Paella

Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
35 to 40 minutes.
Servings
For 6 to 8 people
Ingredients:
  • 800g of long or round rice
  • 1 pinch of saffron pistils:
  • 6 chicken legs divided into two parts. 1piece of chorizo. 16 shrimps. 1kg of Bouchot mussels (rope-grown blue mussels)
  • 1 onion. 1 shallot
  • 25 cl of white wine. ½ litre of chicken stock 
  • 500g of squid or calamari, in strips
  • 200g.of frozen peas. 6 artichoke heads. 1 lemon. 1 bunch of green asparagus.
  • Olive oil to taste
Instructions:
  1. Cut the chicken thighs into two pieces.
  2. Peel and finely chop the shallot and onion. Wash all of the vegetables. Afterwards, dice the peppers. Turn the artichokes, cut them in half and add the lemon juice; peel the asparagus and cut it into wedges.
  3. Stir the chicken broth together with the saffron in 1 litre of warm water.
  4. Cut the chorizo into slices.
  5. Fry the chorizo on both sides without adding any oil or other fat. Discard the fat that came out of them. Salt and pour a little olive oil over the chicken. Fry it in the paella pan on medium heat for 10 minutes. 
  6. When it has turned brown, add the diced peppers, onion, shallots and artichokes; sweat everything for 5 minutes (sweating is a cooking technique that involves cooking food over low heat to make it release moisture). 
  7. Add the rice and sweat for another 3 minutes; deglaze it (dissolve the browned food residue) with the white wine and moisten it with the broth. 
  8. Add the strips of squid ; put the lid on and cook on low heat (at a temperature of 160°C) for around 10 minutes.
  9. Add the mussels, peas and asparagus wedges, and then finish cooking for 10 minutes.
  10. Cook the shrimps a la plancha (grill them on the griddle) and place them on the paella.
  11. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
  12. Check the cooking of the chicken. Decorate the paella on each plate with a lemon wedge.
    Chef’s tip:
    Use one phalange of the index finger as a measuring unit between the level of the rice and that of the broth to achieve well cooked and smooth rice.
Seafood