By Guillermo Bermell
Have you ever thought: “I have no clue whatsoever where to start with” or “I wish I knew a trick”, or “what do I have to do to make paella come out right?” … Well, here are 6 tips from professional chefs that will help you stand out when cooking paella and succeed with Paella .
The type of rice is one of the keys to succeed with Paella
ideally “Bomba, Senia or Bahia” rice. Taking the length of the grain into consideration, these types are a medium-grain variety commonly cultivated in the eastern coast of Spain. It appears under the denomination “pearly round rice”. The reason why the rice is important is because it has to absorb all the flavor and characteristics in the broth and this variety is the ideal one for this purpose. But the problem could be the difficulty to get it if you are not in Spain. To succeed with Paella, instead you can go for any medium grain rice, preferably for paella. If not possible, then risotto rice or Arborio or similar ones that are “thick, round and medium” in order to be able to absorb the most broth possible.
Fresh ingredients make the difference to succeed with Paella
It is needless to say this. The better quality and the more freshness the products have, the more tasteful, flagrant and colorful will be the paella. At the same time, this will be the most expensive option. On the other hand, the cheaper option will be frozen ingredients. With these, the paella will not achieve the same level of flavor, smell and color, but people with a more reduced budget, can as well enjoy this delicious recipe to succeed with Paella.
Broth and sofrito
As well as in the previous point, fresh ingredients make the difference. We know from the first point that rice absorbs the flavor and characteristics in the broth. Therefore broth is crucial for the rice to taste amazing. At the same time the sofrito is essential for the broth to taste spectacular. On the other side, if you cannot afford to buy fresh ingredients, you can buy prepared paella stock or just buy any stock according to the paella you are going to prepare; and for the sofrito, you will only need 2-3 grated tomatoes and 1 garlic clove.
A special trick to succeed with Paella: The pan
It is in reality called paella, so that paella has two different meanings: paella – for the pan, and paella – for the food or recipe. The paella is a rather wide pan with a thin base, so that the broth cooks off quickly and evenly. In reality, the rice absorbs the core essences of the broth, and thanks to the wide pan, the rest water evaporates. There are four types of paella, depending on the material they are made of: stainless steel, enameled coated, stainless steel and special for induction stoves. At the end it makes almost no difference to cook in one or the other for amateurs, so you can choose depending on their characteristics and your budget. I will get to this in a coming blog.
The fuel
The paella can normally be cooked with three different types of fuel (actually two because the supposed third one is electricity for the glass-ceramic hob): gas, when you cook at home in the cooktop or outside with a gas ring (it is much more fun to cook outside in the nature in a farm, house or terrace). This option is the most recommendable one if you are a starter, as gas is more easily manipulated. And wood, which will provide to the paella and all the ingredients the smell of the wood type you are using. The wood option, compared to gas, is more recommendable for advanced users, as the handling of fire is more difficult.
Another trick to succeed with Paella is a recipe which traditionally is placed in the middle of the table and is eaten in a big group of people, normally friends and/or family: the size and form of the pan allows this, as it can be as big as one wants, invited guests, etc. Due to the fact that preparation and elaboration takes a lot of time, paellas are cooked normally during weekends or bank holidays and preferably in a summer or country house. If you live in Valencia, one can say cooking a paella is like a ritual. When everybody is together, one or two people normally prepare the paella (one cooking and the other one moving fire, very important point). In the meanwhile, the rest is setting the table, preparing the rest of the ingredients being used along the process, making salads, etc. And it is very usual that the guests take some starters and drinks, which are eaten at this moment. The paella is eaten from the same paella, using wood spoons in order to not damage the pan. And every guest eats from the imaginary triangle-portion just in front of him. And be careful, because if you trespass these imaginary lines, your neighbor can hit you with the spoon!
The guests!
Paella is a recipe which traditionally is placed in the middle of the table and is eaten in a big group of people, normally friends and/or family: the size and form of the pan allows this, as it can be as big as one wants, invited guests, etc. Due to the fact that preparation and elaboration takes a lot of time, paellas are cooked normally during weekends or bank holidays and preferably in a summer or country house. If you live in Valencia, one can say cooking a paella is like a ritual. When everybody is together, one or two people normally prepare the paella (one cooking and the other one moving fire, very important point). In the meanwhile, the rest is setting the table, preparing the rest of the ingredients being used along the process, making salads, etc. And it is very usual that the guests take some starters and drinks, which are eaten at this moment. The paella is eaten from the same paella, using wood spoons in order to not damage the pan. And every guest eats from the imaginary triangle-portion just in front of him. And be careful, because if you trespass these imaginary lines, your neighbor can hit you with the spoon!
Bon profit!! (“enjoy the meal” in valencian language).
Stay tuned to the www.paellalover.com blog and to your email inbox, where we will continue sharing more tips and guides to help you explore the paella world on a deeper level. Until then, if you have any questions, concerns or requests, send us an email or leave a comment below.
HAPPY PAELLA!!
