June 2004, Paella

Many people are put off by the thought of cooking paella, imagining it to be a very complicated dish. It is not. Paella is a risotto, Furthermore the ingredients are assembled and cooked separately so it is a risotto with no panic. As with all risottos the simpler the better so this paella is with fish and chicken.

Mercadona sell two products that will help. The first is a frozen mix of prepared whitefish, prawns, squid and mussels called sopa marinera, the second are the skinned chicken portions (troceado de pollo sin piel) pre-wrapped on the meat shelf. Mercadona also sell a frozen fish/chicken/peas mix called preparado para paella but I prefer fresh chicken

Ingredients - Serves 4

150 ml dry white wine
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
¼ tsp black pepper & a pinch of salt
400 gm pack of sopa marinera, thawed
60 ml olive oil
500 gm pack of troceado de pollo sin piel
1 large onion, chopped
200 gm choritzo sausage, sliced
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded, chopped
pinch saffron strands
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp paprika
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
350 gm paella rice (brilliante)
1.2 ltrs chicken stock
200 gm gambas crudo (uncooked)
125 gm frozen peas
1 lemon,quartered
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Put the wine and thyme with a little black pepper in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and add the mussels, some will be in half shells, some shelled, from the sopa marinera pack. Put the lid on and steam for 2 minutes only. Drain the mussels, reserving the liquor, and put the mussels to one side.

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan or large frying pan. Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned on the outside and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and put to one side.

Put the onion in the pan and cook slowly until softened. Add the choritzo and red pepper and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Add the saffron, tomatoes, paprika and garlic to the pan. Mix well. Cook for one minute then stir in the rice and add a pinch of salt. Cook until the rice looks transparent. Meanwhile heat the stock and add the liquor from the mussels.

Add half the stock to the rice and bring to a very slow simmer, the slower the better, until the liquid is almost absorbed.

Add the chicken pieces and all the other ingredients from the sopa marinera pack and the uncooked gambas leaving only the cooked mussels for later. Add the remaining stock. Stir to mix and then allow to cook at the same slow simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed, the rice should be tender with a bite in the middle. Add the mussels and peas for two minutes.

Arrange the lemon wedges, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.