Paella is another rice dish that is not inferior to pilaf in the complexity of cooking. You can’t count the ingredients alone: several types of seafood, vegetables, a couple of meats. Yes, and any kind of rice does not fit, you have to choose with special care.
If you intend to cook this wonderful dish nevertheless, be patient and take it as a rule - all stages of preparation, which are described as very quick, should be such. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting instead of a luxurious Spanish paella, a very dubious taste and look, a mixture of finished products.
Chicken Paella - General Cooking Principles
• A real paella is prepared only in a wide pan; its sides should not be high, but the bottom narrowed. Ideally, if the height of the sides does not exceed a few centimeters.
• A single recipe does not exist; everyone cooks it in his own way. Vegetables, other meats, fish, sausages, and seafood are added to the paella with chicken. The invariable basis of the dish is rice and chicken.
• What should be the rice so that the paella with chicken is “right”? Do not use long-grain cereals, it does not absorb moisture well. The usual varieties of Jasmine or Basmati, from which pilaf is usually prepared, are unsuitable. The most suitable varieties of rice for paella are round-grain, Spanish. An alternative can be Arbario or Carnaroli, in extreme cases, the familiar rice of Krasnodar varieties is suitable for everyone.
• Chicken - any pieces of carcass, but it is better to give preference to breast or thighs. The fillet is cut into oblong pieces of a small size, the hips are cut into pieces and the skin must be removed.
• The meat is first fried or boiled. The broth is not poured out, but used in the future - it is poured into the pan after rice has been placed in it. The liquid base of paella can be not only chicken stock. Instead, it is permissible to use water or a vegetable decoction. In any case, they often add white wine to them.
• Traditionally, paella is usually served at lunchtime. Real gourmets will never use metal utensils - only wooden spoons.
Chicken and Seafood Paella Recipe
Ingredients:
• round-grain rice - 150 gr.;
• three large and juicy tomatoes;
• large onion head;
• 50 ml of quality olive oil;
• 200 ml of tart white wine;
• chicken broth or water - 300 ml;
• garlic;
• hot chili pepper - a piece of pod, 2 cm long;
• 200 gr. cervelat;
• chicken fillet - 300 gr.;
• 300 grams of squid;
• peeled shrimp - 200 gr.;
• 300 gr. meat of sea fish;
• mussels - 250 gr.;
• paprika, turmeric.
Cooking method:
1. Finely chop 3 garlic cloves and onions. Scale the tomatoes with boiling water, carefully remove the skin, and cut the flesh into medium-sized slices.
2. In a wide and shallow pan, heat the oil. We do not allow over-heating, we stand on medium heat no more than 30 seconds. Then put the garlic and, stirring, fry for several seconds. Put and pass onion until transparent. Then put the tomatoes in the pan, and then chili peppers.
3. As soon as the tomatoes begin to dispense juice, add chicken topped with cubes. Simmer all together for six minutes, and dip in a frying, diced sausage, thin squid rings, portioned pieces of fish and shrimp. Add the mussels, and continue cooking for another seven minutes. Be sure to stir three times during this time so that all components are steamed evenly.
4. Pour rice into the pan, add paprika and turmeric. After stirring well, we add the wine and, having waited for the cereal to absorb it, pour in the broth. We wait for boiling and lower the heating to a minimum value. Cooking, waiting for the evaporation of moisture.
Tomato Paella with Chicken and Shrimp
Ingredients:
• eight large chicken thighs;
• one and a half liters of liquid - broth, vegetable broth or water;
• 40 ml of olive oil;
• four sweet peppers;
• 800 gr. canned tomatoes in their own juice;
• rice for paella - 450 gr.;
• 700 gr. peeled shrimp;
• a small pinch of cayenne pepper;
• 400 gr. frozen green beans;
• paprika, saffron;
• a spoon of chopped dill.
Cooking method:
1. We wash the chicken and remove the skin. Then put the pieces in a pan, pour two liters of water and place on maximum heat. Bringing to a boil, slightly reduce the heat and leave for 20 minutes under the lid. We take the meat out of the broth, put in a bowl and cover with a lid.
