Real Paella Not Risotto Recipes

REAL PAELLA NOT RISOTTO

Steps:

• You wil need a large "paella" pan with a diameter of no less than 2ft, preferably 3ft. This is a nice and usefull souvenir to buy on your next holiday in Spain.
• Heat your paella pan on a gas fire or outside on a charcoal fire.
• Add the oil and garlic cloves.
• Once the oil is hot and the garlic is frying but not yet brown, add the green beans and mix with a big wooden spoon.
• Once the beans have been in the hot pan for a minute or two and are nicely covered with the garlicky oil, move them with help of the spoon to the outer edge of the pan - thus creating an empty space in the middle into which the raw rice is placed.
• Pour over the rice the olive oil and gently stir the rice in the middle of the pan for one minute.
• Then with same big wooden spoon, mix your rice and beans and once mixed spread it evenly in the pan.
• immediately, before things start burning, pour your chicken stock into the pan and once again make sure your rice and beans are more or less evenly spread in the pan.
• This is the last time the rice is touched before serving. Never ever stir again (a sacrilege in Spain!).
• Now evenly place your chopped meat into the boiling chicken stock containing the rice and beans.
• Then take your strips of paprika and decorate the paella by laying them once around the pan and also in diagonal spokes (just like a bicycle wheel).
• Let the chicken stock reduce and the rice start appearing and before things run dry or the rice is cooked - take tha pan off the fire and cover with newspaper.
• The paella is now in "tiempo de reposo" or "resting time" which will take 5 minutes. In this time, the rice will soak up the rest of the stock and be just right or "en su punto" as Spaniards would say. Just right means not overcooked and ith the slightest bit of crunch still left in them.

SHELLFISH PAELLA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add sausage meat. Cook until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with fork, about 5 minutes. Add clams and mussels. Increase heat to medium-high, cover and cook until shells open, about 5 minutes. Transfer clams and mussels to medium bowl, discarding any that do not open. Cover shellfish and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, combine clam juice and saffron threads in small saucepan; bring mixture to simmer. Reduce heat to low; keep warm.
• Add arborio rice to same saucepan that clams and mussels were cooked in and stir 2 minutes over medium heat. Add dry white wine and cook until wine is evaporated, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Add warm clam juice mixture and simmer until rice is just tender and liquid is creamy, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.
• Mix shrimp, peas and chopped tomatoes into risotto and cook until shrimp are just cooked through, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Season risotto to taste with salt and pepper. Top risotto with clams and mussels and serve immediately.

PAELLA I

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in paella pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and pepper; cook and stir for a few minutes. Add chorizo sausage, diced chicken, and rice; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 3 1/2 cups stock, wine, thyme leaves, and saffron. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
• Taste the rice, and check to see if it is cooked. If the rice is uncooked, stir in 1/2 cup more stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Stir in additional stock if necessary: use up to 2 cups additional stock, 5 cups total. Cook until rice is done.
• Stir in squid, tomatoes, and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Arrange prawns and mussels on top. Cover with foil, and leave for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove the foil, and scatter parsley over the food. Serve in paella pan, garnished with lemon wedges.

EASY LOBSTER RISOTTO

Steps:

• Coarsely chop 1 onion. Finely chop remaining 1/2 onion.
• Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and bay leaf. Prepare an ice bath. Plunge the lobsters into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and submerge in the ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and set aside. Keep the lobster cooking liquid warm over low heat.
• Combine olive oil, finely chopped onion, and tomato paste in a deep, 10- to 12-inch skillet and cook over medium heat until onion is softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add rice and stir with a wooden spoon until toasted and opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine, then add a 4- to 6-ounce ladleful of the lobster cooking liquid and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring and adding the liquid a ladleful at a time, waiting until the liquid is absorbed each time before adding more, for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove the lobster meat from the shell, leaving the claws whole, and chop the tail meat into 1-inch pieces. Toss the lobster into the rice and continue cooking until the rice is tender and creamy but still al dente, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat; add parsley and butter, and stir vigorously. Serve immediately.