Valencian Paella with Vegetables & Pork
I never really intended for my site to become a food blog, but Shaun and I made this paella (a Spanish rice dish) last weekend, and it was really good. Then Jen asked for the recipe on the Flickr, so I thought I’d oblige. I won’t lie: this recipe is pretty involved. We were good about getting everything together (mise en place), though, so it went pretty smoothly.
This recipe comes from Shaun’s cookbook The New Spanish Table, and we chose this particular one because the ingredients aren’t too exotic. In fact, we got all of the ingredients we were lacking at Publix. We used spinach instead of chard, because our store doesn’t carry the latter (although a lot of grocery stores do now), and we used ancho chiles Shaun already had on hand from another dish. I couldn’t find frozen artichoke hearts, but well-drained canned ones worked out fine. Von Bremzen has some opinions on the kind of rice you should choose, but when we found some Valencia rice in the store, we decided it was fate.
We don’t have a paella pan (sad), but things worked out okay in a 12-inch cast iron skillet until steps 5ish – 7, where we used two cast iron skillets. Everything was put back into the 12” for the stint in the oven.
(It’s really good.)
Valencian Paella with Vegetables & Pork
From The New Spanish Table
12 ounces boneless pork loin or shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
Corse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 ½ teaspoons sweet (not smoked) paprika
2 large dried ñora peppers or ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
About 6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 large pinch of saffron, toasted and pulverized in a mortar
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup small cauliflower florets
1 small ripe red bell pepper, cut into large dice
5 to 6 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and patted dry with paper towels
2 ½ cups (tightly packed; from 1 small bunch) slivered Swiss chard or spinach
8 medium-size garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press
¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups short- to medium-grain rice
1. Rub the pork generously with salt, black pepper, the oregano, and 1 teaspoon of the paprika. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or refrigerate, covered, for about 2 hours.
2. Place the ñora peppers in a small bowl, add very hot water to cover, and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer the peppers and ½ cup of the soaking liquid to a blender and puree them, then set aside.
3. Place the chicken stock in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the saffron and keep the stock at a simmer until ready to use.
4. Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 15- or 16-inch paella pan set over a single burner and heat on medium until it starts to smoke. Add the pork, increase the heat to high, and brown, tossing and turning it, for 3 to 4 minutes. Push the pork to the edge of the pan, where it’s not as hot. Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to the pan and the green beans, cauliflower, and red bell pepper. