyes
as for the belly, paella is one of my favorite meals to make when I'm
having friends over. Although there's a fair amount of chopping and prep
work involved, the actual cooking of the dish is fairly straightforward
-- and the dish is such a complete meal in itself that it doesn't
require much more in the way of accompaniments. Serve with a good Rioja
or a pitcher of homemade sangria and you're set.
get
equipped
For paella, you'll need a wide pan with shallow, preferably sloped sides
that can go from stovetop to oven -- an authentic paella pan is best, but
your good ol' cast-iron fry pan will do dandy as well. What's key is
that you want to be able to spread out your rice in the pan, and not
have to pile it up much more than an inch high. You want the rice to
have good surface contact with the pan to achieve the best paella
flavor.
rice, rice
baby
All rice is not created the same, and for proper paella, you'll want to
make certain you use the right kind. Leave the Uncle Ben's alone
(actually, this is good advice for just about any dish). Long-grain rice
absolutely will not work; you need something that absorbs liquid readily
and doesn't get too squishy. This means that for paella,
short-grain/medium-grain rice is a must. The most authentic rice to use
would be Valencia rice, but any short-grain rice (Arborio, heck, even
Asian short-grain varieties) can be substituted with good results.
spice, and
everything nice
Paella's distinctive flavor comes largely from the inclusion of two key
spices: saffron and paprika. Paprika, of course, is readily available at
your friendly neighborhood supermarket, but the pricey saffron can prove
more elusive. When a trip to Safeway once revealed no saffron in
evidence, I headed over to the organic food market, figuring I'd have
better luck there. After finding a label for it on the spice shelves --
but no bottles -- I asked an employee, who said that they had started
keeping the saffron behind the counter, because they'd had a few too
many instances of people stealing the stuff. Given that a mere oz. of
saffron will easily run you over $35 in the U.S., saffron is a valuable
commodity. The good news is that a pinch of saffron is generally all
that's needed to flavor a dish -- so a little really does go a long way.
If you don't think you'll be using the spice frequently, buy a gram
(it'll probably cost about $6-7) -- this should be enough to make
several paella dishes. Some cooks substitute turmeric for saffron, but I
don't recommend it. While the cheap turmeric does yield a nice,
saffron-like yellow
color to the finished dish, it won't provide that
distinctive saffron taste.
cooking
paella
The traditional method for cooking paella is over an open fire. As this
is probably not the most practical method of cooking for most of us, the
more common modern-day method is to start the cooking on the stove, and
finish it off in the oven. Just be sure to cook your paella on your
largest burner to ensure that your paella pan is heated as evenly as
possible.
mosey
along this way for the recipe
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