Most of the time, when people think about Spanish cuisine, Paella pops up! And of course, it is very traditional for Spaniards (on holidays, sundays, with family or friends), but probably even more traditional for tourists. Paella consists of "something" with rice. There is no unique paella, as the origins are others: the word paella means skillet / pan and it makes reference to the flat pan in which the paella is prepared. The origins of the paella in Valencia speak about vegetables, rabbit, snails. With the time, other variants appeared, like seafood and fish paella. And with the time, it became probably the most known variant. Of course, you can prepare a very rich and expensive paella, plenty of fish, seafood, clams, big shrimps, mussels, etc. Nevertheless, it is also possible (and probably better) to get a nice paella without so many ingredients. Here you will find the basic recipe: some different species coming out of the sea (shrimps, squid and white fish), and the basic sofrito (sauce): pepper, tomato, garlic and olive oil. Feel free to add any kind of fish and /or seafood you like. If you want the characteristic yellow look, don't forget the Saffron!
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 400 gr seafood and fish (I used shrimps, squid and white fish)
- 1 green pepper
- 1 tomato
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- saffron
- salt
- 2 cups rice
- 4 cups warm water
Directions:
- Prepare all the ingredients: grate the tomato; cut into small cubes the green pepper; clean the seafood and fish; peel the garlic cloves.
- Heat the oil in the pan (preferably a flat pan with a big diameter) and fry the seafood (NOT THE FISH!) for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the green pepper and sauté for some minutes and add the tomato puree. Add some salt and let the sauce (sofrito) thicken.
- In the meantime crush the garlic cloves with the saffron and some salt. Add a few drops of olive oil if you need.
- Add the rice to the pan, mix well; add also the garlic. After a couple of minutes add the warm water, mix, add the fish pieces on top and let it cook at medium heat for 10 min (NEVER STIR THE RICE DURING COOKING TIME!) Turn the heat off and cover. Let it rest for another 5-7 minutes. It is very important that you let it rest in order to achieve the correct rice texture. Add some lemon wedges for decoration and flavor if you like.
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