Paella

[Rogelio]

Hi, I have just seen this thread,and would like to add a few things about this subject:

- Paella is not a dish but a pan (Paella means pan in catalan lenguage)

- The real name of the dish is Paella Valenciana (obviously valencian paella) pronounce it Pie ay yah as FornoBravo said.

- There are three important things about cooking a paella:

1) The Fire (should be open wood fire, but it's not always possible)

2) The Rice (Round grain, the bomba rice is very convenient)

3) The Water (The harder, ie the most calcium carbonated, the best to allow a proper rice cooking point)

And please try to make the paella as a thin layered rice so all of it is cooked on the same point.

This issue has been disscused here on the spanish forum: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=16984&st=360

[phaelon56]

Regarding brown smoky paella. I'm begining to think that it was due to the over liberal use of smoked paprika.

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I recently got a confirmation from the owner of the referenced restaurant that they are in fact using a liberal amount of smoked paprika. I'll revisit them soon and request that they cut the smoked paprika by 75% or so and see if that makes a difference. I'll also bring my own chorizo for them to add since they won't be stocking it and I want that flavor in my pan.

[ldubois2]

RE: paella. I thought that paella was the name of the dish and a paellera was the pan you cook it in...although that might be the name of the woman who cooks it instead of arroz...My spanish cookbook (Sabores, Cocina del Hogar) refers to the pan as a sarten, the spanish word for pan. Penelope Casas has a great book: Paella! that gives many variations and hints for success. Someone else mentioned the book. I have all hers and they are authentic.

Bomba rice is good, you can purchase it at Williams-Sonoma or on line at LaTienda.com. At any rate, it should be a short grain rice and arborio or carnoli would be acceptable subsitiutes...never Uncle Bens. If you are lucky enought to live in Seattle, there is a wonderful Spanish/Portugese store called The Spanish Table. They are a source for all the rices, utensils, pimenton de la vera etc. (TheSpanishTable.com) which also has the rings and outside preparation devices. I have had luck starting paella in side on the stove and finishing it outside on a round weber grill....

The crisp bits on the bottom are desirable and is called "socarrat". I think it is the best part.

[CherieV]

FornoBravo

How is Paella pronounced in Valencia?

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I lived in Valencia back in '93, finishing college there. I was a Spanish language major and all of my linguistic classes were taken while in Valencia. I was taught (ll) should be pronouced as another poster said yl. Very difficult actually for English speakers. Hence, as I learned in Valencia it's Pie-aye-la. (Paella). Also, I have yet ever to have Paella in the US even close to what you get in Valencia. It definately is the the olive oil content coupled with the crisp rice on the bottom of the pan. I remember it being cooked in outdoor ovens that looked like pizza ovens. I live in Pa so if anyone has any recommendations in the NE area let me know.

[Adam Balic]

Regarding brown smoky paella. I'm begining to think that it was due to the over liberal use of smoked paprika.

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I recently got a confirmation from the owner of the referenced restaurant that they are in fact using a liberal amount of smoked paprika. I'll revisit them soon and request that they cut the smoked paprika by 75% or so and see if that makes a difference. I'll also bring my own chorizo for them to add since they won't be stocking it and I want that flavor in my pan.

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Oh good, glad that is sorted. You could as them to use the un-smoked paprika to avoid the issue altogether.

[chefzadi]

I would have never even imagined smoked paprika would be the culprit. I mean why add it in the first place? I guess I couldn't get my mind outside of a paradigmatic version of the dish which would already have a certain smoky, nutty aromatic quality to it.

Oh well...

[Wolfert]

The only time I would use pimenton de la Vera in place of nora or pimenton to flavor a paella would be when making the Alicante arroz negret which employs a lot of squid ink. The sofrito one makes for this dish is rich and dark chocolate colored without burning.

The flavor balance went out of whack when I started cooking it in the fireplace using one of those iron 'stools' sold at the Spanish table, and burning oak. Yes, I got a nice smoky aroma, but I couldn't help but want more of the delicious smoky flavor that I remembered when I first tasted it in Alicante born Norberto Jorge's restaurant in Madrid, casa besigna. So, I started to add a little of the pimenton de la Vera and it worked like a charm.

