Paella

We’ve been meaning to try out this dish for AGES! Finally we got around to cooking the deliciousness that is Paella. Paella is great because you can basically put whatever you like into it, it might not be traditionally Spanish, but we live in Australia so that’s ok! Just be aware of what you add and how long it would take to cook. For example, if you add chicken, you would cook that at the start and then something like scallops would be cooked in the last minutes. Even for vegetarians you could put peas, cannellini beans, eggplant, artichokes, mushrooms….the list goes on, yum! Its a one pan wonder!

You can buy paella pans for this, if you don’t have one, a heavy based frypan is fine. You’ll love it!

What you’ll need – Serves 4 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 Chorizo Sausage, sliced

1 thick slice of Pancetta, diced

1 Onion, finely diced

4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Red Chilli, finely diced (optional)

2 L chicken stock, warmed in saucepan on stove

3 Pinches of Saffron, infused in about 1/2 a cup of the warmed stock

1 teaspoon heaped smoked paprika

400g Calasparra Rice (It’s a specific pealla rice that’s a bit hard to find), aborio rice is fine

Bunch of Flat leaf parsley

10 large prawns, shelled and veins removed

8 scallops

10 Vongole (you could use Mussels)

Moreton Bay Bug meat, we bought it without the shell, there was about a handful.

Salt

1 Lemon, cut into wedges

What to Do

Place paella pan on stove on medium-hight heat

Once hot enough start frying off sliced chorizo and pancetta (you won’t need oil, because the chorizo is very oily)

Once slightly browned add diced onion and garlic. Cook untill the onion and garlic has softened. Add chilli and stir.

Pour the saffron infused with stock into the pan with the smoked paprika, and rice, stirring continuosly, add about 2 cups of the warmed chicken stock and stir.

Finely chop the parsley stalks and add to the pan.

This is the time where you will have to keep an eye on the dish. The rice will soak up the liquid but won’t be cooked yet, so when the liquid had been absorbed, just add about 1 cup more of stock. The rice will take about 20 minutes to cook. You’ll have to taste the rice to see how cooked it is. If possible, try not to stir the dish too much from this point.

When the rice is about 3-5 minutes away, this is the time to add the scallops, prawns, vongole, and bug meat. Just place it on top of the rice, then cover in foil and cook until the vongole has opened up.

Ok, now its ready. By this time, the pan will get this delicious crust formed on the bottom of the pan. You’ll definitly be teasing the neighbours with this dish, it smells amaze!

Lastly, garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley, drizzle with a bit of EVOO. Serve with crusty bread and a glass of sangria, OLE!