The Paella Series, Part III: How To Make a Killer Paella

Forget about how it looks, what it does in your mouth is incredible!   

When it's done, you will see the steam dancing around the dish like a belly-dancer in a trance.  It will playfully bring you the enticing aroma of fresh seafood with Latin spices. 

Put your fork in and scoop up some of the rice.  You see that?  A shrimp and some chorrizo made it in there too.  Take a bite. This is Latin cuisine at its best.  Waves of the different layers of our dish will wash over you as you take it in. The seafood, the Latin spices, fresh herbs....    

 The Paella's known origin is actually Valencia, Spain.  To date, we can only surmise what the word's origin means.  The most common is that in Valencian dialect, Paella mean's "Pan".  But which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Did the association to a pan come because of the extremely large, shallow metal pan that is traditionally used to make a Paella?  Good luck fitting one of those large pans in my kitchen, much less on my stove.  I use two regular-sized cooking pots instead.  

By the way, what makes my pot special is that it was given to me by my grandmother, Mamita, when I got my first apartment, senior year in college.  How I miss her...   

Another theory is that the word Paella comes from the Moorish influence in Valencia Spain.  I don't exactly see how as it is surmised that it originates from the Arabic word for "left-overs", which is not even remotely in the same phoenetic ballpark as Paella.

The last theory is that the elaborate and ornate dish was made by a Spaniard when he was about to propose to his fiancee, because in Spanish the term "Para Ella" (for her) is often shortened to Pa'ella.

As much of a romantic as I am, I'm going to choose to go with this one although it seems to only be based on folklore.  Ladies, this is a good time to bat your eyelashes at your men.  Or, as my mom says;

Paella, y Pa' El tambien!  

(For her and for him too!)  

No double standards for my mom when it comes to this dish.  Dad, that means you can feel free to pull this card!  

As with anything that I share with you, this is my own personal rendition of this dish.  Very similar concept as the Spanish Paella, but I choose to make it with my own Latin-Caribbean flair.  Mine has additional ingredients, not always used.  Feel free to do the same.  Your dishes have your own magic in them.  I will always encourage you to explore what's within you, with your cooking.

My father, Carlos, actually taught me how to make his rendition of Paella, after I had a family of my own, during one of his visits to us Upstate.  It's not a dish that I grew up making because it was very expensive for us to make.  

In coastal regions and islands, where seafood is easy for the average fisher-man to come by, then that's not an issue.  This is one of the reasons that they surmise that the Arab Moors in Spain, called this dish the Arabic word for "left-over" [rice] .  In places where seafood is plentiful, it's foreseeable that we would throw in remaining ingredients into a rice dish, and so a masterpiece is born...

Over the years, I added in my own ingredients such as the chorrizo, crayfish and guandules.  You can also add in different types of meat if you like when you make yours.

Speaking of which, now let me show you how it's made, so that you can also make it for someone you love... 

Mi Paella

We'll do this in segments, so watch closely... 

First, get your ingredients together. How beautiful and fresh!  

First we're going to start by rinsing out the seafood really well.  You can use any types of shellfish and seafood that you like.  I always make sure to separate the shellfish so that it washes clean without getting anything else in the shrimps, (also scallops, squid or anything else you may have like that). 

The last thing that I want when I make seafood is for it to be overcooked and gummy, especially in Paella.  What we will do is cook the seafood in a separate pot for a much lesser time than the actual rice is cooking.  This is a critical step because the water that our shellfish cooks in will be the same water that I add to the rice because it carries that intense seafood flavor that we love! 

Before you add in your shell fish, sprinkle some olive oil   

Throw in several whole garlic cloves

Add in Coriander, Cilantro and Basil 

(No need to salt since your rice is well-seasoned already and seafood has a natural saltiness)  

  

Mix well then add in your shell fish.  I used lobster tails, lobster claws, Mussels and Crayfish.  

Allow that to cook, but be careful not to overcook.  It really doesn't take long at all.  Watch the color, the lobster turns an even brighter red color when ready.

Once cooked, turn off your burner, drain 3/4 of this seafood-infused water and set aside.  

The remaining 1/4 will stay in the pot and set aside with the seafood in it, not cooking any longer.  Just close the lid to keep it warm.  Now it's time to make your rice...

 

I love spicy Chorrizo in my rice.  I find that the best is Portugese Chorrizo.  I enjoy the Extra-Hot variety, especially as tonight it's an adult dinner and there will be no kids.  The hotter the better!

 This is going to be my base for the rice.  I've cut the chorrizo in chunks, diced garlic, purple onion and added bay leaves and coriander.  Let's heat our rice pot and sprinkle a little bit of olive oil.  Very little is necessary since the chorrizo is going to release it's own oil, which brings with it robust spices and layered flavor.

