Paella - boiled rice.

[BrritSki]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Rog, you're close enough to Spain that you should be able to find a pan....or have a friend bring one back....they are still cheap....my last ones were 7 euro's....may the Paella gods smile on you....

Thanks for that !

I can probably get one here, haven't looked to be honest, but there's a place that probably sells them that I haven't been in for a while. I'll look in the next few weeks.

Have you or anyone else tried doing a paella-style dish in the WFO ? Wife did Chicken Basque in our electric oven on Saturday, which is really just a version of paella with chicken, olives, chorizo, peppers and oranges and it was super, would be fine in the forno...

Ciao Rog

[SpringJim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Sure...keep it simple, it's still boiled rice. I've done it from scratch and used leftovers...both worked great!

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f20/...bles-1459.html

J

[sarah h]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

A paella pan is currently heading my way ...

[CanuckJim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Sarah,

Maybe I should apologize in advance, but I won't. SJ, aka XJ, is an unduly modest paella master and should be outed as such. Here's a pic of his creation at the annual Bread Bash (actually it was pizza this spring) here at Mary G's Artisan Breads.

"Keep it simple," yeah, sure . It looks just as fabulous as it tasted.

Jim

[sarah h]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Your timing in posting that pic is great since my paella pan just arrived today - I'm not sure my first paella adventure will be anywhere near as impressive as that though. Jim sure has set the bar high!

[SpringJim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

So Sarah, is that pan black now??

I've done a couple on the banks of Cumberland and Tennessee rivers now.

Good luck with it.
Jim

[sarah h]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Well, I have the pan now ... sadly though, it's still in it's original pristine condition. Once I finish some indoor renovations, close up at the lake and get a family wedding out of the way, you may see a paella post from me - hopefully a success report!
I could use some advice though - should I cook it in the WFO (maybe hard to manage) or over an outdoor gas burner (maybe not a wide enough flame for an 18 inch pan)? It's my understanding that over an open fire is best but I can't do that in the city ...

Sarah

[SpringJim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

The gas burner is a common way to do it in Spain but they use a double ring burner (or larger depending on pan size). You want to see the entire pan bubbling.

You can try the wood fire in the city. It's not too big and it's a cooking fire which is often exempt from bonfire rules. I use about a 5 gallon bucket of finely split oak to do a paella....start the fire with a bunch of miscellaneous wood pieces.

btw...you should wash your pan in soap and water first to get off the protective layer and then oil it. I use some olive oil and a sheet of newspaper.

I've seen Paella's done on stove tops and in the oven. The WFO might work fine if the pan will fit in the door....you have the temps and could put it on the coals or hot hearth.....if it fit's, give it a try.

Good luck with it...keep trying if you have any problems....it can be a bit hectic the first few times but you'll get the hang of it and it's worth it!

XJ

[SpringJim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Rustic Paella's....on the rocks in LBL...done with fresh fish too!

...just so you know I have not been slacking!

[Cruising Jim]

Re: Paella - boiled rice.

Rustic Paella's....on the rocks in LBL...done with fresh fish too!

...just so you know I have not been slacking!

15 years later still going strong!

AKA….. Xabia Jim / Spring Jim

[Cruising Jim]

Quince family Paella Recipe




My mother learned to make Paella on the coast of Spain over 50 years ago. I learned from her and started making paella about 25 years ago. My first paella was in an old teflon frying pan over an open oak fire on the banks of Lake Michigan. Since then I've progressed to a custom made fire pit cut from a stainless steel drum and progressively larger pans now as big as the drum. My big pan is 55 cm and uses a kilo of rice. I've never tried it in an oven or over a gas ring but know both methods work....it’s just boiled rice! For Florida, I buried the frame of an old turkey frier upside down creating a ring to cook on.




The history of Paella goes back to the Valencia region of Spain where they produce a short grain rice. Paellas can run from plain rice, to seafood, to mountain (meats), or mixtures. (My friends do a mushroom and asparagus paella that I hate.) One version goes that during the morning whatever could be found was collected for the midday meal....maybe collect some snails, shoot a rabbit, pick some vegetables...what have you.....then the Paella would be cooked in the fields for the noon day meal (at 3 o’clock)




Here's my mixed paella recipe done over an open fire: (It’s a forgiving boiled rice dish and the ingredients and process should help guide you. (If you like, track down the book by Penelope Casas called Paella...it's great)




Base Ingredients;




Rice, and hot soup stock, three times the volume of spanish short grain rice you will use (remember it boils off), known as caldo in Spain....it's key to a good paella.




