Paella originated in the area around Valencia, Spain, but it is now “at home” all over the world and may soon be permanently established in your kitchen. Paella is a simple, balanced dish suitable for maintaining a slim figure. And one more piece of good news: you don’t overeat Paella. It can be prepared in x number of ways. Today we’re going to introduce you to the original one, with seafood.
From the food of the poor to the top of world gastronomy
Paella was originally the food of poor peasants who prepared their lunches in a large shallow pan over an open fire. Instead of seafood, it contained either snails or, if the peasant was also a good hunter, rabbit meat.
Seafood (pieces of fish, mussels, cuttlefish, squid, prawns) gradually made its way into paella in coastal areas. And the culinary symbol of Spain was born.
Don’t wash the rice!
There’s a good reason for this: the starch released from the rice during cooking will thicken the dish nicely (reminder: we are not cooking soup). Don’t let the rice cook completely soft, it should be slightly crispy. And let us give you one more tip do not cover the pan while cooking.
Ingredients
- round grain rice for paella (or approx. 700 g short grain rice)
- 2 boneless chicken thighs
- 20 blankets of mussels
- 8-12 prawns
- 2 decilitres of white wine
- 2 decilitres of poultry stock
- 2 roasted red peppers
- peeled tomatoes (whole can)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- spices: thyme, saffron, red pepper, olive oil, pepper, salt
How to do it
- Finely chop the garlic and lightly fry it in olive oil.
- Gradually add the cleaned and chopped chicken thighs, a little salt and pepper, peeled tomatoes, onions, roasted peppers, thyme and white wine.
- Season with saffron and red pepper. Add the rice, stir and pour in the poultry stock.
- When the rice has absorbed most of the stock, turn the heat down to low and simmer for a few minutes. Do not stir.
- Once the rice is half soft, put the prawns on top and press them in. (You may or may not need to cover with a lid, just a few minutes.)
- Finally, put in the mussels. Once they open, the paella is ready and can be served. If any of the mussels have not opened, take them out and discard them unceremoniously.
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