Paella a la Maestre

The recipe for Paella a la Maestre is provided courtesy of the chef, Miguel Maestre and is from his cookbook Miguel’s Tapas.

Sitting with Chef Miguel Maestre over dinner last night at his new restaurant, I remarked that paella is a man’s dish. That’s right! It is “for her” he said - the men do the cooking. So fellas, this one’s for you.

Paella a la Maestre
Serves : 4-6
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
400g (13oz) Calasparra rice
500 (1lb) mussels, cleaned
2 king prawns
1 blue swimmer crab, cleaned, quartered
4 calamari hoods, cleaned
4 yabbies
2 litres (64 fl oz) fish or chicken stock
salt and pepper
200g fresh or frozen peas
2 lemons, halved
2 limes, halved
chopped parsley, to garnish

sofrito

150 ml (5 fl oz) olive oil
3 teaspoons sherry vinegar
3 large ripe oxheart tomatoes
1/2 chorizo sausage
3 pink eschallots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 piquillo peppers
1/2 bunch thyme, leaves only
1/2 bunch mint
1/2 bunch coriander
1 bunch chives
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon spicy paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

To make sofrito, place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large paella pan. Add rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the rice turns from white to transparent.

Stir in 12 large tablespoons of the sofrito. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the seafood and stock. Season. Cook over medium heat without stirring, for about 25 minutes until stock has been absorbed and rice is almost tender. Reduce heat to low, and cook for a further 3 minutes to form a nice ‘soccaradda’.

If hot plate is not as big as the pan, move around a little during cooking to ensure even heat. Add peas and remove from heat.

Stand covered with a teatowel for 5 minutes. Squeeze over lemons and limes and season. Garnish with parsley. Serve paella warm, not steaming hot.

Tip: never scrub a paella pan. Wash it carefully with hot water only.

Miguel’s Tapas by Miguel Maestre is published by New Holland and available in all good bookstores.