Monday, August 30, 2010

VALENCIAN PAELLA - SICILIAN STYLE


This is another recipe that I've adapted from a magazine and, even if I say so myself, it turned out to be delicious. The brown rice is probably sacrilege but it does give the dish an excellent colour. I know you are supposed to cook the rice in oil in a separate pan first but it was just too hot to have another flame on!

You need:

olive oil
4 skinless chicken breasts if you are in the UK, where the halves are sold separately or 2 skinless chicken breasts if you are in Italy, where the 2 halves are sold as 1 breast [if you see what I mean].  The breasts should be cut into large pieces.
1 rabbit, jointed
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper, cut into wide strips
2 fresh bay leaves
1 chorizo sausage, cut into pieces [or a  long, dried Italian sausage]
500 gr brown rice
1 large can tomato pulp
1 litre chicken or other light stock
300 gr peas
500 gr green beans, topped & tailed
2 sachets powdered saffron [sold in sachets in Italy - about half a teasp per sachet, I guess.]
coarse seasalt, black pepper.

To serve 6 people very generously, heat 5 tablesp olive oil in a deep, wide pan or wok.  Add the chicken and rabbit pieces and brown on all sides.  Lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until softened.  Now add the peppers and cook till they are softened, too [about 10 mins.] Add the bay leaves to the pan with the sausage and toss everything around a bit.  Now put in the rice and stir it around a bit, too. Put the meat back in with the tomato pulp, about three-quarters of the stock, the beans and peas. Stir well and season with paprika, the saffron, salt and pepper.  Put the lid on and cook for about an hour, checking now and again. If the dish appears too dry, add the rest of the stock.

Serve straight from the pan.  It was so hot here the day after I made this that I had some cold - and it was surprisingly good.



9 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

It sounds wonderful! I hope your saffron is more affordable than the one we have here. I still can't pull the trigger.

Rowena said...

Looks scrumptious! But Welshcakes, how big of a pan do you have to be able to make this?! I've always wanted to make paella over a bbq grill, but have yet to find a suitable pan to do this.

J. M. P. said...

Your paella looks delicious! One of the things I like of this recipe is that I can cook it myself. I prefer seafood paella, with prawns, lobsters, mussels, scallops... As far as I know, you are not supposed to cook the rice in a separate pan, not in my land at least. But I've never eaten a paella in Valencia, so I can't say what's the "proper" way to cook it. You did a great job!

jams o donnell said...

Wow there's going to be a generous portion for all six diners! It certainly must be full of flavours

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, lakeviewer. Yes, the sachets are quite affordable here and each one is enough to perfume a dish. Hi, Rowena. I just used my ordinary wok, which I refuse to allow to defeat me! I'd like one of those super-sized woks from Lakeland in the UK, I must admit. Thank you, fullet. That's a compliment indeed! I can't eat any fish or seafood, I'm afraid. I'm glad it's not obligatory to cook the rice separately. Hi, jams. Yes, plenty of second helpings!

Ellee Seymour said...

David loves paella and cooks a mean one himself, so his girlfriend tells me.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

You'll have to post David's recipe, Ellee.

PinkAcorn said...

This looks like a wonderful dish. So wonderful I posted it to my FB page !

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks, pink. I am honoured.

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