Authentic Paella for Two
- 350 grams Uncooked rice (without rinsing)
- 1 Shrimp (deveined, with shells)..."A"
- 1 Your choice of seafood or chicken (prepare with appropriate seasonings and cut into bite-sized pieces)..."A"
- 1/4 Onion (minced)..."B"
- 6 cm Celery (minced)..."B"
- 1 Bell pepper (thinly sliced vertically) or paprika powder (See Step 15) / both are optional
- 30 ml Extra virgin olive oil..."C"
- 1 clove Garlic (roughly minced)..."C"
- 30 ml White wine..."D"
- 30 ml Extra virgin olive oil..."E"
- 30 ml White wine..."F"
- 330 ml Water..."G"
- 1 cube Consomme cubes..."G"
- 1 pinch Saffron..."G"
- 1/4 can Canned diced tomatoes
- 1 Salt and pepper
- 1 Italian parsley or regular parsley
- 1 dash Lemon
- 1 Black pepper
- Combine the "G" ingredients and place them in a pot.
- Turn on the heat.
- Stop the heat right before it begins to boil.
- Re-heat right before Step 14.
- Place the "C" ingredients in a 20-22cm oven-safe, shallow grill/frying pan and cook over low heat.
- The photo shows a 20-cm pan.
- Once the garlic from Step 2 has become fragrant and lightly colored, push it to the side of the pan.
- Add the "A" ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
- Increase the heat to low-medium.
- Once the bottoms of the "A" ingredients have cooked, turn them over and season again with salt and pepper.
- Pour the "D" white wine into Step 4 and increase the heat to medium-high.
- Once the wine in Step 5 has mostly evaporated, turn off the heat.
- Place the "A" ingredients into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Note: Turn off the heat when the liquid evaporates so that the garlic and "A" ingredients don't burn.
- It's okay if the "A" ingredients are not fully cooked at this point.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in the same unwashed pan over low heat.
- Add the "B" ingredients.
- Season Step 8 with salt and pepper.
- Scrape off any burned and flavorful bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan from Step 6 as it cooks.
- Cook Step 9 thoroughly for about 5 minutes so that the sweetness of the onion and celery can be completely released.
- It's okay if the color is lighter than shown in the photo.
- Add the sliced bell pepper while cooking Step 10.
- Once cooked, transfer to the same bowl as Step 6.
- I used paprika powder.
- Add the uncooked rice to Step 11 and cook until each grain of rice is coated with oil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Once the rice is mixed with the oil and becomes hot, pour in the "F" white wine.
- Once the alcohol from Step 13 has cooked off, add the canned tomatoes and pour in the hot soup from Step 1 until it reaches 1 cm above the level of the ingredients
- Reduce the heat to medium and set the timer to 10 minutes.
- If using paprika powder, add it here.
- Once the liquid has reduced below the level of the the ingredients, top the rice with the ingredients from the bowl in Step 6.
- Also add the juices from the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the remaining soup from Step 1.
- *After 5-6 minutes have passed since adding the canned tomatoes and soup in Step 14, the paella should resemble the photo shown here.
- As time passes, you will start to hear sizzling.
- After ten minutes have passed since Step 14, reduce the heat to low.
- Set the timer to 1 minute.
- After 1 minute has passed, place in the oven preheated to 200C and bake for 16 minutes.
- In Step 18, the rice should resemble a risotto texture.
- The liquid should be at the same level or below that of the rice.
- There should still be some liquid left.
- When making this for the first time: If the bottom seems like it is going to burn, reduce the heat to low earlier than instructed.
- If it is too watery, increase the heat and cook it longer to cook out the liquid.
- The appearance and texture in Step 19 should be a little less watery than a pilaf.
- The rice should be cooked to al dente (the center of the grains should still be somewhat firm).
- If the rice is too firm: add 50 ml of hot water and cook.
- Check the texture again after 2 minutes.
- If there is not enough liquid: Add 30 ml of hot water and turn off the heat right as it starts to boil.
- The amount of time to cook will vary a bit depending on the strength of your gas stove or the heat conduction of the pan, so refer to it only as reference.
- After it has cooked, take it out of the oven.
- The amount of time it takes to cook will vary depending on your oven, so check on it after about 12 minutes.
- The rice on the surface should be crispy and the liquid should have evaporated, resembling a pilaf.
- Squeeze some lemon over the paella and season with black pepper.
- Garnish with Italian parsley and it's done.
- I usually combine 30 ml of hot water with a tiny amount of saffron to make a saffron liquid to spray over the dish at this point.
- This increases the aroma and I definitely recommend it.
- This paella is different from the type that is just made in a frying pan.
- Baking it in the oven makes the rice to crispy, giving it an authentic touch.
- The ingredients also create a lovely finished product.
- The seafood is extremely delicious.
- Separate into 2 portions to enjoy with your special someone.
- If you separate it into the amount shown in the picture (a 14 cm bowl), it should be just right.
- After serving it up on a plate, the cross-section should look like this.
- It's not too runny and is somewhere between a risotto and a pilaf, with a slightly al dente cooked rice that I love.
- I love when there are some burned parts.
- They are so addictive and delicious.
- You can accompany it with other dishes enjoy it with drinks, it's a paella perfect for a couple.
- Give it a try.
- Note: You could also double the amount and cook it in a 24-26 cm grill/frying pan.
- One rice cooker cup of rice is about 180 ml.
- You can substitute the "A" shrimp with clams or mussels, or use both.
- It's essential that the ingredients release juice for the broth.
- If using shellfish: Once the shells open in Steps 5 and 6, place them in a bowl.
- If they don't open up, cover with a lid.
rice, shrimp, chicken, onion, celery, bell pepper, olive oil, clove garlic, white wine, olive oil, white wine, water, saffron, tomatoes, salt, italian parsley, lemon, black pepper
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/155921-authentic-paella-for-two (may not work)