Paella

[Thaimo]

Lvdkeyes, do you have a good recipe for paella?

[lvdkeyes]

– Here are three recipes for Paella. It can be made with only chicken if you like. Then they call it Arroz con Pollo.

Paella 1

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 6 chicken wings

• 6 chicken breasts (skinned and cut into pieces)

• 12 king prawns (shell on)

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 4 tomatoes , diced

• 2 red bell peppers, cut into long strips

• ¼ smoked paprika

• 300g Calsparra rice

• 4 strands saffron

• 1 liter hot chicken stock

• 50g frozen peas

• 50g frozen broad beans

• 200g canned cannellini beans

• 10 cherry tomatoes

• Salt & Pepper

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on a medium heat in a large skillet.

2. Sauté the chicken wings and thigh pieces until light golden.

3. Add the prawns and stir.

4. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, peppers and paprika. Shake the pan allowing the contents to sizzle a few minutes.

5. Stir in the rice.

6. Dissolve the saffron in the chicken stock

7. Pour in the hot chicken stock and shake the pan again.

8. Reduce the heat and leave for 10 minutes without stirring.

9. Stir in the peas, broad beans and cannellini beans.

10. Season to taste.

11. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, and then add the cherry tomatoes.

12. Cook for 30 minutes without stirring.

13. Check the rice doesn’t dry out or burn on the bottom of the pan. Add a little boiling water if necessary.

14. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes or until the rice has set.

15. Serve with the rustic bread.

Paella 2

Sofrito:

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 red and 1 green pepper, diced

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 cup of canned peeled tomatoes mashed with a fork

2 teaspoons paprika

Peel and devein 16 large raw shrimp (prawns)

2 squid tubes cut into

12 fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

Cover and refrigerate.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large shallow pan over a medium heat and cook the chopped red onion, 2 tablespoons of parsley and 3 of the chopped garlic cloves for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pureed tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of paprika and cook until all the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated and the sofrito has the consistency of jam. Transfer the sofrito to a small bowl and wipe clean the paella pan.

While the sofrito is cooking, place the mussels in a saucepan with half a cup of simmering water. Cover and steam on a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove mussels and set aside, discarding any that haven't opened.

Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium-high heat. Add the remaining clove of chopped garlic and the shrimp and cook for 1½ minutes, tossing continuously. Add the squid rings and cook for a further 1½ minutes. Remove the shrimp and squid from the paella pan and lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium heat and cook the diced red and green peppers for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the sofrito back to the pan along with 1½ cups of Spanish Calasparra or Bomba rice (regular medium-grain rice makes a good substitute) and cook for a minute, stirring to coat the grains.

Add 3 cups of heated fish or chicken stock, a pinch of saffron threads, 1½ teaspoons sea salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, and bring to a rolling simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered without stirring.

Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes without stirring. After 15 minutes, turn the heat up to medium-high for a minute or so until you can smell the rice toasting at the bottom, then remove the paella pan from the heat. (The toasted rice bottom of a paella is called socorrat and is highly prized.)

Push the reserved shrimp, mussels and squid into the cooked rice, and scatter with half a cup of defrosted green peas. Cover the pan with foil or a clean cloth, and let the paella rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges

Present the paella in the pan at the table with lemon wedges on the side for drizzling.

Seafood Paella

Serves 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup/50 ml olive oil

3 shallots, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon/1.3 g Persian saffron powder

2 cups/375 g long grain white rice

1/2 cup/100 ml dry white wine

1 teaspoon/6 g salt

4 cups/900 ml chicken stock, warmed

1 tomato, seeded, diced

8 black mussels, scrubbed, de bearded

8 Manila clams, scrubbed

4 colossal shrimp, halved lengthwise, de veined (with shells)

4 sea scallops

1 tablespoon/about 3 g roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon/15 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, halved

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Heat ¼ cup/50 ml of olive oil in a 12-inch/30-cm-diameter paella pan (a broad, shallow pan with two handles) over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, and sauté until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 1 minute.

