- Control temperature level of a liquid to maintain a simmer. - Learn how to part cook food to prevent overcooking
Success Criteria:
- I can control temperature level to keep a liquid at a simmer. - I can part cook food to ensure it isn't overcooked.
Paella
Ingredients
1/2 chorizo, sliced 1 large onion, sliced 2 tbl sweet smoked paprika 1 chicken thigh, cut into 8 A knob of butter 200g paella or risotto rice 600ml hot chicken stock ½ red pepper, sliced 100g frozen peas
Method
Heat a large pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the chorizo, sliced, until it is golden and the oil is released. Remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
Add the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the sweet smoked paprika and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, then remove from the pan and put with the chorizo..
Heat a knob of butter in the pan and stir in the rice when it is melted.. Add hot chicken stock, stir well and cook for 10 minutes.
Return the chorizo, chicken and onion to the pan and add the red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the rice is tender.
Stir in the frozen peas and remove from heat.
Spoon paella among serving plates and serve immediately.
Paella is a Valencian rice dish with ancient roots that originated in its modern form in the mid-nineteenth century near Albufera lagoon, a coastal lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. The dish is widely regarded as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish; Valencians regard paella as one of their identifying symbols. Spanish food historian Lourdes March notes that the dish "symbolizes the union and heritage of two important cultures, the Roman, which gives us the utensil and the Arab which brought us the basic food of humanity for centuries."
The three best known types of paella are Valencian paella, seafood paella and mixed paella, but there are many others as well. Valencian paella is believed to be the original recipe and consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (chicken and rabbit), land snails, beans and seasoning such as saffron, rosemary and occasionally lemon. Optional ingredients include artichoke, pepper and chicken liver. Seafood paella replaces meats with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of land animals, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans. Most paella chefs use calasparra or bomba rices. All types of paellas use olive oil.
Shrimp vs prawn
Although prawns are sometimes defined as large freshwater shrimp, there are many counter-examples; the "bigclaw river shrimp", is a large shrimp that lives in fresh water, and is rarely referred to as a "prawn". Shrimp and prawn are common names without the formal definition that scientific terms provide. They are terms of convenience with little significance, and do not represent actual taxa.
According to the crustacean taxonomist Tin-Yam Chan, "The terms shrimp and prawn have no definite reference to any known taxonomic groups. Although the term shrimp is sometimes applied to smaller species, while prawn is more often used for larger forms, there is no clear distinction between both terms and their usage is often confused or even reverse in different countries or regions."
A lot of confusion surrounds the scope of the term shrimp. Part of the confusion originates with the association of smallness. That creates problems with shrimp-like species that are not small. The expression "jumbo shrimp" can be viewed as an oxymoron, a problem that does not exist with the commercial designation "jumbo prawns".