Paella

I am so excited to introduce to you my featured dish on this article since it is one of my favorite and definitely an all time favorite of mine because it has a lot of ingredients in it. I am a meat lover, not all kinds of meat but don't get me wrong I also love eating vegetables but on this article, I will be featuring Paella. Paella which is originated in Albufera in Valencia, is discovered in the mid 19th century. During the Spanish colonization in Philippines, most of the Spanish had influenced Filipinos their culture including food and of course that includes this recipe.  Most of the non Spaniards thought that Paella is Spain's national food but actually they (Spanish) only recognize it as Valencian's regional dish.  This dish has a lot of versions too but the traditional Paella are composed of land meat that includes rabbit, chicken, land snail and duck but in this article we will be trying to cook a mixed Paella.

The ingredients are:

12 black mussels
125ml/4fl oz white wine
11⁄2 small red onions, chopped
125ml/4fl oz olive oil
1 small skinless chicken breast
fillet, cut into bite-size pieces
12 raw prawns, peeled and
deveined
100g/4oz cleaned squid rings
100g/4oz skinless cod fillet, cut
into bite-size cubes
1 rasher smoked back bacon,
finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and finely
chopped
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
75g/3oz chorizo, thinly sliced
pinch of cayenne pepper
200g/7oz long-grain rice
1⁄4 teaspoon saffron threads
500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
75g/3oz fresh peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
flat-leaf parsley
salt and ground black pepper

The procedure:

Scrub the mussels with a stiff brush and pull out the hairy beards.
Discard any broken mussels or open ones that do not close when tapped
on the work surface.

Heat the wine and onion in a large pan. Add the mussels, cover and
gently shake the pan for 4–5 minutes over a high heat. After 3 minutes,
begin removing any opened mussels and set aside. At the end of
5 minutes, discard any unopened mussels. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen
paper, then cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the
pan and set aside. Add the prawns, squid and cod to the pan, and cook
for 1 minute. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Add the bacon, garlic and red
pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomato, chorizo and cayenne.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, then
add the rice and mix well.

In a heavy saucepan, blend the saffron with the stock and mix well.
Bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for
15 minutes, without stirring.

Put the peas, chicken, prawns, squid and cod on top of the rice. Using a
wooden spoon, push pieces into the rice, cover and cook over a low
heat for 10–15 minutes until the rice is tender and seafood cooked. Add
the mussels for the last 2 minutes to heat. Serve sprinkled with parsley.