True Paella From Spain

							Title:
True Paella From Spain

Word Count:
395

Summary:
Paella is a traditional recipe of S
pain, but there are almost as many
variations as there are regions in
Spain. And one is more delicious th
an the next. Paella is made with ei
ther seafood, chicken or rabbit, an
d there is even a vegetarian versio
n. The one unchanging, underlying i
ngredient is rice.

It is important to make the right r
ice for Paella. Short grained rice
that is cooked slowly is the tradit
ional basic for Paella. The other i
ngredients can be a combination of
all...


Keywords:
paella, Spain, spanish culture


Article Body:
Paella is a traditional recipe of S
pain, but there are almost as many
variations as there are regions in
Spain. And one is more delicious th
an the next. Paella is made with ei
ther seafood, chicken or rabbit, an
d there is even a vegetarian versio
n. The one unchanging, underlying i
ngredient is rice.

It is important to make the right r
ice for Paella. Short grained rice
that is cooked slowly is the tradit
ional basic for Paella. The other i
ngredients can be a combination of
all sorts of things, but the rice m
ust be the same. Whole grain or wil
d rice may be used, but the key is
that it cannot be quick cook or min
ute rice, since the rice must cook
slowly to absorb all of the flavors
 of the dish. When cooking Paella,
you know it is done when the stock
is all absorbed, but the rice is ne
ither soggy nor dry.

Paella is the perfect dish for a la
rge crowd, even if you have unexpec
ted guests. You can increase the di
sh by increasing the rice, and almo
st any ingredients you obtain will
work to make a good Paella.
That is part of the magic of Paella
: it can be made with any interesti
ng variety of ingredients, as long
as you have the right kind of rice
and good stock. The stock, imbued w
ith saffron (azafran in Spanish), g
ives the dish its unique flavor and
 coloring that is the signature of
good Paella.

Here is a recipe for the traditiona
l seafood Paella: Ingredients: 4 cu
ps of rice, 8 cups of fish stock, 8
 large langoustino, 8 mussels, 1/2
lb. shrimp, 8 oz. peas (fresh or fr
ozen), 2 skinned and chopped tomato
es, 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced,
 and 3 strands of crumbled saffron,
 and olive oil for sauteing. (If yo
u want to make it easy on yourself
to peel the tomatoes, dip them in b
oiling water for seconds, then run
cold water over them. The skin will
 come off the tomatoes easily.

Saute the garlic in olive oil; add
tomatoes, peas, shrimp and saffron.
 Cook until the garlic is just gold
en but be careful not to burn it. (
That can happen quickly, so stir an
d watch.) Add the rice and the stoc
k and let the dish simmer for 20 mi
nutes or until rice has absorbed li
quid and is a moist but not soggy c
onsistency. Quickly poach the seafo
od ingredients and add to the dish
just before serving.