Paella Valenciana

Another one of our weekly weekend recipes for you to try out this weekend. Here we are going back to Spanish roots with a typical Valencian paella.

The proximity of the “albuferas” and marshlands in Valencia (which are very characteristic landscapes), made the existence of rice fields possible and set like this the perfect conditions for the creation of this dish (there are not many zones where you can cultivate rice). So as you can imagine, the rice, which the Arabs introduced in Europe 800AD, is the key to good Paella valenciana. Like with sushi, it needs to have the perfect consistency in order to reveal its best flavor and texture. It might seem basic, but it is the pillar everything builds up on.

Ingredients:

• 500g Rabbit
• 500g Chicken
• 60 cl Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ripe tomato
• 200g of green beans
• 200g kg of garrofón (lima bean)
• 500g rice
• 1.5 liters stock
• Sprig of fresh rosemary
• Saffron
• Salt
• 10 pre-boiled snails (optional)

Method:

1. Heat up the paella dish, add the oil and when it gets quite warm, add the meat (chicken and rabbit, cut into small pieces).
2. Sauté it over low heat until the meat is sealed and golden.
3. The next step is to add the tomatoes (peeled and ground) and vegetables (lima and green beans), maintaining the same heat.
4. Once everything is well fried, add the stock, a sprig of rosemary and heat everything up.
5. Just when it begins to boil, add the rice, the snails, salt and saffron and remove the rosemary. At this moment the fire needs to be at its maximum.
6. When the rice is cooking for about 10 minutes, decrease the heat gradually for at least another ten minutes.