Paella

Ingredients

Ingredients for 10 people: 1 kg. rice, 2 kg. chicken, 1 kg. rabbit, 300 gr. tomato, 500 g. green beans, 250 g. garrofó (a variety of white bean used for making the typical Valencian paella), 100 g. peppers (optional), 2 dozen snails (optional), 3 dl. olive oil, few strands saffron, garlic (optional), sprig of rosemary (optional), 6 gr. paprika, salt and 3.5 l. water.

Preparation

Heat the oil in the paella pan, and when very hot, add the chicken and the rabbit cut into pieces. Sauté the meat until it is lightly browned. Add the peeled, de-seeded and chopped tomato and fry over gentle heat together with the pieces of pepper for 7 or 8 minutes. When this mixture is cooked, add a pinch of salt, the meat and the paprika and fry everything together taking care not to burn it. Add water to cover the mixture and leave to simmer. The time will depend on the consistency of the meat. For free-range poultry and rabbit, calculate 30 to 35 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of the estimated cooking time for the meat, add the beans and the garrofó; this will ensure they are not overcooked. This is the time to add the snails, previously purged. At the end of the cooking time add more hot water and allow to continue boiling for 3 or 4 minutes more. Add the saffron strands and the sprig of rosemary, adjust the seasoning and simmer for another five minutes. Then add the rice evenly to the pan and leave to cook for 5 or 6 minutes over high heat; the mixture will reduce a little. At the end of the cooking time remove from the heat and allow to stand for a few minutes until the remaining stock is absorbed by the rice. Another variety is the mixed paella, which may be made with ingredients such as mussels, shrimps, prawns, Dublin Bay prawns and squid.

Presentation

Serve in the same paella pan after leaving to stand for five or six minutes.