Or maybe I need to use a different wood.

I can imagine how smoky pimenton could ruin a more subtle paella.

[slbunge]

The  flavor balance went  out of whack when I started cooking it in the fireplace using one of those  iron 'stools' sold at the Spanish table, and burning oak. Yes, I got a nice smoky aroma, but I couldn't help but want more of the delicious smoky flavor that I remembered when I first tasted it in Alicante born Norberto Jorge's restaurant in Madrid, casa besigna. So, I started to add a little of the pimenton de la Vera and it worked like a charm.

Or maybe I need to use a different wood.

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This is interesting. Oak burns fairly cleanly, particularly if it has been seasoned well, but should still give a reasonably smoke. Was this outside or in a fireplace?

Woodfired ovens, as opposed to fireplaces, are designed reasonably low to roll the smoke so that it 'touches' to food and provide flavor. Same process when using a kettle grill.

Home fireplaces, on the other hand, have a 'smoke chamber' that is sort of up and out of your field of view. This is the area where the smoke from your burning fire is supposed to roll and get organized before going up the flue.

If you were outside, I would think that the issue would be how close the pan was to being 'in the fire' as opposed to up and out of the way. The lower the pan is to the fire the more chance you will get the smoke flavor.

Regardless, you may not get sufficient smoky flaver to counter that squid ink which is fairly dense. I know, now, that I need to find out more about that recipe. Sounds fantastic.

[Wolfert]

I was using a Spanish iron ring specially made for cooking paella in-or outdoors. Our fireplace is in the kitchen and I used an 18-inch rim-to-rim paella pan.

[jayt90]

I haven't made paella for several years, and this thread defintely has piqued my interest. But I still have a vial (corked) of unused saffron, ten years old, stored in a cool dark cupboard. Can I use it, or should I replace it? This will not be an important meal, just a venture.

[phaelon56]

I would have never even imagined smoked paprika would be the culprit. I mean why add it in the first place? I guess I couldn't get my mind outside of a paradigmatic version of the dish which would already have a certain smoky, nutty aromatic quality to it.

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I think the reason for adding it in the first place is because this dish is being prepared in a restaurant kitchen where a wood fire is an absolute impossibility.

I'm not sure whether they're toasting the saffron or not but I think the suggestion of ordering it with regular rather than smoked paprika is a good one. That will surely answer the question. I'll also ask for a towel or cloth napkin to cover the dish and let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes after they serve it. They brought it straight to the table from the oven and some of the liquid had not yet been absorbed.

I also just discovered that another local restaurant, whose menu has always been upscale Italian bistro oriented, now has a chef who grew up in Spain and learned his craft there. He's convinced the owner to add a number of Spanish dishes ot the menu, paella being among them.

I think it's time for a show-down

[Lonnie]

One last thing, what is the correct way of pronouncing "paella". Non-Spanish types in Australia like me would say "PAY-el-lah", but in Valencia it sounded more "Pay-e-YAH". Discussions with non-Valencian Spanish speakers have not reached a consensus to date.

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I'm a Spanish teacher at Syracuse University, I've lived in Spain several times and didn't meet a single English speaker for six months at one point. I would suggest the following pronunciation:

pah - AY - yah

A pronunciation that you might hear from very old people would be:

pah - AY - leeyah

Nowadays the double "L" is pronounced like a "Y" in English.

Lonnie

[Lonnie]

I also just  discovered that another local restaurant, whose menu has always been upscale Italian bistro oriented, now has a chef who grew up in Spain and learned his craft there. He's convinced the owner to add a number of Spanish dishes ot the menu, paella being among them.

I think it's time for a show-down 

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Okay, you've really got me curious now, Owen. When I saw the ads I thought, "Yeah, sure. Like all the supposed "tapas" that are just overpriced tiny plates of anyone's idea of something Americans might be able to stomach." But... if this chef actually grew up in Spain... well, then, perhaps we can get into a little conversation! I'd love to know know which part of Spain he's from.

