Sunday Flavors

SEAFOOD PAELLA

Paella is one of the world’s most famous rice dishes. Its origins go back to the XV century, in Albufera, near Valencia, Spain. It is also a very popular dish in Portugal, called “arroz à valenciana”. This kind of rice dish is now cooked all around the world with thousands of variations. You can choose hundreds of different ingredients, depending on your taste. Chicken, sausage, chorizo, pork loin, are commonly used together with some of the down listed ingredients. Although this one is a completely meat-free paella, I prefer a mixed variety, with seafood, fish, chicken, sausage and chorizo. There’s also the black paella, cooked with squid or cuttlefish ink.
About the paellera (paella pan), don’t worry if you do not have a large shallow pan at your kitchen. You can cut the portions to fit your pan size or you can try to buy a large pan like I did. I can give you some clues about how to find it here in Macau.

YOU WILL NEED (serves 8, at least…):
A large paellera with 40 to 50 cm / 15 to 20 inches (or any other large shallow pan);
600 g / 1lb and 5 oz of short grain rice;
1,5 kg / 3 lb and 5 oz of assorted seafood (good options are: squid, cuttlefish, octopus, prawns, lobster, crab, sea escallops, fish filets, monkfish, clams or mussels)
500g / 1lb and 1 ½ oz of fresh ripe skinless tomatoes, diced (you can use caned tomatoes of good quality);
300g / 10 ½ oz of onion, diced;
8 garlic cloves, diced;
200 ml / 7 ¼ fl oz extra virgin olive oil;
1 tablespoon of paprika;
4 bay leaves;
1 or 2 fresh chilies, diced;
1 teaspoon of oregano;
Sea salt
2 tablespoons of tomato paste;
300 ml / 10 ½ fl oz of white wine;
3 bell peppers (green, red and yellow);
300 gr / 10 ½ oz of frozen peas;
2 handfuls of fresh coriander coarsely chopped;
Boiling water;
Juice of one lemon;
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder;
1 teaspoon of curry;
Olives.

METHOD:
Precook hard seafood (squid, cuttlefish or octopus) with a cup of water and salt during 20 minutes. Drain and set aside;
If you use clams or mussels, place it in a saucepan with a cup of water and a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Set aside and discard any that haven’t opened. Filter the water and save it to add to the rice cooking;
If you use prawns, lobster or crab, give them a soft boil, save the boiling water to add to the rice cooking, peal the smallest ones to cook along with the remaining seafood and save the largest ones, unpeeled, for the final decoration;
In the paellera, on medium to low heat (you can straddle the paella pan over two burners), start to heat olive oil, salt, paprika, oregano, bay leaves and chili;
When olive oil is hot, sauté onion and garlic until clear;
Add tomato and tomato paste and cook a few more minutes;
Add white wine and bring to a boil;
Cut half of each bell pepper, dice and add to the pan (save the other halves for the decoration);
Add seafood step by step, starting from the hard texture one (squid, cuttlefish or octopus), progressively to the soft one (sea escallops or fish). Simmer for 10 minutes;
Add frozen peas, washed and drained;
Add boiling water and bring everything to a boil, stirring gently;
Add seafood boil waters and involve;
Whisk lemon juice, saffron and curry powders and add it to the pan;
Add rice and bring back to the boil, then turn the heat very low and keep stirring gently from the border to the center. Add more salt if necessary;
By tasting a grain or two, cut the fire right before the rice is too soft (but still quite damp);
Garnish it with bell pepper stripes, unpeeled prawns, olives and chopped coriander;
Serve immediately.