Paella By Nieves
On my last visit to Spain I met a very pleasent woman and a great home cook by the name of Nieves. Nieves is from a little village just outside of Madrid called Alcala de Henaves whos citizens pride themself on making the best paellas in all of Spain. I’ve tryed many diffrent versions of paella and have made some good efforts myself but I have to admit: Nieves’ paella was a delisious and memorable experience!
It had a lot to do with the fact that it was cooked at home and with a lot of love…..and probably something to do with the shrimp still having their heads, and that only the dark chicken meat was used, and the newspapers for covering were all about soccer…..
And here it is! Paella by Nieves:
5 chicken thighs cut in half
1 small onion cut in large pieces
300 grams calamari
300-500 grams shrimp (peeled except for a few)
300 grams chirlas (small clams, left in water for
awhile so they lose the sand)
2 1/2 cups rice
3 teeth of garlic, diced fine
2 or 3 tomatoes peeled (or from a can)
Place chicken, calamari (cut in slices) and onion (cut
in large pieces) in a pot with a good amount of olive
oil and salt. Cook on low heat, mix occasionally.
When calamari can be cut easily with a fork, it’s done
(approx. 25 minutes). Remove chicken and calamari and
set aside for later, remove onion from pot and throw
away, keep the liquid in the pot.
Dice garlic in very small pieces, put in pan with
enough oil to cover the pan entirely, put on high
heat. After a minute, add tomato cut in medium
pieces, let the tomato soften until it can all be
smushed down with a fork. Add the clams, mix
everything around until all of the clams open. Add
shrimp, mix everything till shrimp are a bit cooked.
Add rice and 1-2 tbsp. salt, mix for a few minutes
till rice is sauteed. Add calamari.
Add ~7 cups of water to liquid from chicken and
calamari, add saffron and bring to a boil. Add most
(but not all) of the water to the rice. Bring to a
boil and put on high heat, mixing occasionally and
tasting to see if it needs more salt. After 10-15
minutes, add chicken and push it towards the bottom of
the pan. Do not mix the paella anymore, but
occassionally push the rice from the middle of the pan
towards the sides, shake the paella dish and change
its position over the heat. Add more water as the
water in the pan evaporates, the oil will go towards
the edge of the dish, with a spoon put some of it back
towards the center. When the water is consumed, taste
the rice to see if its ready, if its not add more
water.
When its ready, remove from the heat. Cover with a
clean towel, then cover with newspaper. Let rest for a bit…..and enjoy!
