Category Archives: Paella Preparation

Chorizo Chipotle Refried Bean

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Chorizo Chipotle Refried Bean
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetiser
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
Always a party favorite, this version of refried beans get their flavor from caramelized onions, tangy Mexican chorizo and smokey chipotle peppers.
Ingredients
  • 1 Medium Onion
  • 1lb Mexican Chorizo
  • 1 7oz. Can of Chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce
  • 2 Cups of Chicken Stock
  • 4 Cups of canned or fresh refried beans
Instructions
  1. Lightly brown chorizo and cook onion in leftover grease.
  2. Coarsely chop onion and sautee until caramelized.
  3. Combine beans, chorizo and onions in pan over medium heat.
  4. Puree chipotle peppers in blender and add to bean mix, stir well.
  5. Add chicken stock until you get desired consistancy and simmer for 10 mins.
  6. Make sure to stir constantly while simmering.
  7. Get your favorite cerveza, chips and enjoy!
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Traditional Seafood Paella

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If you want to pick a fight amongst paella chefs just criticize their method and authenticity of paella recipe. Truth be told it would be extremely difficult to categorize any paella made in the states as truly traditional and authentic. Spaniards specially those from Valencia have a long and rich tradition with paella and by no means do we want to insult that tradition by our attempts at recreating their world famous culinary export. That being said with all due respect to my fellow Spaniards, I present my version of an authentic paella. Along with this recipe please view my previous video post on making a basic paella.

Paella de Mariscos

Seafood Paella with green mussels, clams, prawns & black mussels.

Recipe: Traditional Seafood Paella

Summary: The ultimate Seafood Paella with assorted shell fish.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 2 Thai chiles
  • 30 Threads of saffron
  • 2 Medium onions, coarsely chopped
  • 3 Cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 cups of sofrito
  • 2 cups of white wine
  • 6-8 cups of seafood stock
  • 2 tbls of Paella Guy seasoning
  • 1/2lb of cubed pork, chicken & chorizo
  • 3 cups of short grain rice
  • 1/2lb of prawns
  • 1 dozen green lip mussels
  • 1 dozen black mussels
  • 1 dozen manila clams
  • 1/2lb of peas
  • 1/2lb roasted bell peppers
  • Lemons for garnish

 Instructions

  1. Saute pork, chicken & chorizo until browned and set aside
  2. Saute bell peppers 3-4 minutes
  3. Pour olive oil into paella pan followed by Thai peppers
  4. After peppers turn color, throw in onions and saute until slightly browned
  5. Throw in garlic and cook 2-3 minutes followed by pork, chicken & chorizo
  6. Add sofrito & wine, cook until wine evaporates
  7. Add the stock and make sure to keep your rice to liquid ratios at 1:2
  8. Place saffron in mortar and grind to fine dust & add to paella pan
  9. Add rice to pan in even layer
  10. Begin placing your seafood starting with shell fish and ending with prawns.
  11. **See my video post to learn how I decorate paella
  12. After paella comes to rolling boil, turn heat down by 25% and maintain until most of the liquid has evaporated
  13. Continue to cook at a slightly lower flame to avoid burning and to build La Soccarat
  14. **Review my video on La Soccarat for more details on how to accomplish the crusty bed of rice at the bottom of the pan
  15. Remove from heat let stand a few minutes and enjoy with a great bottle of vino, salud!

Preparation time: 1 hour(s)

Cooking time: 55 minute(s)

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating 5 stars:  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

La Soccarat Achieving Perfection

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Checkout the video for additional tid bits on creating the perfect soccarat.

I have prepared hundreds of paellas and I can assure you that there is a way to achieve soccarat perfection. Soccarat is the slightly crusty flavor enhanced caramelized layer of crunchy rice that forms on the bottom of the paella pan. It’s open to debate but, my definition does not include any part of the dish being burnt or slightly burnt. A burnt uterly black crust does not equal soccarat.  A black crust is devoid of flavor adds a bitter after taste and destroys all the delicate flavors you’ve worked so hard to incorporate into the paella.

My process for attaining La Soccarat starts from the moment you begin the paella and involves heat management all through the cooking process until the end. My method may run counter to what you’ve read on the web but, I guarantee that if you follow the procedure you will attain soccarat nirvana.

So let’s get started…

First thing, I start off with my oil and usually add a tablespoon or two more than I actually need to saute my onions and other ingredients. Since this is not a discussion on preparing a paella recipe, we’ll dispense with the other details.

Once your paella is fully assembled and all your ingredients are in and you’re at a rolling boil (usually at 220 degrees), it’s time to begin the heat management cycle.  Look at the surface of your paella and you’ll notice a slight film of olive oil introduced early in the process. If you evaporate your stock too quickly, this thin film of olive oil will remain atop all the ingredients as the evaporation takes place.

What I’ve learned to do is reduce the heat about 25% after reaching a rolling boil, this slows down the evaporation of stock and gives the oil time to reach the bottom. As the surface of the paella begins to show signs of evaporation, I continue to monitor the heat and reduce ever so slightly. Heat management is very important at this point because the bottom of the paella will always be hotter than the surface. The surface may show lots of liquid but, the bottom of the pan can quickly dry out and burn the bottom layer of rice. Heat management allows for proper cooking and helps with generating a great soccarat.

Once all visible liquid is gone, I turn down the heat and keep an eye on the bottom surface by scratching with a fork. Doing this lets me know how dry the bottom surface is and serves as a hint to keep an open ear for the crackle.

At this point a slight crackle in the paella will become noticeable, the bottom of the pan is dry of liquid and a slight frying action is taking place between the rice and residual sugars and oil that has managed to reach the bottom of the pan. I typically maintain this crackling for about 4-6 minutes during which a uniform layer of crunchy golden brown rice will form at the bottom of the pan. By maintaining a low flame on the paella burner, the soccarat has time to build up over a longer time and lower temperature without burning. I’ve seen many articles that suggest cranking up the heat towards the end but, without prior planning doing so only aggravates an already burnt paella.

This process may take practice but once you’ve mastered it, you’ll be assured of creating a perfect soccarat every time you cook paella. Unlike cooking on an open fire, this method works for gas burners with a constant steady flame. Most paella burners are extremely susceptible to small breezes that can throw off your flame and consequently how your paella cooks. Good luck and let me know if this works for you.