Paella originated in Valencia and made use of local products such as Valencian rice and rabbit. Today it’s best known as one of the great seafood recipes, and there are as many paella recipes as there are cooks. It can be cooked on a self-catering holiday in Spain using fresh ingredients from a Spanish market, where a few Spanish phrases will be useful, or at home using frozen fish from the local supermarket.
Paella is ideally made in a special paella pan over a wood fire or barbeque, where it excels as party food. But a large heavy bottomed stainless steel pan or even a wok over a gas ring will do unless cooking for large numbers.
Buying Fish and Shellfish
A mixture of meaty white fish and shellfish is best. Look for firm, not floppy, fish with bright eyes. They should be shiny but not slimy, and smell of the sea, not of fish. In Spanish markets (insert external link, transitions abroad) you see a lot of hake (merluza) and monkfish (rape). Either will do, and thick slices through the backbone are ideal.
Squid (calamares) can be bought whole or prepared and cut into rings, fresh or frozen. Whole uncleaned squid are covered with a pinkish grey membrane, but the flesh should be pure white, not pinkish, greyish or yellowish. They are not difficult to prepare at home. (Insert external link) Prawns can be bought cooked or raw, fresh or frozen.
Other shellfish such as mussels and clams should be bought live and must be used the same day. They should be tightly closed before cooking, and open afterwards. Choose smallish mussels with clean, unbroken shells.
They will need to be rinsed well and the whiskery ‘beards’ removed with a sharp knife before cooking, but do not leave them soaking in tap water or they will die. Prior to cooking discard any that are open, and afterwards discard any that remain closed.
Ingredients for Paella (serves 2 to 3)
- 2oz / 55g good quality short grain rice per person
- 1 litre of stock made with vegetable or chicken stock cube
- A pinch of saffron strands
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- A handful of frozen peas
- 1 or 2 pieces of white fish per person
- 2 to 3 large shell-on prawns per person
- ½ lb / 225g live mussels, well rinsed and beards removed
- 1 small squid or a small handful of squid rings
- A little olive oil
How to Make Paella
- Fry the white fish and the prawns (if using uncooked ones) in the olive oil over a low flame until barely cooked. Add the squid for the last couple of minutes. Remove and set aside to keep warm.
- Gently fry the onion until translucent and add the rice, stirring well.
- Stir the saffron into the hot stock, and add a little of it to the pan.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more stock as necessary, until the rice is almost cooked.
- Meanwhile, put the mussels in a heavy pan with the rest of stock. Heat over a medium flame with the lid on until all or most of them are open. Discard any that fail to open.
- Put the cooked fish and the peas on top of the rice and add as much of the stock from the mussel pan as necessary to keep the rice moist.
- Add the mussels and heat for a few minutes until the rice is completely cooked, everything is hot, and all the liquid has been absorbed.
For a more authentic experience, real saffron strands are nicer than powder, and real stock gives a more rounded flavour. The better the rice the longer it will take to cook and the more of that tasty stock it will absorb! Use Valencian rice if you can get it, or the best short-grain rice you can find. If you are in Spain, don't miss the opportunity to buy all your fresh ingredients in a Spanish market!
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