Welcome to the east corner of Spain!
This week Meg of Fledging Foodie chose our recipe of the week: paella. And just for a minute it turned me back in Andalucía, Costa del Sol, where I ate the most delicious paella ever. The flavor is still there, in my gourmet memory box.
bits and pieces about paella
Paella is a Valencian cooking metal pan (paellera) and a rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain’s national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
Paella is a Catalan word, which derives from the Old French word paelle for pan, which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan. Valencians use the word paella for all pans, including the specialized shallow pan used for cooking paellas. Paelleras are traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with two handles.
According to tradition in Valencia, men are cooking paella on open fire, fueled by orange and pine branches along with pine-cones. This produces an aromatic smoke, which infuses the paella. Also, dinner guests traditionally eat directly out of the paellera.
There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella (Spanish: paella valenciana), seafood paella (Spanish: paella de marisco), and mixed paella (Spanish: paella mixta), but there are many others as well.
Smoked red bell peppers paella
I cooked my own vegan version of paella (last week I’ve started fasting, so no seafood until Easter, at least).
Smoked red bell peppers paella
I cooked my own vegan version of paella (last week I’ve started fasting, so no seafood until Easter, at least).
Ingredients
1 cup short grain rice (also used in risotto)
2 1/2 cup water
2 red bell peppers smoked and cut (you can also use fresh ones or canned)
1 can chopped tomatoes (in summertime – fresh tomatoes, about 700 g)
1 onion chopped
1 garlic glove minced
1 cup cooked or canned red beans, drained
2 tsp sweet paprika
A pinch of saffron (optional)
2 rosemary sticks (optional)
Salt, pepper
Directions
Heat oil in a big pan (wok pan). Add green vegetables: onion, red bell peppers (if u use it) and sauté until soft. Add garlic, chopped tomatoes, beans, smoked red bell peppers and sauté. Add salt, pepper and paprika and sauté. Add water, saffron and rosemary. Boil to make broth and allow it to reduce by half. Add rice and simmer until rice is cooked. If it gets too dry, add more water.
Garnish with more rosemary or parsley.
p.s. great paella
Paella usually has a layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan called socarrat in Spain. This is considered a delicacy there and is essential to good paella. The toasted rice develops on its own if the paella is cooked over a burner or open fire. If cooked in an oven, however, it will not. To correct this, place the paellera over a high flame while listening to the rice toast at the bottom of the pan. Once the aroma of toasted rice wafts upwards, remove it from heat. The paella must then sit for about five minutes (most recipes recommend the paella to be covered with a towel at this point) to absorb the remaining broth.
Indoor smoked red bell peppers
You can use special grill pan. This time, I roasted them on the fire, on our gas stove. I’ve put the red bell pepper one by one on the cooker ring and occasionally turned them to get smoked on all sides. It took about 10 – 15 minutes. Then, you have to set them aside in a bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap (or a tight fitting lid) and let them sit for about 15 minutes. The steam will loosen the skins so they’ll peel right off.
COMMENTS
Love your paella fun facts and your recipe. That looks delicious!
Tnx, I couldn’t stop my self to add some funny notes about Paella background :)
Anita, this looks beautiful! I love the idea of using smoked peppers, and thank you for posting the technique for doing them on the stove. I will definitely do that next time!
Izklausās jau atkal garšīgi! Es mēdzu taisīt kaut ko līdzīgu. Tikai šaubos, ka to varētu saukt par paellu… :) Bet: kāda atšķirība starp “red bell pepper” un “paprika”? Paprika ir izžāvēts un samalts red bell pepper?.. Un vēl – kādreiz par paellu esmu lasījusi, ka rīsus nevis vāra, bet sākumā (neatceros tieši, cik ilgi, bet šķiet, ka kādas 15 min) sautē pannā, eļļā. Tad pievieno baltvīnu (ne daudz) un turpina vēl kādu laiku. Tā kā šis manām šābrīža prasmēm šķiet pārāk izaicinoši, neesmu mēģinājusi.. Bet Tavā receptē atkal pavisam citādi! Droši vien katram pavāram savi triki.