Now it's time to add in a can of Guandules (Pigeon Peas)

Add one can of tomato sauce 

 Add 2 tablespoons of Goya Spanish [green] Olives

Mix well 

add about 3 envelopes of Sazon (the one with Achiote/Annato)

Sprinkle Adobo generously, add powdered Oregano, about a teaspoonful 

Add in 2 chicken bouillon cubes  

 Now take a look at the video below so that you can see what this looks like...

 

Before moving on to the next steps, add about 4 cups of rice

 Mix well and cover with water about 2 inches above the rice level.  I don't measure.  

An old trick is to dip your index finger in the pot (while the water is still cold).  No matter how much rice you use, the amount of water should come to the first line (crease) on your index finger, if the tip is touching the rice.  The space is about 1.5 inches.  That's usually the perfect amount of water to add.  Needless to say, I never measure.  I don't like the rice to be sticky so if anything I always err on the side of caution and more water later if necessary.

Cover the pot once the water boils and then turn it down to Medium-Low.  

Try your best not to open that pot no matter how incredible it smells.  That steam is what's going to make sure your rice cooks through perfectly and fluffy.  Give it at least 40 minutes, then check it to ensure the rice is cooked.  You've now earned the right to carefully mix the rice with a spoon.  You can bring the rice from the bottom up to the top and cover once more.  Turn the rice down to low.

Now, as we're in the middle of prep, and we started the rice going, let's marinate the shrimp.  That's my homemade Sofrito to the right of the shrimp, which I've added in and mixed in well with some lemon juice.  

Since the rice is almost completely ready, let's add the shrimp in now.  In five minutes they will be golden and perfectly tender, without being overcooked inside the rice.  That's the benefit of waiting to add them in at the very end.

Mariscos en Salsa Criolla

 (seafood in homemade [creole] sauce.  In Spanish, creole or Criollo/a, means homemade.  A creole sauce usually is tomato-based with peppers, onions, Sofrito...)

 I had extra crayfish and mussels, so what to do?  I made a separate dish with the seafood in a                 Salsa Criolla 

I took a pan and drizzled olive oil, sauteed red onions & pepper, one envelope of Sazon, a sprinkle of Adobo, a splash of wine.  

It's absolutely inviting!  You just made an extra mouth-watering dish out of your leftover ingredients.  My absolute favorite part of this dish is that when you scoop the meat out of the shellfish, that delectable and savory sauce comes with it.

 Do you see the sauce at the bottom? It's a flavor you have to experience.

It's time to make our salad!

Tomato-Avocado Salad with Garlic Mojito Dressing

Line the bottom of the salad dish with some of your favorite lettuce

 Cut grape tomatoes in half , length-wise

Slice red onions and cut them small, but not diced

Toss lettuce, sliced carrots and onions together and placed in the center

Surround the salad with thinly sliced avocado  

Add salt & pepper to taste

Drizzle generously with fresh-squeezed lime and Garlic Mojito [dressing]

Garlic Mojito

In a salad dressing container, mix 1/3 cup homemade Sofrito with 1-2 fresh-squeezed lime(s).

Fill the remainder of the container with olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well. 

Use some as salad dressing but also serve in dish with a serving spoon, at the dinner table.

This is great on so many Latin-Caribbean dishes!

Remember how we left the shellfish covered in 1/4 of the water you cooked it in?  Turn that pot back on medium and quickly warm up for 5 minutes. Turn off the water then drain.

I'm also serving this with a side of Maduros (sweet/ripe plantains), fried until golden and caramelized- then topped with salt for that tantalizing sweet & salty flavor.

Now you are ready to assemble your Paella.  

 Fill a large serving dish with your rice

Add in your shellfish, and gently mix through together in your rice. 

At times, I've made it with Mussels and Clams right in the rice from the beginning.  

This time it worked out to cook separately because my cousin who was over for dinner, does not eat some of the shellfish.  This allowed me to set her rice aside before I mixed all the seafood in.  

 And now, the moment we've been waiting for..!

   From my heart, to your dinner table, here is our Paella.                ... I really enjoyed experiencing this with you.

Muy Buen Provecho!  

** Ingredients**

1. Fresh seafood.  You decide what goes in yours...
   
2. White rice, long-grain
3. 1 pack of Chorrizo
   
4. 4 Limes
5. 1 Lemon
   
6. Coriander 
7. Cilantro
   
8. Basil 
9. Fresh Bay Leaves 
10. 1 whole Garlic
11.  2 red onions
    
12. Avocado 
13. 2 sweet, ripened [yellow] plantains
    
14. Grape Tomatoes 
15. Sliced carrots (1/4 of the pre-sliced bag)
16.  1 green pepper 
17. Sazon (with Achiote/Anatto)  
18. Adobo  
19. 1 can of Goya Guandules (pigeon peas)
20. 1 can of Tomato Sauce
21. Goya Spanish Olives (green)
22. Powdered Oregano
23. 2 Chicken Bouillons 
24. Olive oil
25. 1-2 cups of Canola Oil (to fry your sweet plantains)

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what we had for dessert...