So... we do the paella sometime and compare notes?

Lonnie

[Lonnie]

I would have never even imagined smoked paprika would be the culprit. I mean why add it in the first place? I guess I couldn't get my mind outside of a paradigmatic version of the dish which would already have a certain smoky, nutty aromatic quality to it.

Oh well...

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Hubby and I ran into a can of smoked pimentón (paprika) when in Ottawa once. It was called "La Chinata" and we adored it. Unfortunately it got bugs over the summer, so out it went. Then he went to tienda.com and found it in three styles: sweet, bittersweet, and hot. A little seems to go a long way, as it adds a pretty strong smoky flavor. I was used to using pimentón in the usual way in Spain, not as a little dash of color, but as a tablespoon of flavor that goes into the sofrito (dang! what do you call the sautéed stuff in English?). Don't do this with La Chinata! It will overwhelm even the biggest pot of beans, speaking from experience. From that day on we lovingly called it "la chingada" (use this term with utmost care only with people who have a very good sense of humor).

Hmm! I just went to tienda.com and lo and behold, they're featuring paella ingredients on their front page. Look at one of their paella kits and you'll see that they do include a smoked pimentón which, by the looks of the bright red can in the basket, is none other than La Chin...ata. :-)

When I was in the Canaries in the mid-70's (okay, this is not Valencia), I regularly ate a very nice paella in a restaurant. I asked the cook to show me how he made it and one day stood in the kitchen and took notes as he did it. No smoked pimentón. I wonder if I could find that recipe.

I've looked all over the web, in Spanish, and everyone and his mother has THE authentic recipe for paella. I'm talking Spaniards all over Spain. The question about what makes it authentic is similar to "What makes an apple pie authentic?" or "What's authentic fried chicken or BBQ? ..or chili? ... or...?" You get my drift. Opinions vary on every single ingredient you can imagine putting in one. Ever heard of the fideuá? It's a Valencian paella made with fideos... noodles instead of rice!

Where would I go to find an authentic paella? A rice farm outside of Valencia, where an old person of either gender is in charge of a nice, leisurely picnic out in the country, where all the fixin's will be dragged out into a field and there will be paella and wine and music for many, many hours. As I recall, James Michener does a nice job of describing this in "Iberia."

Cheers,

Lonnie

[phaelon56]

... as a tablespoon of flavor that goes into the sofrito (dang! what do you call the sautéed stuff in English?)

I don't know what they call it in English - I've never seen it called anything except sofrito.

[phaelon56]

Last night I went returned to the local joint that has the "smoky paella" discussed earlier in this thread. Had a stuffed fresh artichoke as my starter this time (had assorted Spanish cheeses on the first visit). It was outrageously good - far better than any preparation of artichoke that I've ever had anywhere else - enough to make artichoke lovers like me swoon with delight.

In a previous post on this thread Wolfert said

Pimenton de la Vera can do a stand in for the 'smoky" aroma you want, but not necessary if you want to keep arroces and paellas in separate camps.

The arroces she refers to is the creamier less dry type of paella (if indeed you can call it that as it's traditionally cooked in earthenware vessles rather than paella pans.

On my return trip to La Cena last night (see a snapshot of their menu here) I ordered Paella Mariscos again. This time I requested that the smoked paprika be cut back by 75% and also asked for a towel to cover the pan for five minutes or so after it was served (they serve it straight from the oven).

The difference was dramatic. The smokiness that I found objectionable on the previous visit had been reduced to the point where it now complemented the other more subtle flavor components. The clams were perfect this time (slightly undercooked on the first visit but I think sitting under the towel did the trick). Shrimp and mussels both excellent and the baby calamari were sublime.

The calasparra rice had the right amount of tooth and best of all - they were extremely generous this tiem with the fresh snap peas - perfectly coked and so naturally sweet that they damn near cried out in my mouth when I ate them.