Olive oil,

Chopped garlic, onion and rosemary.




Ingredients for a mixed paella

(or select what you like)




Seafoods? ...

Raw Shrimp with shell on, bigger are better

calamari, tubes and tennacles cut into pieces.

Fresh mussels....

Fish, I've used perch, whitefish, flounder, bluegill and catfish, but any fish will do.

mussels, whole live but you can use precooked without shells if you want

....what do you like? ....lobster or scallops?




Meats? ...

Chicken rough cut with cleaver, leg quarters cut in 2 pieces (dark is better)

pork pieces with bone,

rabbit, cut like the chicken

andouille sausage pieces adds a cajun twist

I think lamb or beef are too strong and I have not tried them.




Vegetables? ....

garbanzo beans, rinsed

tomatoes, chopped

green beans, whole

red peppers, sliced lengthwise & fried or raw

squash, sliced




Toasted almonds




Spices ....

chopped garlic and rosemary, sometimes parsley

saffron and/or smokey paprika, added to dry rice (no salt seasoning too)

Sometimes I add toasted almonds

boullion cubes or “better than bouillon”, added to soup stock (the salt basically)

Some rosemary branches to throw in the fire too.

Sliced lemons to squeeze over your plate and alioli for your fork.




The fire is hot initially and later will be cooler when the rice is boiling.

With a hot pan I add some olive oil and garlic.

The shrimp are tossed in, turned over and pulled out quickly.

The calamari is then thrown in and taken out, very quickly.

The sliced peppers can also be fried and taken out for later.

Then I put in the pork and chicken, browning the pieces well. They can even look burnt but this will flavor the boiled rice and cook off.

As I'm doing the above items, I will often throw in some additional oil, garlic, rosemary or onions depending on how things are going.

When the meat is browned, not cooked, I open up the center of the pan, add some olive oil and dump in the chopped tomatoes. I think this step helps later when you're trying to get a bit of a crust on the bottom, some consider the best part.

I then add the rice and stir it around a bit to mix in the olive oil and tomatoes and fry it a bit.

After a couple of minutes the heated caldo is added and the garbanzo's. (you must have a big enough pan to hold all your ingredients and soup stock!)

Now I add ingredients according to how much cooking time is needed and how you like things to be cooked.




the green beans.

Later the shrimp and calamari go back in placed on top with the Squash and roasted red peppers.

Fish laid on top last when you can see the rice, and mussels pushed into the mixture vertically. They will open and be cooked by the time it's served.




Now the trick is to pull your paella off/out early when the liquid is gone, as it rests for the last 10 minutes before serving. (Most free liquid is gone). During this period it's covered with a lid/foil/cloth to conserve the heat and moisture. When the paella is taken off the fire, if there is still some residual liquid in it that will be taken up by the rice while it rests.




That’s the balancing act. Cooked your paella long & hot enough to get the toasted rice bottom. Not burnt to charcoal and not underdone without it. And no, we don’t stir ours much after the soup stock goes in.




Now I've heard stories of Spanish perfectionists that will throw out a whole paella because the rice is not done right. All the ones I've done get eaten! And I've learned it's a pretty forgiving dish. (Except the one that got sand kicked in it, ....yes I cook with wine!)




I save leftovers and heat up later, adding a bit of liquid/white wine. Oven reheat is best, but a microvave is ok. My friends love it the next morning for breakfast.




Good luck.




If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer.




And as I mentioned, the Casas book on Paella talks a lot about doing it in a conventional oven. I've just never done it. I've had gas rings for 20 years and have yet to try that method that most Spanish do nowadays.




Salut, Amor, Peseta y tiempo para guzarlos.

Jim

[Gulf]

Hi Jim,
Err uhh! Welcome back. I enjoyed the posts. But, I can't help but wonder why the changes in user profiles?