A dish we associate with Spain.

Paella is of course associated with Spain but it is also an internationally well known dish, usually made from white rice, meat, seafood, beans and vegetables and originating in Valencia. However, it is believed to have originally had an Arabic influence and the Moorish people of Al-Andalus often made casseroles of rice, fish and spices for family gatherings and religious feasts, thus establishing the custom of eating rice in Spain.

The two most commonly known types of paella are Valencian paella and seafood paella. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat, snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood, but omits beans and green vegetables. Other key ingredients usually include saffron, and olive oil. This dish has gained popularity throughout most of the Spanish-speaking world, including the Hispanic regions of the United States, but is also enjoyed throughout Western Europe. The word paella derives from the Latin, patella for pan.

Valencian paella has a standardised recipe, because Valencians consider it traditional and very much part of their culture. The basic method of cooking it is to heat the oil and sauté the meat after seasoning with salt. Then add the green vegetables and sauté until soft, add garlic, grated tomatoes, beans and sauté them; add paprika and sauté. Then add water, saffron, edible snails and rosemary and boil to make the broth and allow it boil until it has reduced by half.
Add rice and simmer until the rice is cooked and finally garnish with fresh rosemary.

The secret of good paella is in the finishing off and once the rice is nearly done, the paella is removed from the heat and left to absorb the remaining juices. Good paella usually has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom and that is considered to be a great delicacy. There are two ways to achieve this perfection, one is to time the evaporation of the water properly with the completion of the rice, but make sure it doesn’t burn as the whole dish may be ruined. The second is to use a high flame while listening to the rice toast at the bottom of the pan and the cook then removes the pan from the heat once the aroma of toasted rice wafts upwards; but once more be careful not to burn the food and then the paella must sit for about five minutes before serving.

Seafood paella garnished with lobster is roughly made using the following method. First of all make a seafood broth from shrimp heads, onions, garlic and bay leaf and then heat oil in the large pan and add live fresh mussels and cook until they open and then remove. Sauté both the lobster and whole deep-water  shrimps and then remove them. Add chopped cuttlefish and sauté and add shrimp tails and sauté, followed by garlic and grated tomato and sauté them too.
Add rice, add paprika and sauté and then seafood broth and saffron and season to taste. Replace the whole shrimp, mussels and lobster and finally simmer until rice is cooked.