Saturday, April 2, 2011

A Poor Man's Paella Recipe

Since the Paella is a poor man's dish, the following is a quick poor man's version (feel free to leave any questions you might have in the COMMENTS section below):
  1. To begin, you can use a 'Paella' (a shallow round pan which can be purchased on any of the ad sites to your right), or a big frying pan. The Paella pan is more fun and authentic, but the frying pan works equally well for a small Paella.
  2. Add 1 Cup Olive Oil into the Paella pan. Add 1 Cup Chopped Onions into the pan. Simmer on low for 1 or 2 minutes. Get those Onions beautifully coated in Oil.
  3. Add 5 - 8 Cloves of Chopped / Minced Garlic. Stir.
  4. Add 2 Chicken Breasts (chopped to bite size pieces or in strips). Stir.
  5. Add 3-5 Sausages (any kind of sausage works, but if you can find a LAMB sausage, it is delicious)(otherwise, the Adell's sausage (although pre-cooked) from Costco or in your supermarket also work well).
  6. Stir and let simmer on medium for 5 minutes.
  7. Add 3-4 Chopped Red Peppers.
  8. Stir and let simmer on medium for another 5 minutes.
  9. Add 3-4 Chopped Tomatoes.
  10. Stir and let simmer on medium for another 5 minutes.
  11. OPTIONAL: Add a 1 Cup of Tomato Sauce. Stir.
  12. Stir and Simmer on a Medium Heat until Chicken appears to be 'Nearly' Cooked. The deliciousness of the smell should melt your face at this point.
  13. Add HOT water until the ingredients in the pan are all 'just' submerged. NOTE: Make sure to remember how much water you add because the amount of rice you will add in Step 17 will depend on the amount of water.
  14. Add Boullion Cubes to taste . . . normally 5 - 10 (make sure you crumble them between your fingers, or use the already-powdered version).
  15. Add a Shake or Two or Three of Salt (or Four if you feel lively).
  16. Stir and turn the heat to HIGH.
  17. Once the Paella is lightly boiling, add the RICE! The ratio of Water to Rice is 2 to 1. Thus, if you put in 10 cups of water, add 5 cups of rice.
  18. Add Saffron (just a pinch or two).
  19. STIR ONE MORE TIME, Reduce the Heat, and let it Simmer for Nearly an Hour, or until water is cooked off.
  20. Take it off the Heat, let it cool, and Squeeze some Fresh Lemons on top . . . Enjoy!
ONE FINAL NOTE: A Paella is all based on taste, so if you need more salt or garlic or saffron or anything, just add it. Don't worry so much about specific measurements. Just throw it in and it will be perfect. You'll see.
This is just a basic bare-bones version of a quick paella. But be sure to check back in order to master the artful intracacies of each step. Viva!  http://paellaprofessor.blogspot.com/2009/02/poor-mans-paella-recipe.html

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