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PAELLA October 10, 2006 This signature dish of Spain is perhaps one of its most misunderstood. Many people seem to regard it as a vehicle for a creative melange of seafood, poultry, sausages and vegetables, but in truth Paella is all about the rice. We recently had the chance to eat marvelous Paella prepared by a Spanish native, Dr. Manuel Tejero of The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. When young Dr. Tejero wrote to his mother for her Paella recipe, she responded with a video tape of the entire process... just so her son wouldn't miss anything. Paella takes its name from the broad flat bottomed pan used to make the dish. These pans are available in any number of sizes along with gas ring burners for portable cooking. These pans are readily available on the Internet. Recipes for Paella vary tremendously, and it's one of those dishes that generate arguments as to the makeup of "the genuine article." Suffice it to say, most of the recipe leads up to the creation of a complex flavorful broth to cook the rice. The bite-sized extras are merely garnish. The preferred rice in Spain is the short-grained "callasparra." In this country, if that isn't available, the variety marked "Spanish rice" works quite well. One other ingredient is "de rigueur" and that would be saffron. There is no real substitute for this aromatic but pricey spice, although turmeric and paprika can approximate the color. It's worth the splurge. As opposed to risotto which requires the cook to stir the rice constantly, Paella requires that the rice sits tight, undisturbed so the "socarrat" or caramelized rice grains will stick to the bottom of the pan. This scorched rice is highly treasured and Spanish parents have been known to tell their children, "don't eat it or it will kill you!" Of course the pickings go straight onto the adults' plates. Authentic recipes call for you to fry the vegetables such as onion, garlic and peppers in oil first. They are removed, more oil is added and meatier ingredients are then fried. They too are removed, the pan is de-glazed generously with white wine and or water, and the resultant broth is poured off and saved. The rice is poured onto the dry pan and sauteed briefly. Then the broth is added back in, the rice cooks unstirred, and the garnishes are added. Delicate seafood such as whole shrimp or fish pieces are added fairly late, since they will cook quickly in the rice.
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