2. Cut the stalks from the peppers, remove the seeds, and wash off their remains with water. Then cut the peppers in half and cut them into thin strips, but not into strips! We spread the oil in a pan heated and fry for 2 minutes over low heat.
3. Add shrimp, season with ground pepper, add salt and cook everything together for another one and a half minutes. Spread the fried ingredients in a bowl.
4. Put the pulp of tomatoes chopped into large slices into a pan, cover them with rice and pour 3 cups of the broth left over when cooking the bird.
5. When it is completely absorbed into the cereal, add two more glasses of hot broth, add chicken, salt and mix well. Tomim over low heat for about half an hour. We carefully monitor the rice, add broth if necessary.
6. About a quarter of an hour before being ready, put defrosted beans in a pan. Add saffron, paprika and cayenne pepper. Here we spread the shrimp fried with pepper. At the end, sprinkle the paella with chopped dill.
Filipino-style paella with chicken and canned beans
Ingredients:
• fresh or chilled chicken breast fillet - 700 gr .;
• large onion;
• 2 garlic cloves;
• one and a half glasses of rice cereal;
• 230 gr. fresh tomato;
• one bell pepper;
• canned beans (red) - 175 gr.;
• large orange;
• 100 ml of unsweetened white wine;
• five 250 gram glasses of liquid;
• high-quality olive oil;
• fresh parsley - 2 branches;
• half a teaspoon of saffron stigmas.
Cooking method:
1. Pour saffron stigmas with boiling water (40 ml) and leave for 7 minutes. Cut into medium-sized, oblong slices of fillet, spread in a bowl and pepper. Add a little salt, mix thoroughly and let the meat stand for a while.
2. Scalp an orange with boiling water. With a fine grater, remove a little zest from it (1 tbsp. L.). Squeeze juice from citrus, filter it through a sieve.
3. After warming the oil, dip the chicken fillet into it. Fry the slices until golden brown over high heat, and stir occasionally to brown evenly.
4. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl, and dip finely chopped onions into the pan and pass until softened. Then add the chopped garlic, season with paprika and shift saffron stigmas into the pan. Here we pour and the water drained from saffron. Warm up the minute, stirring.
5. Add sliced tomatoes, canned beans with sauce and thin strips of bell pepper. Stew, stirring, no more than two minutes.
6. We fall asleep rice, steam cereals in vegetable juice for about a minute and add orange zest. Add two tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice, wine and a little more than half of the chicken broth (water or vegetable broth).
7. On intensive heating, bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then reduce the temperature to a minimum and simmer, without covering, for about 10 minutes. Do not interfere - you can only slightly shake the pan a couple of times.
8. Transfer the fried fillet to rice. We season the paella with ground pepper, add salt to your taste and, after thoroughly stirring, leave it over low heat. After a quarter of an hour, we check the rice for readiness.
9. We cover the finished paella with foil, tightly fasten its edges and leave for 10 minutes. When serving, decorate with orange slices and chopped parsley.
Tasty paella with chicken and vegetables (zucchini and eggplant)
Ingredients:
• one small zucchini or young zucchini;
• 300 gr. chicken fillet (breast);
• small eggplant;
• two glasses of rice for paella (round grain);
• 200 gr. fresh medium-sized champignons;
• garlic;
• two onion heads;
• 300 gr. tomato (fresh);
• Bay leaf;
• saffron;
• fresh basil;
• ground pepper - red and black;
• olive or quality vegetable oil;
• three and a half cups of chicken stock.
Cooking method:
1. We clean the vegetables. Cut the eggplant into small cubes, zucchini into thin cubes, and tomatoes into small slices.
2. We wash the mushrooms, cleaning from the remnants of dirt. Dry with a towel and cut - small in half, and larger into 3-4 parts.
3. Dry the fillet well. We cut the chicken into small cubes or strips and quickly bring to olive color in olive oil. We shift in a bowl.
4. In a clean frying pan, pour a little oil and put on moderate heat to warm.
5. Take three cloves of garlic, remove thin husk from them - leave the thick peel. Squeeze the garlic a little and dip it in the heated oil. We warm up a minute and remove, we only need a light garlic flavor.
