My Paella

My friend Carmen asked for a simple but yummy paella. This is my recipe using one Filipino ingredient, kasuba, and I prefer it really garlicky. The cooking method is also very Filipino as I saute everything and season it properly. The photo here is from this paella; I did not make another batch for this post.

OGGI's Paella1 pound prawns, shelled, deveined and mixed with ¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces
2 pieces El Rey or Senyor Rey brand chorizos, sliced
10 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Spanish pimentón
¼ teaspoon saffron (optional)
2 teaspoon kasuba
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil
2 cups Japanese rice
3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen petite sweet peas
a few strips pimiento for garnish

• In a small skillet, heat 1 T oil and fry prawns until cooked, about 1 minute on each side, set aside. In a paella pan or a large non-stick pan, heat the remaining oil, add garlic and onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add pimenton, salt, and kasuba, stir for 1 minute. Add chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes, then add chorizo and red bell pepper, cook for 1 minute. Add rice, stirring frequently until almost brown, about 3 minutes, then add 2 cups broth and saffron. Let come to a boil, cover, cook over medium-low heat until almost dry, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the broth and tomatoes, then mix in the prawns (reserve a few to decorate top of paella), cover and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the sweet peas evenly on top, cover and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. Arrange the reserved shrimps and pimientos on top. Enjoy.

This is the simplest paella I make, there are a lot of ingredients to prepare but cooking is pretty easy, I think. The best part is the tutong (burnt bottom). Carmen, let me know how it turned out.

Paella

Paella is one dish I make regularly and I'm sorry I can't post the recipe because I don't have one. I developed my own recipe from a variety of Filipino and Spanish cookbooks to suit our taste which may not appeal to others. I don't measure some of the ingredients, I add them as I cook, and I eyeball and taste it if it needs more liquid, salt, etc. The following recipe is not the one I use but it's close enough. This recipe from FAVORITE FILIPINO RECIPES by Pat Limjuco Dayrit is rich and elaborate with lots of seafood.

Paella2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1½ inch pieces
2 lbs chicken, cut into 1½ inch pieces
1 lb large prawns, shelled with tails intact and deveined
½ cups extra virgin olive oil plus extra for browning the chicken, pork and prawns
3 large crabs
2 cups clams

½ teaspoons Spanish pimenton (paprika)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Spanish chorizos, thinly sliced
3 cups rice
½ cup tomato sauce
6 cups clam broth
1 small bay leaf
salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon saffron mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup frozen peas
2 pieces pimento, cut into 1-inch squares
2 hard boiled eggs

• In a skillet, heat some oil and brown the chicken and pork pieces, set aside.
• Salt the prawns and brown in oil, set aside. Boil crabs and quarter. Boil clams and remove the empty top shells. Set both aside.
• In a paellera, heat olive oil, add chicken, pork, garlic, onion, paprika, green pepper and chorizo. Toss for a few minutes and add unwashed rice and stir until rice is slightly brown. Add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir a few times then add prawns. Bring to a boil. Add saffron and water. Cover and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and arrange clams, crabs, frozen peas and pimento on top. Cover and bake another 5 minutes. Serve with sliced boiled eggs.

I prefer to have my paella with wedges of boiled eggs and lemon

I also made mango ice cream, so creamy, so good and refreshing after working in the garden for 3 hours