Did Someone Say Paella?

    One of my favorite parts of traveling is the food. I have compiled my own collection of recipes ruthlessly adapted and shamelessly replicated from the delicious food I have eaten while vacationing and traveling. I consider cooking an art form and recipes merely guidelines to be changed, evolved and adapted at will. I share with you one of my favorites, tested and perfected. Feel perfectly free to adapt it to your own tastes and remember to use the best and freshest ingredients you can find.

    I have prepared and served paella many times using the following recipe. I am not a purist, and I do not necessarily use the traditional methods. I do not cook over an open fire and I do not use a paellera. I use a cast aluminum pan with good result. Whatever pan you use, it should be heavy enough so that the heat will evenly distribute and it must have a tight fitting top.


Paella de Marisco

Ingredients:

One pound of medium sized shrimp (25-30 shrimp per pound), peeled and de-veined
One pound of scallops     
One half pound of clams
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Two tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped
One medium onion, chopped
One half tomato, chopped
Olive oil
One quarter cup of mixed vegetables, frozen or pre-cooked (corn, peas, green beans)
One half cup of dry white wine
One and a half cups of medium grain white rice, uncooked and not instant rice
One packet of Goya brand or Accent brand seasoning, with achiote and saffron

1. This is cooked on stove top, and is essentially a one dish meal. Put enough oil into the pan to generously cover the bottom. Sauté onion and garlic in the oil. Add cilantro. When the onions are half cooked and semi-transparent add the scallops, shrimp and clams and sauté gently for about 10-15 minutes; until the shrimp start to change color.  Drain the liquid, and reserve it.

2. Turn your burner to low while you add the rice and measure the liquid. Cooking rice requires a 3:1 ratio of liquid to rice. Since this recipe calls for 1.5 cups of rice, you must add 4.5 cups of liquid for the rice to absorb the liquid correctly. So, add the rice to the pan. Then measure the reserved liquid, you will likely have about a cup, slightly more or slightly less. Add the half cup of wine; the remaining liquid is water. Use as much water as you need to make the total liquid including the reserved liquid, the wine, and the water to a total measurement of 4.5 cups. Add the spice packet. Turn up the heat, until it starts to bubble, it does not need to come to a full boil. Next turn down to medium, keep it covered, and let it cook.

It should take about twenty minutes for the rice to absorb most of the liquid. Now add the chopped tomato and mixed vegetables, and stir. Cover for about five minutes more, just long enough for the tomatoes and mixed vegetables to get hot. Then remove from heat and you’re ready to serve!

This recipe serves four hungry people. Black beans with a few chopped onions on top is the perfect complement. I have cooked this dish many times for American and British friends and family, and have always received high praise. But, if you cook for people from Latin America they will likely expect a rice dish to be toasted to crunchy on the bottom. To do this, turn the burner on very high at the last minute just long enough to sear the rice. It’s a little tricky on an electric stove, and most Americans would think it was a cooking mistake anyway, so I seldom do this.

This is an excerpt from an article previously written by this author and published in "Caribbean Property and Lifestyles Magazine". www.caribpro.com