6. Put the onions in the pan, and fry until transparent, add the mushrooms. Soaking over low heat, wait for the evaporation of all moisture, after which we immediately lay the eggplant and zucchini, continue cooking for three minutes. Do not forget to stir, but not too often, otherwise the vegetables will lose their shape. Put the frying in a separate bowl.
7. Pour rice into the pan with the remaining oil, and fry it over low heat for about two minutes. Then we add hot broth, add salt, season to taste with a mixture of peppers. Mix and lay the bay leaf, cook under the lid for 20 minutes. We do not mix, but to exclude burning, we languish at a low boil.
8. Put the fried vegetables and pieces of meat for the rice. Add the tomatoes cut into small pieces and mix. Covering, cook paella over moderate heat for a quarter of an hour. You can put the dish in a hot (180 degrees) oven for this time, where it will slowly languish.
9. When serving in paella plates, lay a sprig of fresh basil in a twig.
Paella with Chicken, Ventricles and Liver
Ingredients:
• chicken meat taken from bones or breast - 700 gr .;
• 200 gr. chicken liver;
• fresh bacon - 100 gr.;
• 150 gr. chicken stomachs;
• round-grain rice - one and a half glasses;
• smoked sausage - 150 gr.;
• two onions;
• one bell pepper, red color;
• 2.5 cups of tomato juice;
• frozen peas - 150 gr.;
• 50 gr. raisins;
• fresh rosemary - 1 sprig;
• refined oil;
• green bananas - 2 pcs.
Cooking method:
1. We wash the ventricles well in warm water. Cut into strips and boil without adding salt for 20 minutes. Then cool well and dip in warmed oil, fry for five minutes.
2. Cut the bacon into thin strips and send the slices to the pan to the chicken ventricles. Add the chicken meat chopped in large pieces, stirring, fry everything together for 6 minutes. Spread pepper, chopped garlic and onion in a pan.
3. Cut the chicken liver into large pieces and add to the pan when the onion slices are well browned. Cook with strong heat, often stirring until the liver changes color.
4. Pour tomato juice and immediately add raisins, pour rice and peas behind it. Add chopped sausage and simmer under the lid until rice is cooked. Be sure to put a sprig of rosemary on top of the rice.
5. In a separate frying pan in oil, fry the banana rings a little and serve them, laying them on a plate with paella.
Paella with chicken and rabbit "Valencia"
Ingredients:
• a pound of rice groats (round-grain);
• 500 gr. chicken thighs;
• rabbit meat - 700 gr.;
• three large tomatoes;
• 200 gr. large canned or boiled white beans;
• frozen green beans - 200 gr.;
• half a glass of olive oil;
• saffron and ground paprika - half a teaspoon each.
Cooking method:
1. We thoroughly wash the rabbit and chicken meat, after which we wipe dry and chop with pieces.
2. We stand the tomatoes for two minutes in boiling water, then substitute under a stream of cold water and then, carefully removing the skin, cut.
3. Put the frozen beans in a bowl and leave them warm to thaw.
4. Put the pan on an intense fire. Pour a few tablespoons of oil into it. When it warms up, lower both types of meat into it and fry until golden brown. We do not reduce the fire, it is necessary that the pieces quickly become covered with a light crust. For a uniform result, turn over more often.
5. In the center of the pan, on the meat, spread the tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle tomatoes with paprika mixed with saffron. Spread green beans on top and fill with water so that it only slightly covers the contents of the pan. We wait for a boiling boil and fall asleep rice, level its surface. We cook at the very minimum heating, until all the moisture is absorbed by the cereal. Do not forget about beans - it must be added to the other components 10 minutes after laying the rice.
6. After tapping the paella under the lid for about half an hour, we check the readiness. If the dense rice grains, when cracked, do not leave a crunchy feeling, you’re done.
Chicken paella - cooking tips and tricks
• If seafood is added to paella with chicken, they are not recommended to be cleaned. The oldest recipe for the dish involves the use of mussels in shells, and shrimp in shell.
• The real culinary art is the ability to cook paella with sokkarat - a delicate crisp from below. To achieve its formation, the finished dish is kept for about a minute on high heat. But you should not take risks with a lack of experience - and so it turns out no less tasty.
