It is interesting how some people get a bee in their bonnet about the word authentic with food.
This is a Paella recipe which makes no such claims.
If you fancy paella but lack the time to cook it then Sanpa in Denmark street offer a traditional Spanish Paella.
Ingredients for 4 people
- 300g Bomba Paella rice washed with plenty of fresh water
- 24 Live Mussels
- 8 Shell on king prawns or 24 Shell on standard prawns preferably raw
- 24 fresh raw squid rings
- 2 Cooking Chorizo sausages
- 1 Whole onion diced
- 2 Cloves garlic grated
- Good Pinch of saffron steeped in just enough hot boiled water
- 2 TBSP freshly grated good quality parmesan cheese
- 1 Pint Hot Chicken stock preferably home made
- Large glass of white wine or thereabouts
- 4 TBSP Olive oil
Method
Clean and remove beards from the mussels. Discard any that do not shut when tapped with the blunt side of a knife. Place in a pan and cover with enough wine to cover most of them. Bring up to a boil then simmer until most of them have opened. Discard any that have not. Add the liquid to the stock and reserve the mussels in the fridge.
Fry the chorizo sausages until cooked through. Allow to cool then cut into thin slices.
Fry the onions in the oil in a large frying or paella pan until translucent. Add the garlic for a further couple of minutes and stir well. Put the rice and saffron in with the saffron water and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Now add 1 to 2 ladles at a time of the hot stock and cook the rice gently until it is either soft or al dente as you prefer adding more stock as needed.
Add the prawns and turn up the heat to high. At this point stop stirring the rice as you will now be trying to create tasty crust on the bottom of the rice. Push the prawns down into the rice to cook through. Once they are fully pink add the Parmesan, chorizo, squid and cooked mussels for a few minutes for the squid to cook and the mussels to warm through. This will just take a few minutes.
Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.
Serve on warmed plates with wedges of lemon.
Gavin McArdell
