Cooking Basic For Adults Session 3

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Rainbow Recreation Center Culinary Academy
                                                                             
Session 3: PAELLA On The Menu

What is Paella?  Paella's history originates in the Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain adjacent to the city of Valencia.
Paella is a Spanish dish of rice, saffron, herbs, spices, vegetables, chicken, or shellfish cooked and served in a large shallow pan.

Our Paella rendition was slightly changed, Chef Scott's choice of meats for today is chicken and pork. Paella pans are used for this process but we substituted using medium-sized skillets.


As usual, Chef Scott completed the Paella meal before our arrival. Everyone was welcomed to taste his Paella before we got started on our own. Chef Scott lined up all the ingredients we needed on the marble counter except the meat, which was brought out after the discussion. With hands washed and aprons on we gathered around the counter as Chef Scott explained how all ingredients would be processed to make a successful pan of Paella.

The ingredients used for our Paella is as follows:

deboned Chicken thigh and deboned pork chop diced to bite size pieces.

Salt

Pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive oil to cook meat until done and brown

1 Cup Cut green beans- Fresh or frozen

1 Cup Lima beans-Fresh or frozen

4  or 5 cloves chopped garlic

1 handful of parsley chopped, to add a the end

 1/4 tea of saffron sprigs

1-1/2 Tablespoon smoked paprika

1 Medium size sprig fresh rosemary

 A cup of Arborio rice

1/2 Cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 Cup chicken broth

Using Chicken only  I washed it and pat dry, then moved the chicken to my cutting board and with a sharp knife removing excess fat then I began to cut the chicken in bite-size pieces. I placed the chicken into a bowl setting it aside before frying.  My next step was taking the knife and cutting board to the sink, washing with dish soap and water scrubbing them both well to rid of any chance of cross-contamination.

My next step was to get the skillet heated adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I season my chicken with little salt and pepper safely moved it to the skillet of hot olive oil to fry. Being in close proximity to my cutting board I began dicing garlic while keeping an eye on the chicken. With the dicing done I returned to the chicken making sure all sides were browning.

Next,  I added the cut green bean and limas to the cooked chicken and mixed in all remaining ingredients, one after another tomato sauce,, rice, broth, saffron, garlic, rosemary,  and smoked paprika.
All ingredients were gently stirred but not too often. Chef Scott informed us that stirring often will cause the starch to release quickly from the race and this we must avoid. Paella is cooked with high heat until the liquid absorbs into the rice. When the rice is tender parsley is sprinkled on as a topper your Paella is ready to be served.

Saffron called threads are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and coloring agent in food.

Saffron is the most costly spice by weight. Wikipedia

The Paella Presentation

Paella, in my opinion, can be listed as an easy meal to prepare, it doesn't take long to cook. Paella is a new experience for me, it is a very tasty meal, a meal I am sure my family and friends will enjoy with it's bursting flavors of saffron and other accompanying meats, rice, vegetables, herbs, and spices.

This concludes PAELLA On The Menu.

 Come back next week for Session 4 as prepare our next surprise dish at the Culinary Academy'S Cooking Basics for Adults with Chef Scott Marsh.

Gerry DeBerry