‘ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL’
I have just returned from a trip home to see my family in England. My sister informed me that my lucky neice had already left for her vacation in Mallorca. Although upset I would not get to see her and her family I was compensated by the beautiful memories that came flooding back!
Mallorca, nestled in the Mediterranean Sea, is one of my most favorite places in the world. This wonderful island holds some of my dearest memories, from visiting my cousins who lived there when I was young, working there during my late teens and finally the retreat that I took my family to when we need a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. My children almost ‘morphed’ into Spanish kids playing soccer in the village squares and sharing toys with the local children. They did not need to speak Spanish they had the common language of childhood, the language of openness and pure enjoyment. My husband had never been there before we met and was transfixed by the beauty of the island’s villages that are not well visited by the normal tourist and remain un-spoilt to this day.
During one of our visits we went to spend an evening with my cousins, Leslie who was born in England and Pablo her husband, who was born in Minorca. This particular evening, the sun was still warm and we sat on the patio drinking chilled wine. Pablo decided to cook traditional paella and my husband (not known at that stage for his cooking) decided he would like to learn. I am not sure whether it was his desire to cook for me or his engineering curiosity when he saw the burner that Pablo was going use. Traditionally the paella is cooked in a large round shallow pan, over an open flame but Pablo had invested in a Paella grill that was a round ring of lighted gas. Clive was curious and spent a long inspecting it, vowing to get one at home. So Clive’s lesson ensued and much to his surprise Paella is easy to cook and Pablo was a great teacher.
Whilst the paella was bubbling away we sat amidst the glorious smells of its flavor chatting and laughing. The evening couldn’t have been better; however we were wrong it soon became perfect. The next door neighbor, who stuck his head over the fence, asked us if we would like some fresh snails. My kids thought he meant ones to play with. Can you imagine their astonishment when we explained that he was going to cook them! In true European terms he appeared at the table 10 minutes later with a bowl of snails cooked in their shells. I thought my daughter would faint but she just stood there staring at them. I prayed that she would not scream or cry, she didn’t let me down! My son was the first to try them, he didn’t gag but he declined a second, my daughter point blank refused and soon all the adults’ tucked in. Before we knew it the Paella was ready and we all including the neighbors, sat down and enjoyed our feast.
My husband never got his burner but he is now the official Paella cook in our household and I his sous chef. Here is our version however paella can be cooked with a variety of meat and fish, according to your taste and what you have in your fridge.
INGREDIENTS
1 small onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove finely chopped
3 tomatoes skinned and diced or 14oz tin of diced tomatoes
½ cup olive oil
12 oz short grain rice or arborio rice
2 chicken breasts sliced
2 pork loin chops sliced
8 oz shrimp raw and peeled (medium size)
8 shrimp in shells (extra large)
15 mussels
½ red pepper sliced
½ green pepper sliced
2 pints of chicken stock
2 large pinches of saffron strands
½ cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in the paella pan or very large frying pan.
2. Fry the peppers until the edges are golden and remove from the pan. Set aside.
3. Sauté the onion until soft and opaque.
4. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for one minute.
5. Add the tomatoes and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the chicken and pork and gently cook until sealed on all sides.
7. Heat the chicken stock and wine in a separate pan with the saffron.
8. Stir the rice into the meat mixture making sure that all the grains are coated with the oil.
9. Add the enough stock to the paella pan to cover the meat and rice.
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Bring the paella to the boil and turn down the heat and simmer for about 30minutes or until the rice is just under cooked.
12. Continue to add the rest of the stock as needed throughout this cooking process.
13. Once rice is nearly done stir in the peeled shrimp and cook for a further 10 minutes
14. Whilst the paella is finishing cooking in a separate pan add a little boiling water and steam the mussels until opened. Discard any mussels that do not open.
15. In a separate frying pan melt some butter and dry the extra large shrimp until pink and cooked.
16. When paella rice is fully cooked and all the stock has been absorbed decorate the dish with the mussels, extra large shrimp and peppers.
17. Remove paella from the heat, cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
18. Serve with crusty bread.
Serves 6-8