Am I content now? yes and no. I believe this preparation style was somehwre between an arroces and a paella. there was no creaminess but there was some concerntrated broth in the pan (very tasty I admit) and no soccarat at all. I also didn't have time to drive 20 minutes for cured chorizo and slip some to the chef to add to the dish (this restaurant does not serve red meat but the chef assured me he'd add the chorizio if I brought some).

I can state with confidence that this preparation is far closer to what appears to be an authentic and traditional prepartion than any of the stuff served at numerous places in Newark, where Portuguese and Brazilian food is abundant..

Next week I'll try the other local suspect and try to do a real comparison between the two styles.

[helenas]

I need some help with cooking paella on our weber charcoal.

i'm plannning to use 14inch hard anodized paella pan from calphalon and one of the recipes by Penelope Casas that usually call for starting stovetop until not soupy and finishing in the oven - so instead of oven i'm planning to put the pan on the grill. Will be using mesquite/chardonnay/alder wood chips mix.

Any advice is highly appreciated.

thank you.

[JohnL]

I started on the road to paella when I made a rice pilaf in the overn.

The rice came out drier and fluffier and more flavorful than when I did it the conventional way on a pot of boiling water on top of the stove!

It was also easier.

I moved onward to paella using a large skillet (not too deep) on top of the stove then finishing it in the oven.

I got some professional assistance when i got Penelope Casa book on Spanish cooking "The Foods And Wines of Spain." this is considered by many to be a semninal volume on Spanish cooking. It is a great read and has really wonderful recipes.

She discusses the history of paella and has recipes for several versions. (she also has a book titled "Paella" which is very good.

anyway--after trying her recipes -I have reached the point where I can experiment and go off on my own a bit. This is something that is nice about paella--if you get the basics you can pretty much do your owqn thing with great results.

Key:

The rice is crucial --I use Bomba. (must be short grain).

I also have found that smoked Spanish paprika added to the rice while it is sauteeing gives marvelous flavour!

also

you can get good results with a large skillet but a paella pan is even better-it has a wide flat bottom so the rice cooks evenly.

by the way-paella is all about the rice not so much the other ingredients!

I have recently been starting the paella on the stove top and then moving it outside to my wood burning barbeque grill --the heat and the smoke really add a lot of flavour.

I just keep adding hot stock to the rice untill it is where I want it. (some [people prefer a wetter paella. (much as with risotto)--I like a drier paella.

Chorizo is great as are peas--and pimiento or Spanish piquillo peppers from the jar!

I recommend the "Spanish Table" website www.spanishtable.com

you can get the Bomba rice (cheaper than my local Whole Foods! and you can also get all sizes of paella pans (they are cheap if you get the simple steel pans) these heat very quickly and evenly which is what you want.

That yellow food coloring is Anatto seed" used in a lot of Carribean cooking. imparts color with not much flavor..good Spanish saffron is best though.

[SG-]

I've always had difficulty cooking the rice evenly, there's always a section around the rim of the pan especially that is that's not properly cooked through. I suspect that I may have too much rice in the pan. I've got the flavors down right but this problem is always driving me nuts!!!

Anyone else ever have this problem?

[JohnL]

I've always had difficulty cooking the rice evenly, there's always a section around the rim of the pan especially that is that's not properly cooked through. I suspect that I may have too much rice in the pan. I've got the flavors down right but this problem is always driving me nuts!!!

Anyone else ever have this problem?

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What kind of pan are you using?

A paella pan can help.

also

I had the problem and find that a Paella needs to be stirred a bit.

Not like risotto but it should be "tended".

I taste the rice frequently.

another possible reason is putting too many ingredients in too early.

I usually sautee the rice with onions and some chorizo in oil until coated then add some stock and cook for awhile--then I start adding the ingredients according to their cooking times.

With clams or mussels if any going in last.

I make sure I stir the rice and that the liquid is evenly distributed across the entire pan.

I gently "move" the rice at the edges toward the middle of the pan.

[Bux]

Some people slather some sticky sauce on a piece of meat, toss it on a hibatchi and call it BBQ. Others cook some rice and seafood in a flat pan and call it paella. I don't really have much problem with issues of authenticity, except that it's really nice to have some reference points. If you don't over cook the rice or the seafood, it's really hard to find fault with almost any combination of seafood and rice, especially if well seasoned. Nevertheless, as with any traditional dish, a visit to the source is, if not essential, illuminating. Here's what I posted last year after we made the pilgrimage to Casa Paco inland in the province of Alicante.

It was a memorable week. How could it not have been when we got to visit one of the Mecca's of western gastronomia and eat an authentic arroz con conejo y caracoles cooked in a paella over an open fire. What could be more rewarding other than roast dodo or true bouillabaisse and I think both of those are extinct. Bragging rights in the anglophone world are ours. Judging by what's served as in Madrid, our authority may now extend into the European continent and well over the Pyrenees. It is of course a bit of intellectual snobbery. I have had some excellent slushy yellow rice with well cooked seafood masquerading as paella, that was nonetheless quite tasty, but I will wear the "I have eaten the real thing patch" on my shoulder. 

Casa Paco, inland in Pinoso, (a small village north of Murcia and west of Alicante) offers several arrozes with snails, rabbit or vegetable. There's no seafood variety offered, although it's a common variation along the coast. In the Alicante-Valencia region, Paella Valenciana refers to what are apparently the original versions without seafood, although Paco Gandia doesn't use the name "paella" at all on his short menu. At Casa Paco, a paella pan serving two people was about two feet in diameter and the rice was piled maybe three eighths of an inch thick in the high spots when fully cooked. "Fully cooked" was pleasantly al dente. The rabbit was a very small one, chopped up and on the bone. The snails were small and in the shell. The snails added a herbaceous quality to the dish and the rabbit though small was very tasty and nicely browned. I suspect the smoke from the open fires we saw though the kitchen doors added to the flavor of the dish. The rice itself was rich moist, sticky and coated with an glaze undoubtedly as a result of the combination of olive olive and the unctuous quality of the snails.

At lunch the next day, a paella de mariscos on the coast, brought us a pan too full of rice that was nonetheless delicious, but too much to eat and of a lesser texture. The seafood was also a bit overcooked, leading us to the premature prejudice that paella de mariscos is for the tourists. Perhaps not, but the other table having paella was having paella a banda, which is just the rice cooked in an intense seafood broth with perhaps bits of squid and seafood. It is cooked so the outer ring of rice is a darker color then the central circle of rice. This may well be the preferred local way of having seafood rice. Perhaps someone with more experience with paella will expound.

Continued here.

I may actually have described the thickness of the rice as thicker than it actually was. It's interesting that you don't have to get much further from the region than Madrid or Barcelona to find "Paella Valenciana" referring to seafood. Having had the experience, I find myself no longer eager to order paella elsewhere in the world and that includes Catalunya not far to the north of neighboring Alicante and Valencia. Besides Catalan cuisine includes its own rice dishes as well as pasta dishes that are equally as delicious as paella.

[ldubois2]

I've always had difficulty cooking the rice evenly, there's always a section around the rim of the pan especially that is that's not properly cooked through. I suspect that I may have too much rice in the pan. I've got the flavors down right but this problem is always driving me nuts!!!

Anyone else ever have this problem?

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I have had almost every paella failure possible from too done to too raw (rice) to inconsistently cooked.

(Brought home a Spaniard in the early 70's and struggled for 8 years to learn to cook to his satisfaction....finally gave up.)

To address this problem, though, make sure that you are properly sauteeing the rice in the sofrito (tomato, garlic, onion, olive oil or whatever you are using) before you add the broth...making sure that broth is boiling. Once you add the broth, add other ingredients like chicken, peas, beans, shrimp, sausage (whatever you have planned) and from that point forward you are not supposed to stir the paella. I have finished in a weber with lid or in the oven. While the weber is more dramatic and fun, it is hard to control the heat and cooking time.

