Paella from the Spanish

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg rice (paella rice e.g. from La Bomba) or risotto rice
• 1 ½ kg chicken wings
• ½ kg chicken breast
• 2 liters of water
• 0.3 liters of olive oil, extra virgine = extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 bell peppers, red
• 2 bell peppers, yellow
• 2 large onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 lemons
• 1 bulb(s) garlic approx. 15 cloves
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 ½ tsp, leveled caraway seeds
• 2 carnations
• 2 tsp, heaped paprika powder, better Allspiceón, lightly smoked, not “de la Vera”
• 1 ½ tsp saffron
• 2 cubes of chicken stock, better homemade stock or fish stock
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 3 hours; Rest time approx. 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 50 minutes

Based on a recipe from our exchange student from Barcelona and his grandmother

You will need the following equipment: a paella pan approximately 55–65 cm in diameter, two spatulas, a hand blender or mixer. Season the chicken wings and the diced breast (approx. 2.5 cm) with salt, pepper, and paprika. Score the tomatoes, blanch them briefly, then peel them. Cut the tomatoes vertically through the stem and scoop out the seeds and water with a teaspoon, then roughly chop the flesh. Peel the peppers as well (but it’s too much work for me). Cut the yellow peppers into bite-sized pieces. Roughly chop the red peppers, carrots, and onions; they will be pureed with the tomatoes later anyway. Peel all but six of the garlic cloves. Pick the leaves from the parsley. Grind the caraway seeds and cloves. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Brown the chicken wings with six cloves of garlic, skin on (this will prevent them from browning so quickly). Add the diced chicken a little later. The garlic shouldn’t brown; remove it first. Place the meat in a large bowl. Discard the garlic. Fry the red bell pepper, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and the remaining garlic in the same oil until the carrots are soft. Then transfer them to another bowl. Add the cumin, cloves, paprika, broth, parsley, and saffron to the bowl. Blend everything thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. In the same oil, fry the rice in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the vegetable purée and fry for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low. Distribute everything evenly in the pan. Add the meat and yellow bell peppers and pour in 1 liter of water. When everything is creamy, add the second liter of water. Season everything to taste, and dissolve more broth in the second liter of water if necessary. After about 15 minutes, the rice should be ready. If not, add more water (of course, only if there is none left; it always depends on the power of the burner and the rice). There should still be some liquid at the end so the paella doesn’t dry out. Generally, you can (but don’t have to) stop stirring the paella for the last 5 to 10 minutes to create a small, toasty residue. However, this is dangerous if the burner is running high. Garnish the paella with lemon wedges and let it simmer for 5 minutes, still covered with a lid or aluminum foil. The remaining liquid should now be absorbed, and the paella should have a creamy consistency, similar to a risotto, but not quite as creamy. Optional or variations: With rabbit, treat the rabbit as you would with chicken wings. With artichokes, fry them. With fish: It should be roughly diced, ideally hake, perch, or cod, and it should be firm. Brown briefly after the chicken, then simmer for only about 8 minutes at the end. Seafood: Proceed as with fish. Prawns (pre-cooked, antennae removed): Proceed as with fish, but add them at the very end, then fry them. Mussels: Pre-cook, then add them at the end. Peas, beans, or other vegetables as desired.