Esperanza's paella recipe
Paella is all about making the most of the ingredients that are readily available. The thing to remember is that paella originated as a farm labourers’ lunch. It should be simple, robustly flavoured and cooked over an open fire. Esperanza’s family use vine trimmings for kindling, the aromatic smoke subtly flavouring the rice. Even more important than the meat and vegetables is the stock; if you don’t have home-made, flavoursome stock, think of something else to make.
Esperanza’s paella includes several varieties of fresh beans special to the Valencia area: firstly, the garrofó, which is like a large, pale butter bean; then, a small white bean called tavella, akin to a fresh haricot bean; and lastly, a flat green bean called ferraúra, which is similar to the flat green bean available in the UK.
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken, jointed into approx. 6 pieces
- 500 g Rabbit, jointed into approx. 6 pieces
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 Flavoursome tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tsp Pimentón de la Vera dulce (mild smoked paprika)
- 200 g Fresh garrofó or broad beans, podded weight
- 200 g Fresh tavella beans (or omit and double the quantity of green beans)
- 200 g Flat green beans, sliced into 4cm lengths
- 1.4 l Chicken stock, warmed
- 1 Saffron (approx. 20 threads), soaked in 2 tablespoons of hot water
- 400 g Calasparra rice
Details
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 50 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Season the chicken and rabbit joints with salt. Take a large frying pan, or a 46cm paella pan, and heat the oil over a medium heat. Fry the meat for 7 minutes, or until the pieces are browned all over
- Reduce the heat and add the garlic and tomatoes to the pan, then stir in the pimentón (adding the spice last improves the flavour of the tomatoes). Sauté for 2 minutes before adding the various types of beans. Season
- Pour in the stock and bring everything to a simmer and leave to cook for 10 minutes or so. Add the saffron water, give it a good stir, then turn the heat up to high and scatter the rice across the whole of the pan (Esperanza says local cooks sometimes pour in the rice in the sign of a cross; we don't think this is necessary). Stir the rice to make sure it is evenly distributed. And then leave it uncovered for 10 minutes
- After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for a further 8 minutes until the rice is al punto, or still with a little bite to it
- Remove the paella from the heat and cover with kitchen paper or a tea towel. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes before serving
Also worth your attention:
More recipes from Jose Pizarro
Book - Seasonal Spanish Food, published by Kyle Cathie.
Photography: Emma Lee