Paella

Name: Paella
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 10 raw tiger prawns or large shrimp; 1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves and stalks separated; 100 ml dry sherry (or white wine); 500 g live mussels, scrubbed and debearded; 1 good pinch saffron threads; 150 g Spanish chorizo, sliced; 1 yellow onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 medium squid, cleaned and sliced into rings; 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped; 250 g Bomba or paella rice; 100 g broad beans or green peas; 1 lemon, zested plus extra wedges

From the kitchen of Carly

The Spanish one-pan show-off dish: saffron-stained rice with chorizo, prawns, mussels, and squid, finished with a crackly bottom layer (the socarrat) you fight over at the table. Worth the wide pan and the patience. The wider the pan, the better. A thin layer of rice is what creates the socarrat. Don't pile it deep.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 40 min
Total: 1 hr
Servings: 4
Difficulty: hard

Ingredients

4 servings

3 tbspolive oil
10raw tiger prawns or large shrimp
1 bunchfresh parsley, leaves and stalks separated
100 mldry sherry (or white wine)
500 glive mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 good pinchsaffron threads
150 gSpanish chorizo, sliced
1yellow onion, chopped
3 clovesgarlic, minced
1 mediumsquid, cleaned and sliced into rings
2ripe tomatoes, chopped
250 gBomba or paella rice
100 gbroad beans or green peas
1lemon, zested plus extra wedges

Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a wide shallow pan (paella pan if you have one). Pull the heads off the prawns, drop them in with the parsley stalks, and cook until pink, mashing with the back of a spoon. Add the sherry and 300ml water. Season with salt and simmer 10 minutes, mashing as the heads cook to extract every drop of flavor.
Scatter the mussels into the pan. Cover loosely with a lid or tea towel and turn the heat high. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until the mussels open. Stir to release their liquor, then strain everything through a colander into a bowl that already holds the saffron threads. You want about 700ml of liquid; top up with water if short. Pick the mussel meats out of their shells (keeping a few in shells for show), and set aside.
Wipe out the pan and add the rest of the olive oil. Cook the chorizo over medium heat until it releases its red oil, about 3 minutes.
Add the onion and garlic. Cook 4 minutes until softened. Add the squid and stir until it turns opaque, about 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for 1 minute.
Pour in most of the saffron stock (hold back a small splash). Stir, then bring to a hard boil.
Scatter the rice evenly across the pan. Stir once, then leave it alone. Boil hard for 5 minutes, then drop the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 10 minutes without stirring. The rice will absorb the liquid and start to crackle on the bottom.
Tuck the prawn tails into the rice and cook 5 minutes more, turning once.
Stir in the mussels and broad beans. If the rice still tastes raw but the pan is dry, add the reserved splash of stock. If it's soupy, crank the heat for 1 minute.
Turn off the heat. Cover with a clean tea towel and rest for 5 minutes. Scatter the parsley leaves and lemon zest on top. Serve from the pan with lemon wedges.

Substitutions

Spanish chorizo to Mexican chorizo or Italian sausage. Mexican chorizo is softer and spicier. Italian sausage is mellower. Both work; the dish leans different directions.
Bomba rice to arborio or short-grain rice. Bomba absorbs more liquid without going mushy. Arborio is the next best; jasmine and basmati won't work.
saffron to 1 tsp turmeric. Turmeric gives you the color but not the flavor. Worth ordering saffron online if you make this often.

Pairs well with: Spanish red (Rioja or Tempranillo) or a chilled Albariño, Crusty bread and aioli, Simple green salad with sherry vinegar

Adapted from TheMealDB.