Paella Valenciana

Method

1. Brown the chicken pieces and put aside. Clean, chop and lightly fry the squid, put aside with chicken.

2. Sweat onions and garlic with pepper, add the bay leaves and reserve. Take one box of saffron and add to warm water and leave to infuse.

3. Fry the rice in the paella dish in olive oil until the oil is hot and the rice translucent and not quite browning. In a proportion of approx. 2/3 cup of good stock to one cup of rice, flood the rice in the paella dish and add the saffron liquid — it is a bad idea to stir as the rice becomes glutinous so shake the paella to keep it from sticking and to help it absorb the stock.

4. Meanwhile sweat the mussels in white wine and shelling some, leave a few in their half shells as garnish.

5. The chorizo can be lightly fried at this time too (or done much earlier — keep some for tapas).

6. Add the prawns (again leaving some with their coats and whiskers on for garnish).

7. Add the mussels which mustn’t overcook, then as the rice swells with the absorbed stock, tomatoes in quarters, the chicken, chorizo and squid.

8. Allow to heat thoroughly through while the rice absorbs the rest of the stock without becoming tight. Season with generous amounts of pepper and salt (unless your stock is already salted) and garnish with the half mussels, the whiskery prawns, some loosely chopped flat parsley and a few nasturtium flowers — add a good few quartered lemons and serve hot in the paella — salut.
   This recipe is from Giana Ferguson of Gubbeen cooking