Paella Valenciana

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken
• 500 g rabbit
• 20 g salt
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 500 g diced
• 2 liters water
• 125 g haricot beans
• 125 g runner beans
• 8–10 threads saffron and/or 1½ teaspoons yellow food coloring
• 400 g calasparra rice
• 6–8 branches rosemary

Steps

1. Clean the snails, poultry, and rabbit thoroughly.
2. Cut the poultry and rabbit into small pieces and salt them generously.
3. Pour olive oil in a paellera and, when hot, sauté the poultry and rabbit pieces until golden brown.
4. Add the green peppers and sauté for 1 minute.
5. Add the garlic and sauté until brown.
6. Be careful.
7. Garlic burns easily.
8. Once the garlic is brown, add the paprika followed quickly by the tomatoes to prevent the paprika from burning.
9. Sauté until the tomatoes become dark and pulpy and the mixture has reduced a bit.
10. Add the water and bring it to a rolling boil.
11. Then add the snails, fresh haricot beans (if canned, continue reading to see when to add these), runner beans, and saffron (and/or food coloring).
12. Allow the mixture to boil for 10 minutes over a high flame.
13. Sweep a rosemary branch through the broth for no longer than 30 seconds.
14. Then remove it.
15. After 10 minutes have passed, you should have a flavorful broth.
16. It is customary at this point to allow your dinner guests to taste it.
17. The purpose is to determine if the broth needs more salt.
18. If so, add more salt, a pinch at a time, until everybody is satisfied.
19. Add the rice and stir it using the rice skimmer.
20. Then, once again with the skimmer, spread the rice over the bottom of the paellera.
21. The coating of rice should be one centimeter thick.
22. Let it cook over a high flame for 10 minutes.
23. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 4 minutes.
24. Add the canned haricot beans, reduce the heat again to low, and let it simmer for another 4 minutes.
25. Taste the rice frequently to determine when it is fully cooked.
26. You will know it is done when it is slightly firm to the bite.
27. Italians use a similar approach when cooking pasta, which they refer to as al dente.
28. At this point, there should be some toasted rice sticking to the bottom of the pan.
29. This is a delicacy in Valencia called socarrat.
30. If no socarrat has developed, increase the flame to high and listen for the crackling sound of rice toasting at the bottom.
31. Remove the pan from the heat when the rice is almost dry.
32. Place the unused rosemary branches on top.
33. Cover with a clean, white towel (a white towel prevents dye from leeching onto the paella).
34. Wait 5 minutes before serving to allow the rice to absorb the remaining broth.