Paella is rightfully considered the pinnacle of Spain's culinary art. A simple and at the same time delicious rice dish with different fillings.
There are over 300 different recipes for this dish. They have only one thing in common: rice with saffron, olive oil and sea salt.
Classical paella - the basic principles of cooking
The basis of the classic paella is rice with spices with the addition of seafood and chicken.
The right paella is made from rice varieties of Kalasparra, bomb or Bahia. This rice does not boil and does not stick together. It remains juicy crumbly. But you can use any good quality round rice. Steamed rice for paella does not fit!
For paella, use chicken breast or filet. Some recipes also use other meat, such as beef.
In addition to chicken, you need a broth. Therefore, they often take a whole chicken carcass, separating the fillet during cooking.
Seafood should be fresh. Frozen lose their taste.
Prepare paella in a deep pan with a thick bottom. Hence the name of the dish, which translates from Spanish as "pan".
Recipe 1. Classic Paella
Ingredients
chicken fillet - 450 g;
olive oil - 30 ml;
pork shoulder - 250 g;
two lemons;
bulb;
garlic;
green onion;
mussels;
sweet red pepper - 80 g;
shrimp - 500 g;
four tomatoes;
fresh green peas - 125 g;
white rice - 300 g;
green beans - 175 g;
saffron - ten branches;
chicken stock - 600 ml;
squid meat - 400 g.
Cooking method
1. We put on the fire a deep pan with a thick bottom. Pour in olive oil and heat. We wash the chicken fillet, dry it with napkins and season with spices. Fry for three minutes on each side.
2. Peel the garlic and onion. We chop the bow with thin feathers. Cut the garlic into slices. Add onions, paprika and garlic to the pan, mix and cook for three minutes on moderate heat.
3. Tomatoes and red pepper, peeled from seeds, cut into cubes. Add vegetables to the pan. Mix.
4. Add rice to the rest of the ingredients and stir. Tomim a couple of minutes. We put saffron and fill everything with broth.
5. Bring the paella to a boil. We clean the squids, cut them into strips and add to the rest of the ingredients. Stew together until soft rice.
6. Now add the peeled shrimp, green peas, green beans and mussels. Mix, cover and simmer another ten minutes.
7. Serve paella right in the pan, garnish with lemon slices.
Recipe 2. Classical Paella with Chicken, Fish and Seafood
Ingredients
turmeric;
rice - 150 g;
sea salt;
chili pepper - 3 cm .;
paprika;
three fresh tomatoes;
dry white wine - 200 ml;
garlic - three cloves;
broth - 300 ml;
bulb;
fresh mussels in shells - 400 g;
olive oil - 90 ml;
squid - 300 g;
Chorizo sausage - 200 g;
shrimp - 200 g;
chicken breast;
white sea fish - 300 g.
Cooking method
1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, flat pan. Peel the garlic and chop finely. Finely chop the peeled onion. Throw garlic into the oil. After a couple of seconds, add the onion and fry it until transparent.
2. Pour tomatoes over boiling water and peel them. Slice the vegetable pulp. Grind chili peppers into thin rings.
3. Wash the chicken fillet, soak it with napkins and cut into pieces. Put the meat in a pan and cook for about five minutes, stirring constantly. Cut the sausage into circles. Grind fish fillet and squid in strips. Place unpeeled mussels and shrimps, sausage and squid in a pan. Stir and simmer for about eight minutes.
4. Pour rice. Season with paprika, salt and turmeric. Stir and pour the broth and wine. As soon as the contents begin to boil, turn off the heat and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed. Serve garnished with greens and lemon slices.
Recipe 3. Classic Paella with Vegetables and Ham
Ingredients
three chicken thighs;
greenery;
120 g of ham;
four bay leaves;
100 g of sausages;
seasoning;
100 ml of olive oil;
5 g of saffron;
four cloves of garlic;
900 ml of broth;
two onions;
330 g of rice;
two pods of bell pepper;
two tomatoes.
Cooking method
1. Rinse the rice and fill it with water.
2. Rinse the chicken thighs under the tap and boil them until cooked. Cool, separate the flesh from the bones and cut into small pieces. We clean the onion. Cut the stalks of pepper and clean the seeds. Scalp the tomatoes with boiling water and remove the thin skin. The pulp of tomatoes, sausage, ham and other vegetables are cut into small pieces.
3. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan. Spread chicken fillet, sausage and ham in it. Fry for about three minutes. Now add the tomatoes, bell peppers and herbs. Fry for another seven minutes. Pour rice and mix.
