Paella

Posted by Diana van Eyk on June 7th, 2011

One of my new roommates — Miguel — is from Spain, and one night he made a traditional Paella (pronounced pie-L’-uh) while I helped and asked questions.

paellera

Traditionally, Paella is made in a fire pit in the Mediterranean in the afternoon in a large, round, shallow pan called a paellera.  This is cooked slowly and out of doors. We made ours in a paellera on a flat stove with two of the burners on, and rotated it for evenness.

The dish is generally made with onions, rice, seafood and white meat, either chicken or rabbit, and whatever else is around.  Here’s how ours was made:

The first step was to fry onions and garlic in olive oil until they were golden brown in the paellera.

Next, we added lots of beans that had been cut up and peas.

After that we added two cups of Spanish rice, a simple vegetable broth and six cups of water – very carefully, so it wouldn’t spill over the edges.

While the rice was cooking, we roasted two red peppers at 375 degrees in the oven.  When they were roasted, which took about 20 minutes, we peeled and sliced them.

Next we opened, strained, rinsed and sliced a can of artichoke hearts.

Once the rice was cooked, we added the peppers and artichoke hearts and let them cook.

photo: Vernon Woolsey

Traditionally, the bottom of the Paella is burned black, and some people prefer the burned part.

Thanks, Miguel, for sharing such a delicious part of your culture with us.