Paella para ella

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Paella. The national dish of Spain. Awesome in its simplicity, awesome in its complexity. This particular version, my 'Signature Dish' if you like, has evolved over 3 years taking into account the comments of insiders (Spaniards) and outsiders (foreigners) alike until one person alone nodded satisfaction and so to her I am going to dedicate it. I first produced this according to a recipe aired on English TV by "celebrity chef" Ainsley Harriet and that result was shared between myself, an American customer of mine, a neighbour who ran a Spanish bar, and her spanish clientele. I can't remember the neighbour's name just now but she came from Denmark and wasn't making any profit from the bar and had no other means to support herself. We had already become neighbourly friends and she would often come over to me in despair of her business but this particular evening she came over obviously hungry and in tears (her bar was empty as was her belly and her purse) so I said "give me an hour, I will cook, then you will eat." Which is what happened. What I didn't know at the time was that the meal (my paella a la Ainsley Harriet) that she took back to her bar was shared between herself and two spanish customers who just happened to arrive as she returned and who, when I went over to get the cutlery and crockery back a while later gave me a standing ovation, literally. But the credit wasn't really mine - it was Ainsley Harriet's because I'd written the recipe down blow for blow on a piece of scrap paper as he produced it in a TV studio. Then the inevitable happened, I lost the piece of paper, and, woe is me, the recipe hasn't been published on the Internet. In a book yes but here in Spain that book is not easy to acquire. Memory had a major part to play now and, as it happened, did me more-or-less proud but also causing me to develop a passion for all things 'paella'. Like everybody else in this world I love good food and I just happen to have a friend who is also passionate about a good paella. So here we have a common ground, good food, and, in particular, a good paella. The fact that we can't discuss our food in intimate detail because we are both from different foreign lands is immaterial, there are other ways to express appreciation and we both grab every opportunity to do just that. Together we have sampled paellas all over the local coastal area and I have listened to, noted and acted upon the best comments/impressions until my version received a 'wow' factor of 10 from somebody who's opinion in the matter I have come to trust. Do I need to introduce you?
I don't think so.

Paella para Ella or Paella Lary
(Based on a recipe by Ainsley Harriet)
There are no quantities...I prefer Floyd's technique of "chuck in what looks right". Everything is optional except the rice and turmeric/saffron!!

INGREDIENTS
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Green/Red/Yellow Peppers
Chorizo Sausage skinned and sliced
Chicken breast bitesize dice
Prawns
Mussels..................(not used in original)
Clams (cockles?)....(not used in original)
A few Langostinos (large prawns for Garnish)
Short grain rice
Turmeric
Paprika
Stock (Fish is best, chicken will do, beef will not.)
Tomatoes (skinned, seeded, chopped) (tinned? I've used'em)
Peas - frozen are good

METHOD
Throw the Chorizo into the paellera with a glug of Olive oil for a few
minutes then add sliced onion, peppers and garlic, fry til softening. Add
chicken to brown. Chuck in some tumeric (for colour) and some Paprika (for flavour) and stir through. Add rice (TIP - just cover the contents of the pan with a layer of rice. That will give you the correct amount for that pan) and turn over in the pan to coat with oil. Add stock, tomatoes and peas then cook until rice is tender adding more stock as needed (upwards of a litre or more may be required in a 12inch/31cms pan). At an appropriate time add the seafood to cook or heat through. Stand for a few minutes covered with foil when finished.

SERVICE
Dress the pan with lemon wedges and whole Langostinos, unshelled cooked seafood, whatever. Serve at the table (preferably with everyone communually eating straight from the pan!).

NOTES
Paella is always allowed to "stick" (but not burn) in the final few minutes
of cooking. Spaniards will fight for a portion of the caramelised crustiness (known as socarrat) from the bottom of the pan. But of course todays nonstick pans are putting an end to that classical way.

The ideal rice for Paella is the Spanish "Bomba" rice but, unfortunately, it is more-or-less unheard of outside Spain.