320g Bomba rice
700g Rabbit, skinned and chopped into small pieces
200g Prawns, uncooked
200g Mussels, cleaned and debearded
5 Tbsp of fresh tomato, puréed
60g runner beans, roughly chopped
1.8 dl of extra virgin olive oil
Pimenton dulce (sweet paprika)
A pinck of saffron threads
Sea salt
Water
A fresh sprig of rosemary
Tip #1: The first thing to pay attention too is your paella pan. It should be a good quality pan, made out of Carbon steel, whit a fairly heavy but thin, completely straight and with a dimpled bottom for even distribution of the heat. The handles should also be well secured to the pan with 2 bolts each which should be located in the middle of the pan side (it will make sense later).
Pour the olive oil into the paella and heat it up on a high flame. Once the oil starts to smoke turn the heat down to medium, add the rabbit, slightly salted, and fry until golden. This is one of the most important stages of the paella and it’s very important that all the meat shows a dark gold colour.
Tip #2: Rabbit is the Spanish choice of meat when it comes to paellas, for its flavour and tenderness, however it will go very well with hare, chicken or guinea fowl. Just make sure that whatever meat you cook, you do it on the bone as it will go very tough and dry otherwise.
Now add the runner beans, and give it a stir allowing them to soften for a couple of minutes.
At this point lower the flame to minimum and, with the help of your spoon, make a well in the centre of the pan. Add the tomato and lightly mix. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes before adding the pimenton to the well.
Now add your water, which should come up almost to the top. Add salt and allow to cook for about 30 minutes adding more water if it’s necessary. After 30 minutes the water should be at the same height as the paella handles.
Tip #3: I told you it would made sense, the bolts of the handles of a paella work as guides so we know when to introduce our rice
Tip #4: Before anything else try the stock and test for salt. The stock should be quite rich and slightly too salty as the rice will absorb most of the salt.
This is one of the most important stages, the adding of the rice. The rice should be added in a line across the paella and be above the stock by two centimetres. Now spread your saffron over the rice, and mix well until it looks uniform. Boil on a high heat for exactly 7 minutes until the rice starts to steam.
Tip #5: Bomba rice is slow growth rice that can absorve up to 3 times its volume, it will however retain its shape and give you a very specific flavour so please don’t use other type of rice instead.
Tip #6: The line starts and finishes in-between the bolts of the handles so you always know you made a straight line.
After the 7 minutes add your prawns and mussels, lower the heat to minimum and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add some fresh rosemary to the top.
Tip #7: make sure to give a scrub to the mussels and pull out their beards. If they are open give them a tap and see if they close back up, if so they are fine, if not discard them. Discard broken the ones with broken shells.
Now check if most of your stock has been absorbed and if so, cook for a further 5 minutes on a very low heat. If on the other hand your paella is still quite wet, have the paella cooking for the remaining 5 minutes on a medium heat. At the end the paella should be cooked for 17 minutes.
This is a difficult stage where you have to judge the state of your paella. However, bear in mind that it's always preferable to have a slightly wet paella, than a burnt one.
Now take the paella off the heat. Since the rice will keep on cooking it's important to let it rest for at least 5 minutes, covered with some foil. This stage will help any residual moisture to be absorbed and will make the rice softer.
Tip #8: Serve with a nice glass of Rioja.