Remove the paella before completely finished and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes covered with a kitchen towel.

I have tried to locate a good rice to broth ratio but it seems that depends on the kind of rice you are using. Bomba rice (according to my book) requires more liquid...1/3 cup more for 3 cups of rice.

If you cannot find paella rice, Beretta Superfino Arborio works well.

As far as quantity of rice for the pan is concerned, if you are using a paella pan try 3 cups rice for a pan that measures 17-18 inches at widest point, 1 1/2 cups for a pan 13 inches.

(Penelope Casas has some great hints on successful paella.)

[Jose Andres]

I've always had difficulty cooking the rice evenly, there's always a section around the rim of the pan especially that is not properly cooked through. I suspect that I may have too much rice in the pan. I've got the flavors down right but this problem is always driving me nuts!!!

Anyone else ever have this problem?

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Well, When I was 14, I started making Paella with one of the best chefs I've ever known: quick, intuitive, amazing nose.............At a restaurant called L'Antull in the town of Roses, north Barcelona. I learned from this chef, many of the basic techniques that will help you achieve a proper Paella. And in my book (sorry for the publicity) that will be release in November few recipes are given.......with easy to follow suggestions to achieve a great Paella time after time.

For the last years I have chefs friends of mine coming to DC to do PAELLA FESTIVALS. I believe that Paella is very misunderstood in USA. There are many reasons. But is changing, quickly. At Jaleo, 10 years ago, people will complaint about WHY THIS RICE IS NO YELLOW? almost never is; WHERE ARE THE SCALLOPS? never has scallops in the traditional way, can be added, but don't tell me this is the real paella, please; WHY THE PAELLA IS HALF WAY EMPTY? a paella pan is only 1/3 to 1/2 full to the rim....NEVER HIGHER...etc......Today people will try ARROZ NEGRO Black rice with fresh squid ink........PICHON CON HONGOS Squab with mushrooms and ETC, ETC, ETC....AND PEOPLE UNDERSTAND MORE AND MORE WHAT IT IS AND WHAT TO EXPECT.

FEW very general POINTS:

1.POT Paella is the pan used to cook the dish and gives name to the dish. In Levante, and Catalonia we use many names to refer to a rice dish. ARROZ is one of them, it is the name in Spanish to say RICE. But it is much more than that. IS the name used to describe a dish ( Arroz de conejo) will be ARROZ of rabbit, and etc....But they are many pots used to cook rice dishes and no everything is in a Paella pan. Terracotta, DEEP iron pots for juicy rices, etc.....

2. ARROZ Well I'm sorry. But the only, ONLY rice you can use to do a proper Paella is short grain like CALASPARRA or BOMBA or alikes..ALWAYS from Spain. And from the Levante region.IF you are not willing to go through the trouble (C'mon is plenty of stores across the USA that carry this rice, and if not the web!) you don't really want to see how amazing this rice is. Why this short grain rice?. Well my friends Rice is like a giant molecule with the properties of absorbing liquid and flavor like a sponge. No other rice is like that. Asian rices, Uncle Bens are great for what they are, sushi and other dishes, but not for Paella. The only, ONLY good substitution and only if you are on the top of EVEREST mountain, and you have nothing else is arborio.

More to come....

[Bond Girl]

Interesting bit about the rice, Jose. The few times that I made paella, I used a rice that friends bought me from Valencia. The basic paella recipe I have seemed simple enough, although I never knew the finer points of it. What do the other pots look like? Do you have a picture of it? Would you care to expand on the finer points some more? It may inspire me to take my paella pan off the wall and use it again.

[Jose Andres]

Interesting bit about the rice, Jose.  The few times that I made paella, I used a rice that friends bought me from Valencia.  The basic paella recipe I have seemed simple enough, although I never knew the finer points of it.  What do the other pots look like? Do you have a picture of it? Would you care to expand on the finer points some more?  It may inspire me to take my paella pan off the wall and use it again.

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Yes if you give me few hours/days I can take you through it slowly........