4. Pour the broth, season with spices, put the garlic and bay leaf. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Stew, on a low fire 45 crumple until rice has absorbed all the liquid. Mix and serve right in the pan.
Recipe 4. Classical paella with vegetables and chicken hearts
Ingredients
two small onions;
90 ml of olive oil;
three cloves of garlic;
half a liter of broth;
300 g chicken hearts;
60 g of fresh chickpeas;
sea salt;
half a can of corn;
large tomato;
half a can of green peas;
stack round rice.
Bulgarian pepper - two pods.
Cooking method
1. Rinse the chicken hearts, remove the film and cut off all the excess. Cut each heart in half lengthwise and rinse well again.
2. Chop the peeled onions, and fry in a deep pan in olive oil.
3. Unhook the garlic cloves, wash and chop finely. Add to the onion.
4. Cut the tomato crosswise and dip in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Drain and peel thin skin.
5. As soon as the onion becomes light brown, add hearts to it and salt. Keep frying, stirring constantly.
6. Bell peppers clear of seeds. Grind tomatoes and peppers in small pieces.
7. Rinse thoroughly. Put it in a pan when all the moisture from the hearts evaporates. Stir and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally.
8. Now add peppers and tomatoes. Stir gently and simmer for about seven minutes. Pour in the broth to completely cover the rice. Once the contents boil, cover and simmer for ten minutes over low heat. Stir every three minutes.
9. Add washed corn and green peas to the paella. Shuffle. Stew for another five minutes, cover. Remove from the stove and let stand for a while without opening.
Ingredients
saffron bag;
250 g of rice;
5 g of sweet paprika;
100 g of bacon;
three bay leaves;
rabbit carcass;
30 g tomato paste;
two pods of bell pepper;
150 ml of semisweet white wine;
bow - head.
Cooking method
1. Wash the rabbit carcass, dry it and cut it into pieces. Pour meat with cold water, add cloves, laurel leaf, salt and cook for about an hour.
2. We release sweet pepper from the stalk and seeds. Wrap in foil and send for 15 minutes in the oven. Then we unfold the foil and put it on the grill for several minutes. Put the baked pepper in a bag and tie it tightly.
3. Cut the bacon into thin strips. We take the rabbit meat from the broth and separate the flesh from the bones. Cut the meat into small pieces.
4. Heat olive oil in a deep cast-iron skillet and fry the bacon in it until golden brown. We clean the onion, finely chop and add it to the bacon pan. Fry until transparent.
5. Saffron pour a small amount of meat broth. Pieces of the rabbit spread in a pan with bacon. Add fire. We put tomato paste, season with paprika and pour in the saffron broth. Mix.
6. Pour rice, salt and pour everything with wine. We put laurel leaves, mix and fill everything with hot broth. Reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes, covering the pan with a lid.
7. Remove the peeling from the sweated pepper. Dry the pulp of the vegetable with a towel and cut into small pieces. Add to the pan. Stew until rice is cooked. At the end, turn on the fire for a maximum of a minute. Remove from the stove and serve.
Recipe 6. Vegetarian Spicy Classic Paella
Ingredients
lemon;
200 g round rice;
2 g of red ground pepper;
80 g leek;
100 ml of olive oil;
80 g of red bell pepper;
400 ml of vegetable broth;
two cloves of garlic;
sea salt;
half a pod of green chili peppers;
five branches of saffron;
80 g carrots;
stem of petiole celery;
80 g of cauliflower;
80 g of young peas;
80 g Brussels sprouts;
80 g of green beans.
Cooking method
1. Wash and peel the vegetables. Chop the leek with rings, celery and chilli in strips, chop red pepper and garlic in small pieces.
2. You can use both fresh and frozen vegetables. Peel the carrots, cut into slices. Separate cauliflower and broccoli for inflorescences. Cut green beans into slices of three centimeters.
3. Take a pan with a thick bottom, pour in olive oil and fry the leek in it until soft. Add bell peppers, celery and garlic. Continue frying for a couple more minutes.
4. Put the rice and fry it with vegetables, stirring continuously, for two minutes. Season with saffron and red pepper. Add the remaining vegetables and mix again. Salt and fill with hot vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with lemon slices and serve right in the pan.
Classical Paella - Tips and Tricks
- To properly prepare the paella, turn on the fire at the maximum at the end and hold for just a minute.
- Saffron is quite an expensive seasoning, so it can be replaced with curry.
- Thaw frozen vegetables and dry them slightly.
- After laying all the ingredients with paella, do not mix.
- Rice for paella is preferably not washed.
