Paella Valenciana

                                                                    

Paella is a dish we inherited from the Spaniards after centuries of being their colony. In the Philippines, the affluent, those families with Spanish roots and those who live in regions wth strong Spanish influences continue to serve and enjoy Paella during feasts celebrated on most special occasions.  Paella comes from the French word "paelle" which means pan, according to Wikipedia. Stories say that the Moorish origins of paella referred to a laborer's fare where  a mishmash of leftovers -vegetables, cured meats, seafoods and whatever can be thrown in to make a hearty meal. Similar to what we hear about the origins of Pasta Putanesca. So much for allegedly vulgar origins of what we think of as fine foods these days!  But it is actually a costly dish to prepare as it needs shrimps, crabs, good quality rice, olive oil, bacon slabs, chorizo and saffron, which are not exactly cheap in the Philippines. 

          When I went to Madrid, I was surprised to find paella to be a common table fare and came in different varieties.  How does our Paella compare with the Spanish Paella?  I am sure, with time and necessity and the innovativeness of the "indio", our Paella has evolved into something more Filipino than Spanish.  I found the Madrid version surpisingly soupy and had less condiments compared to what we have locally.     

          I started learning how to cook Paella when I was in college when a bunch of friends and I would go into cooking experiments during our summer breaks. We followed the Nora Daza recipe below which is quite tasty and which I have continued to follow to this day with very few revisions. It has been adjusted to the Filipino kitchen - using tomato sauce,glutinous rice and Ajinomoto and no mention of saffron. However, when I want authentic tasting Paella, I go to Tapella (tapas y paella) in Greenbelt 5. Their chorizo Paella is sooo good, they often run short.
         Paella is often served with wedges of lemon, specially those with lots of seafoods in it. An aioli sauce ( garlic flavored mayonnaise) also enhances its flavor. The next question is what to serve it with? 

         In Spain, it is eaten with tapas - eg. gambas al ajillo ( shrimps in garlic), mushrooms in olive oil, paper thin slices of jamor serrano, or a cold cuts and cheese platter and wine.  In the Philippines, it goes along with the fiesta dishes - Morcon, Menudo, Lechon, Pansit, Barbeque Pork, Pastel de Lengua, Fried Chicken, Lumpiang Shanghai, Leche Flan, Buco or Fruit Salad, all rich and saucy or greasy  and a a crazy mix of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish cuisines.  For our family parties, we keep it simple and serve it with grilled prawns or steaks, lambchops, meatloaf or roast chicken along with a green salad to match.  Sweet creamy Leche flan is the fitting finish to a meal with Paella for me.

             

Ingredients:
20 pieces mussels 

2 pcs crabs (optional - many don't want to be bothered by cracking crabs in a party!)

20 pcs or 250 gms medium sized shrimps

400 gm chicken, cut in bite sized pieces

1/8 cup olive oil

¼ kg pork, cut in serving pcs

150 gm ham or thick bacon slab, cut in 1 inch squares

4 pcs Purefoods chorizo de Bilbao (or other brand, same size), sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup long grain rice, washed
1 cup malagkit/glutinous rice, washed

3-4 cups broth from shrimps, chicken and mussels

1 pc red bell pepper. in thin strips  (reserve 8 strips for garnish)

10 pcs string beans

2 tsps salt

1 tsp Aji no moto

¼ cup peas

2 hard boiled eggs

1 sprig parsley

slices of lemon

Boil mussels in 1 1/2 cup water with 1-2 tsp salt. Set aside 1cup of broth. 

Boil crabs and shrimps together with a little salt. Set aside. 

Boil chicken bones with a little salt. Set broth aside.

Heat olive oil in steel pan or paelleria. Fry chicken, pork, ham,and chorizo. Cover until half done. Push to one side.

Saute garlic, onion and tomato sauce. Add half of the mussels, broth and rice. Mix everything together. When rice is halfway done, drop the red bell pepper, string beans and clams. Season with salt and Ajinomoto.

Cover tightly and allow to cook without stirring for 20 minutes or until all the broth is absorbed by the rice. Paella may be baked in the oven. Keep pan covered. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, put shrimps, crabs and peas on top. Garnish with sliced eggs, strips of pepper and parsley and lemon slices.