Making Paella the Spanish Way!
Paella is the quintessentially Spanish dish that everyone has heard of, a rustic one-pot dish originating in Valencia when the area was important for rice production. It dates back to a time when the only tourists to the area were the ancient Romans. Farm workers working, in the fields, and relaxing under a tree when the sun was too hot to do anything else, had time to prepare the meal and eat it from the traditional paelleras. There are some wonderfully romantic ideas as to how it got its name and one of the most pleasant is that it comes from “por ela” which means for her. In fact Spanish housewives are traditionally responsible for all the cooking within a household, but the men can do the paella as the Aussie men congregate and do the Barbie! In fact, the dishes name comes from the name of the pot in which it is cooked the paelleras
Nowadays it is a little late to bump into Ernest Hemingway whilst travelling in Spain and it is not too late to travel in his footsteps whilst on your travels. Paella De Bogavante is the speciality served in a typically Cordobesan boisterous restaurant called
El Pepito,
C/Miguel Gila 46,
Cordoba
Telephone (3495) 776-7008,
http://www.asadoresdecordoba.net/htm/pepito.htm
However if your exploration of Andalucía does not extend to Cordoba the fish market at Nerja will sell everything that you need. If you are adventurous and decide to use the barbecue to cook the paella throw some wild thyme tomillo) onto the fire to flavour the air.
Paella De Bogavante (Lobster Paella)
6 tbsp olive oil
600g short grain rice
2 small lobsters (bogavante)
8 Scallops (Vieira)
8 jumbo scampi, whole or peeled (langostina)
8 king prawns or Dublin bay prawns (cigala)
16 whole mussels (Mejillones)
¼ kg clams (almeja)
4 half lemon
200 g French beans & peas
2 medium sized ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
Fresh fish stock
Saffron (azafrán )
salt to taste
Garnish
Red pepper to decorate
Method
Heat the oil and the salt until hot but not smoking, cut the lobster in half, add to the pan flesh side down, with the shellfish, and shake whilst cooking until the lobster starts to go pink and the mussels and clams are open. Take out shellfish and reserve, but leave the fish juices in the pan.
Add another 2 tablespoons of oil and then the beans, peas, tomatoes, garlic, and saffron and stir. Add the rice and stir until the rice is translucent, which is about five minutes. Then cover with the fish stock to the level of the panhandles.
From this point on do not stir or touch the rice, as it will release the starches and make the dish unpalatable. Boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer for ten minutes. Arrange the lobsters with the, scallops, scampi, prawns, clams and mussels on top of the rice in a decorative way, and then season. Continue cooking until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, take off the heat and leave to stand to absorb the rest of the liquid for five minutes. Squeeze fresh lemon over and decorate with the peppers.
By Bill Hanning
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