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Healthy easy recipes - Perfect Paella

Introduction to the perfect healthy easy recipe for Paella

I have always loved Paella. Sitting in a Spanish cafe and tucking in to a mountain of fishy, slightly spiced, lemony rice with a cold glass of beer or wine is one of life's best pleasures. I am a very keen cook, but I had always been slightly nervous about the big pan, the different type of rice and all the shells and fish bits that I did not have the confidence to cope with. So whilst on holiday this year, I decided to try and create the perfect paella recipe from scratch.

I was not allowed any cook books or access to the internet and so it was only my intuition and a bit of guess work that I had to call on. There was added pressure as I was cooking dinner for 7 mates in the villa, we were miles from anywhere and if I messed-up, we would go hungry! Here is how the experiment with the Spanish national dish went.

Background

On the holiday we had already eaten copious quantities of food but my manorexia was over ruled by a sudden urge to cook up a the Spanish fishy feast!

I had spied the huge Paella pan in the kitchen two days earlier and despite having never cooked one before, I knew that with an audience of 7 friends, I had to have a go at making one whilst in Spain. Once I had a plan it was off to do the shopping (in the hottest car I have ever had this misfortune to sit!). Healthy easy recipes are never easy to find and so I was on a mission to create a tasty, well balanced and perfect Paella!

After a big and laborious trip to the supermarket (in the hot car) I was ready to start cooking what I thought would be the best Paella ever. Even with no recipe, I think I managed to get the right balance and as we ate it whilst in Spain with the sun on our back it was perfect. Here is the recipe in full; enjoy!

Ingredients – Serves 8 to 10 hungry people

1kg Paella rice

4 Oranges (juiced)

1 Lemon (juiced)

2 Large Onions (Chopped)

2Kg Chopped Tomatoes

1 Large bunch of chopped Parsley

1/2 a bulb of garlic, finely chopped

3 Huge red peppers, charred, de-skinned, de-seeded and sliced

Lots of Salt and Pepper

2-3 tablespoons light soy sauce

3 Tablespoons Ras el hanout

1 Tablespoon Cayenne pepper

7-9 Saffron strands

2 litres chicken stock

1 Bottle of white wine

2kg Fresh, raw prawns

1kg baby squid

2 Large Cod fillets

100g butter (melted)

150ml good of olive oil

Method

Cut up the onion, garlic and tomatoes chopping them roughly into large chunks. Char the 3 peppers on the BBQ or on the oven top until black and blistered on the outside and soft and tender inside, remove the skin and slice thinly.

Melt 100g of butter with 100ml of olive oil in a large Paella pan. Once warmed add 3 tablespoons of Ras el hanout, about 1 tablespoon of Cayenne pepper and 1 tablespoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes until fragrant and then tip in 1kg of raw rice and stir until fully coated. Fry the rice for about 5-10 minutes in the spiced oil and butter mix.

Once the rice is lightly toasted remove from the pan into a large bowl and leave to cool. 

Place about 8 strands of Saffron into half a cup of nearly boiling water to steep.

Add 50ml more olive oil into the pan and fry about 300g of chopped up chorizo, put in the onion and garlic.Cook on a medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it does not stick. The onion should be translucent, soft, sweet and tinged slightly with brown. Now add the garlic and saffron with its bright orange steeping juices and cooked for 5 minutes.

Place the charred pepper, tomatoes and the juice of 4 oranges and 1 lemon along with half a bottle of white wine into the mix. Cook down for about 30 minutes.

Once the mixture has thickened and reduced add the paella rice. Along with the rice, add 2 litres of chicken stock and the remaining half bottle of white wine. For a bit of sweetness put in 1 teaspoon of sugar to give the Paella some body. Now slurp in circa 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce......

Keep an eye on the pan and stir occasionally to ensure that the paella does not stick. This should take about half an hour or so.

Once almost all absorbed, it is time to add the fish and turn up the heat. Place the chopped up the parsley into the pan. Simmered for about 10 minutes and adjusted the seasoning, lemon and soy sauce.

Serve with wine and sunshine! A healthy easy recipe for Paella and my male eating disorder could not care less about the calories consumed.