Spanish Paella

This is for sure the most known spanish recipe in the World. Original from Valencia, at the east of Spain, it has become a common food in the rest of Spain, reserved for special days and enjoyed with family or friends.

INGREDIENTS (4/6 people)

• 1 cup of short grain rice (approximately 200 grams)*
• 3 cups (600 ml) fish stock
• 16 small prawns
• 8 medium/large shrimps
• 2 squid
• 500 grams of mussels**
• 200 grams of pork ribs cut***
• 200 grams of split chicken wings
• 5 fresh artichokes
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) frozen peas
• 1 large red onion
• 2 small green peppers for frying (or one large)
• Half a cup of tomato pulp
• Half a cup of bell pepper strips
• 1 clove garlic
• Saffron or paprika
• Salt
• extra virgin olive oil

* It is possible to make the recipe with another type of rice, but short grain is the one that gives the best results by far.

** Clams can be used instead of shrimp or both, to taste

*** can be omitted if desired

First of all, we cut the squid into slices, cutting the tentacles as well. We reserve.

We remove the outer leaves of the artichokes and the trunk, cutting the most tender part of the center into four halves. Sprinkle with lemon so they don't oxidize and reserve.

Pour a generous stream of olive oil into a paella pan. In it we fry the pork ribs, the split chicken wings, the artichokes and the squid rings, until everything is done and well browned. Remove from the paella pan and reserve.

In the same oil, add the finely chopped onion, the finely chopped green peppers and the garlic clove, also chopped but without the green germ. When the onion is transparent, add the tomato and after a couple of minutes the rice, which we stir well so that it is impregnated with the sauce. It is time to season the rice. It is important that it is done at this time so that it is at the point of salt.

We heat the fish broth and pour it into the paella pan, which we put on high heat.

We add the meat again (ribs and chicken wings), also incorporating the squid and peas. Let cook over high heat for about 10 minutes.

Lower the heat and add the clean mussels. We keep it like this until the rice softens (it should take about 20 minutes). Five minutes before the end we introduce the shrimps and prawns. Add a few strands of saffron or a level teaspoon of sweet paprika. We rectify salt if necessary.

If we see that the rice is still hard but the broth has been consumed, we can add more hot broth or hot water but in moderation. If you go too far adding liquid, the rice will overdo it.

When we turn off the heat, we put the bell pepper strips on the rice. Cover with a cotton cloth and let stand for about 15 minutes so that the flavors are well distributed. This resting time is important in rice dishes, respect it no matter how hungry you are. If any mussel has not been opened, it is discarded.

Serve it hot and distributing the seafood and meat proportially to every guest.