Sprinkle the saffron powder over the shallot mixture and sauté for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes or until the pan is quite dry and the rice is coated with oil. Stir in the wine and salt then the warm chicken stock. Stir the rice to distribute it evenly in the pan.

Bring to a simmer over high heat then remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the tomatoes over the rice mixture. Nestle the mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops into the rice mixture. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake the paella uncovered for about 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the seafood is cooked (discard any mussels and clams that do not open).

Remove the paella from the oven. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the lemon juice over the paella and serve.

[Thaimo]

Thank you. They all look great! I will try them all. I've never heard of smoked paprika. Is that available somewhere in Bangkok or Pattaya that you know of?

[lvdkeyes]

If you can't find it just use whatever paprika you can find. Let me know how it turns out.

[finebyme]

wow lvdkeyes that's a generous recipe sharing for paella. I can't wait to try them out, it's just that I have to substitute some of the ingredients with the ones that are homegrown. I hope there is no big difference in taste. Thanks.

[Thaimo]

If you are familiar with Pattaya, go to the La Plancha restaurant on Soi Chayapoom, between Third Road and Soi Buakhao. If you are not sure where Soi Chayapoom is, if you are traveling from north to south on Third Road, it is first right turn after you pass the X-Zyte Disco on Third Road.

The restaurant is a hole in the wall, but for 280 baht you'll have one of the best paellas you've ever tasted. The portions are huge too. One order is easily enough for two people. If you have room for dessert, try his Peach Melba. Fair warning. The service is slow because he cooks to order. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes before it will be ready to be served. But if you call in advance, place your order, and tell him what time you're coming, he'll have it ready when you get there. They also have take-out service and delivery if you live anywhere close by. The number is 087 603 1153.

[lvdkeyes]

finebyme -what ingredients are you planning to substitute?

thaimo - Thanks for the suggestion. There is a good Spanish restaurant on Thappasit Road next to Soi Jurarat 5 on the south side of the road called Valencia. I have been there twice for paella and it is quite good. They also cook to order, so it takes time. I much prefer to wait than to have leftover reheated food.

[Thaimo]

There is a good Spanish restaurant on Thappasit Road next to Soi Jurarat 5 on the south side of the road called Valencia.

I've been there too. I think the paella at La Plancha is much better and certainly less expensive. Try La Plancha. I'm curious to know what you think of it.

[lvdkeyes]

I do plan to give it a try, probably next week. Thanks.

[lvdkeyes]

Four of us went to La Plancha last night. We shared two orders of the stuffed squid and two orders of the mixed paella. We couldn't finish all of it and it was all delicious. I do think it is better than Valencia and certainly cheaper. Our total bill was 1120 Baht. It is definitely a keeper. Thanks for the tip.

[Thaimo]

It is definitely a keeper. Thanks for the tip.

I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I do. I love finding unique hole in the wall restaurants that turn out to be good ones. I would like to see postings here about any restaurants in Thailand, especially the ones that are out of the way and not very well known, that people enjoy.

[finebyme]

finebyme -what ingredients are you planning to substitute?

For Paella 1, I am planning to substitute prawns with squid. Prawns are expensive and most of the time, cannot be found in the market. But when they are available, no one is sure about their freshness. Saffron is another expensive item. It's a coloring agent, right. Well then I can use atsuete, the ingredient to cheese that makes it yellow. I am also using red and white beans (from lima beans) and plain old tomatoes, not cherry tomatoes.

Is calsparra rice sticky? If not, I can substitute it with plain rice we usually serve for our meals.

[lvdkeyes]

That is the good thing about recipes, usually you can alter them to your available ingredients and taste. Saffron is very expensive. It adds color and some flavor, but you can substitute a little turmeric. I guess atsuete would work too. Calsparra rice is a short grain rice, much like risotto rice. Plain rice will work, but it won't give the creaminess that paella usually has. Do not use glutinous /sticky rice.

[finebyme]

I will take note of that. Thanks.