Catalan paella with hazelnuts and almonds | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

PAELLA Mixta
PAELLA Mixta
PAELLA Mixta

 

Of all the paella recipes I’ve encountered, one I recently tried is the most unusual. It’s a long way from the recipe I learned in Valencia, Spain, where the dish is said to have originated.

 

While the original sticks to the basic ingredients (asparagus, snails, artichokes, rabbit, paprika, and rosemary for a whiff of fragrance), chef Lluis Cantons Pesarrodona’s recipe deviates radically. He uses neither paprika nor rosemary and he definitely doesn’t use snails or rabbit.

 

To top it all, he cooks paella with a mixture of hazelnuts and almonds. Nuts in a paella? The purists will have a fit.

 

But chef Lluis, who is the new executive chef of Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas Center (tel. 7207777), maintains that the nuts give paella a unique flavor.

 

“I learned it from my father,” he says. Called picada, the mixture contains toasted hazelnuts, almonds, fried garlic, fried parsley, breadcrumbs and water, all processed into a smooth paste in a food processor. It’s also what some chefs in his native Catalan region add to their paella.

 

Voluptuous flavor

 

There was no arguing with him about this once I tasted the paella mixta he prepared a la minute in Marco Polo’s Cucina Restaurant. The rice had a profound, voluptuous flavor, every grain full of the briny flavors of the sea. This was probably the result of the fish stock in which the rice was simmered, and an abundance of seafood that included clams, mussels, prawns and fish.

 

The nuts in the picada, however, hardly made their presence felt. Maybe they were meant to stay more in the background. All in all the result was a hearty and robust paella, with a moist consistency.

 

Best ingredients

 

Though he concedes that everyone can have their own recipe for paella, he believes that it’s important to use only the best ingredients. He uses saffron from Iran and paella rice from Spain. He also makes the sofrito and fish stock from scratch, and uses only the freshest seafood.

 

I tried to follow Lluis’ paella recipe at home—and found myself shopping and cooking for three days. Though I wasn’t able to include the picada, the result nevertheless was a full-bodied, scrumptious dish, worth every effort I put into assembling and cooking it.

 

Here, chef Lluis’ recipe for paella, which I’ve adjusted for the home cook.

 

Paella Mixta

 

For the fish stock:

2 k fish bones and trimmings (use white fish only, see tips)

½ c chopped onion

½ c chopped celery

½ c chopped carrots

2 bay leaves

9 pcs peppercorns

½ c dry white wine

2½ L (10 c) water

 

In a large stockpot, put together the fish bones and trimmings, chopped onion, celery, carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns, white wine and water.  Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, skimming the liquid often.

 

Strain the liquid very well through a fine sieve into a large container with a lid. Let cool before covering with the lid. If not using immediately, refrigerate the fish stock until ready to use (see tips).

 

For the sofrito:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 c chopped onion

1 c chopped green bell pepper

1 c chopped red bell pepper

1 bay leaf

1 k tomatoes, skin removed

 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and fry until golden brown. Stir in the chopped onions, green and red bell peppers and bay leaf. Cook, stirring continuously over medium heat, until softened.

 

Meanwhile grate the skinned tomatoes. Add the grated tomatoes to the pan and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from the heat.

 

For the paella:

¼ c olive oil

½ k chicken (thighs, wings)

½ k (about 8 pcs) prawns

½ k squid, skin and ink sacs removed, cut into rings

2½ c paella rice (see tips)

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1½ c prepared sofrito (recipe above)

5 c fish stock (recipe above)

Few threads saffron

Salt and pepper, to taste

½ k fish fillets

10-12 clams, parboiled (see tips)

10-12 mussels, parboiled (see tips)

 

Heat olive oil in a paellera or a large shallow pan. Add the chicken and let cook, stirring chicken continuously until almost brown. Add the prawns and sear them in the hot oil just until they turn orange. Remove the prawns from the pan.

 

Stir in the squid and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the rice and stir it around the pan. Mix in the garlic and the prepared sofrito, then pour in the prepared fish stock. Immediately add the saffron threads. Let simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Stir in the fish fillets, clams and mussels. Return the prawns to the pan. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the rice grains are fully cooked but there’s still enough liquid in the pan to keep the paella moist.

 

Alternatively, preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Put the paella pan in the oven and let cook until the rice grains are fully cooked but still moist.

 

Cook’s tips

 

Use the bones and trimmings only of white fish such as lapu-lapu, maya-maya, or sea bass. Do not use tanguige (mackerel) or other dark fish because their aroma is too strong.

 

You can buy fish bones and trimmings in the wet market for about P50 a kilo. SM Supermarket in Makati (and perhaps its other branches) also sells fish bones and trimmings for about P150 a kilo (depending on the current market price).

 

Use good-quality white wine. It has to be dry, not sweet, wine.

 

The recipe for fish stock will yield up to eight cups of liquid. Use what you need for this recipe, then store the rest in the freezer for up to four weeks.

 

You can prepare the fish stock and the sofrito a day before cooking the paella. Keep them in tightly covered containers in the refrigerator until ready to use. The fish stock will gel when chilled, so measure out what you need and put it in a microwave-safe container (return the rest to the refrigerator or keep it in the freezer). Microwave until it turns into liquid before using it for the paella.

 

Likewise, you can store the leftover sofrito and use it for other recipes. Sofrito is used as a base for many other recipes such as menudo and fritada.

 

Chef Lluis recommends paella rice, which has small, stubby grains that absorb the liquid well. This is available in one-kilo bags in Santis Delicatessen and Terry’s at about P360 per kilo. For this recipe, you will need only 500 grams (half a kilo) or 2½ cups of paella rice.

 

Buy only clams and mussels that are fresh. Their shells must be tightly shut. Do not buy clams and mussels if there’s a red tide alert. Alternatively, you can buy frozen mussels from New Zealand in the freezer section of S&R (which was where I bought my supply).

 

Before you start cooking the paella, parboil the clams and mussels in water —i.e., boil them until their shells open slightly.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

MOST VIEWED STORIES