Hama Hama Paella
Paella, the national food of Spain, is a one-pot rice dish flavored with saffron. The dish can be made with vegetables, seafood, chicken, or a mix. Yum!
Notes:
One of the hallmarks of the finished dish is the socarrat - the crispy crust that forms on the bottom of the pan. This crust gets caramelized and toasty and adds texture and flavor to the rest of the dish.
Sofrito (a Spanish word meaning lightly fried) refers to a flavorful base for the dish.
Where'd your kit ingredients come from?
- Yodelin Broth Company for rich and savory saffron halibut soup
- Drifters Fish with the juicy spot prawns
- Coro Foods has the flavorful Agrumi salami
- and last but not least, manila and savory clams from the beaches around Hama Hama!
Kit Ingredients
- 2lbs clams (manila and/or savory work well)
- Agrumi salami
- 1/2lb spot prawns
- 2 jars Yodelin broth saffron soup
- Paella rice
Other Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white wine- pinot grigio or similar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 yellow summer squash (or patty pan or crookneck), diced
- 2 tbsp butter, diced
- 1/2 cup snap peas, sliced
- 1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon squeezed to garnish
- black pepper
14-16" paella pan (if you don't have a paella pan, a cast iron skillet will work. No cast iron skillet? Use your best option. It should be at least 2-3" deep.
Procedure
Dice ½ of the salami (see note above) and prepare the rest of the ingredients from above list.
Heat ¼ cup EVOO over a medium high heat, then saute the onion, cherry tomatoes, and salami. Saute these ingredients to make your sofrito (see note above).
When the onion is translucent to slightly brown, add ½ of the package of rice (500g). Stir until fully coated in the sofrito, then add a cup of white wine. Stir to deglaze the pan, then add both pints of Yodelin broth. (If your pan threatens to overflow, you can add the broth in stages, adding more as rice absorbs it).
Once all the liquid is in the dish, spread the rice evenly. At this point, don’t stir the rice any more to allow the socarrat to develop (see note above). Cook for 10 minutes. If you’re using an open flame or charcoal, rotate the pan periodically to adjust for any hot spots.
Add the clams, arranging them in the rice. Cook for 5 minutes. (If you get worried about the dish being too dry, you can cover it with tinfoil - this is not a traditional technique but it’ll work in a pinch.)
Add the prawns, submerging the thickest part of the tail into the rice, leaving the tip sticking up. Scatter the squash and butter on top. If not using butter, add another glug of olive oil. (The extra fat will help the socarrat develop). Let it steam until the squash is soft and the prawns are firm.
Garnish with the snap peas, squeeze of lemon, black pepper, and parsley.
Serve with a salad and side of bread and butter, and enjoy!
A few drink pairings we'd recommend:
- Bohigas Cava (a Spanish sparkling wine we serve in the Oyster Saloon)
- Rioja Rose, a fruity, fresh, and bright wine from the Rioja wine region in Spain
- Txakolina, a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol
- Verdejo, a type of white wine made from a green-skinned grape variety that is mainly grown in Spain
- and if you'd like to pair a beer we'd recommend a bright, crisp lager or Estrella beer if you can find it!