(Paella - Traditional recipe from Spain)

Time: preparation: 45 minutes ........ plus cleaning time for molluscs ........ cooking: about 60 minutes 300 g (10 1/2 oz) chicken breast, cubed 300 g (10 1/2 oz) pork fillet, cubed 300 g (10 1/2 oz) boned rabbit, cubed 400 g (14 oz) squids, cut into strips 500 g (1,1 lb) precooked prawns 1 kg (2 1/4 lb) clams 1 kg (2 1/4 lb) mussels 300 g (10 1/2 oz) peas 300 g (10 1/2 oz) string beans A big red pepper 200 g (7 oz) champignon mushrooms 300 g (10 1/2 oz) fresh tomatoes, chopped 2 young fresh onions, chopped A bunch of fresh parsley, chopped 6 tablespoons dried chives 4 tablespoons paprika 2 teaspoons powdered saffron 600 g (21 1/2 oz) parboiled rice 1,8 l (64 fl oz - 8 C) vegetable stock 12 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Medium difficulty

  Spoon measures are American spoons, that is standard cook's measuring spoons used in USA.
  The best plan is to regard 2 American teaspoons or tablespoons as 1 English teaspoon or tablespoon (eating spoons)

It's an old dish born in the East of Spain. The basic ingredient is the rice, coloured with saffron and paprika and mixed with different seasonal products (meat, fish, vegetables). For this reason you can find a lot of recipes with this name. We're going to present you a version we obtained from a Spanish woman. We have tasted this recipe a lot of times in our kitchen.

Wash the clams and mussels accurately. Then let them open in a large pan, filter the liquid they have expelled and remove them from their shells once cold. Put apart some of them whitout removing from the shell for garnishing your dish.
Prepare the prawns. Twist and pull the head from the body; peel away the shell from the body, leaving the end of the tail, if you want; use a sharp knife to slit the back along the entire curve to remove the intestinal vein and pull out the black thread with a knife or your fingers. Clean, wash and cut the string beans into little pieces. Clean the mushrooms without washing them under running water (it's enough to peel and clean them with absorbent kitchen paper); then slice them. Clean, wash and cut pepper into little pieces too.
Pour the olive oil into the appropriate "paella pan" and fry the onion lightly. At this point add the pork, chicken and rabbit meat and let it fry, stirring now and then. Then add the pepper, string beans and peas and keep on frying, stirring now and then. When all these ingredients have flavoured, add the squids too; stir. After 2-3 minutes add the tomatoes, chives and half the parsley. Lower the flame and keep on cooking for about 30 minutes, half-covered, stirring now and then.
Meanwhile prepare the vegetable stock according to the package directions. Remember to prepare more of the requested stock; in fact if the cooking juice retires too much while you are cooking meat, vegetable and fish pieces, you have to add some of this boiling stock.
After 30 minutes, when the cooking juice is well retired, you have to dissolve the saffron and paprika into 1,8 l (64 fl oz - 8 C) boiling stock and pour it into the pan; then add the mollusc liquid, you've put apart and rice too. Stir accurately and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. We recommend you not to stir too much from now on. Then lower the flame and cook for other 6-8 minutes according to the directions on the rice package. Add the clams, prawns, mussels and the remaining parsley 2 minutes before the end of cooking and stir. The cooking juice must be well retired and the rice grains well separated.
Garnish the surface with the mussels and clams on their shells that you've put apart. Let all rest for some minutes and serve directly in the pan.

Note
- We don't use garlic because we and many other people don't like it and this dish must be
  eaten with many guests. So we avoid it but remember it is an important ingredient in the
  Spanish cuisine. If you want, add 2 or 3 gloves, finely chopped, to the olive oil and onions.
- You can modify the ingredients, using other kind of meat, fish and vegetables and choosing,
  first of all, the seasonal ingredients that you can find when you decide to prepare this dish.
  If you have any problems about the doses, remember to use about 40 g (1 1/2 oz) every kind
  of meat or vegetable and about 50 g (1 3/4 oz) fish.
- You can also use canned peas or broad beans, after draining them from their preservation
  liquid; you have to add them with the rice.
- You need a very large paella pan. If you want to prepare this dish with these doses, you
  have to use 2 pans.
- It's difficult to combine paella with other courses because it is one-plate meal.

What's the right wine?
Our suggestion is: Sangria

You can find some ideas for combining this recipe with other dishes and setting up the table in the members-only area: so you'll be able to plan a Spanish dinner party!

If you want to combine this dish with other ones for a complete menu,
consult our "Members-only Area".