After enjoying paella in restaurants, are you ready to try your hand at one of the many versions of this classic Spanish dish.
In Paella (Phaidon Press, July 2011), Alberto Herraiz shares 108 recipes that detail the art the paella.
He goes in detail over stocks, fumets, infused oils (whether it's with Sardines or Jamon Iberico), rice of course, techniques, cooking utensils and pans.
As to how to eat paella, the chef from Fogon in Paris suggests you should eat it "straight from the pan because the differences in texture are destroyed when the rice is spooned onto plates. Each diner should be given a wooden spoon to help themselves."
Here's a first taste of the book.
Arroz en Paella con Vino Y Cordoniz
Paella Rice with Red Wine and Quails
Preparation time: 35 minutes (excluding stock)
Cooking time: 17 minutes
Serves: 2
It is important to make this rice dish in a stainless steel paella pan so that the ingredients retail their attractive violet color:
For an extra fine texture, use at 41-cm (16-inch) paella pan suitable for us on the stove and in the oven.
Ingredients:
500ml (1¾ cups) Quail Stock (Page 51)
50ml (¼ cup) Garlic Oil (page 60) or ordinary olive oil
2 quail, boned, filleted and legs removed (ask your butcher to give you the bones so you can make the stock)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
200g (1/3 cup) turnip, diced
50g (scan ½ cup) carrots, cut into 2-mm (¼-inch) thick rounds
100g (scant 1 cup) red onions, thinly sliced
200ml (scant 1 cup) red wine
100ml (scant ½ cup) sherry vinegar
200g (1 cup) bomba or other short grain rice
6 peeled chestnuts
salt
Instructions:
Heat the Quail Stock but do not allow it to boil. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
Heat the Garlic Oil in the paella pan over moderate heat, add the quail meat (except the legs) and sauté for several minutes until browned all over. Take them out of the pan and set aside, covered with aluminum foil.
Add the garlic, quail legs, red cabbage, turnips, carrots and onions and sauté over moderate heat for several minutes until softened. Pour in the wine and the vinegar and allow to reduce until there is hardly any liquid left in the pan.
Add the rice and cook over low heat for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula, until thoroughly coated and translucent; do not allow the rice to burn.
Add the chestnuts. Pour in the very hot Quail Stock, stir and bring to a boil. If you have a timer, set it to 17 minutes. Cook over very high heat for 5 minutes until the rice rises to the surface of the liquid. Taste and season with salt, if necessary, bearing in mind that the flavors will become more pronounced as the liquid evaporates. Put the paella in the preheated oven. After 9 minutes, arrange the quail meat over the top of the paella and return it to the oven.
After 3 minutes, remove the paella from the oven. Allow it to rest for 3 minutes, then serve.
(* Recipe reproduced by permission of Phaidon Press, all rights reserved)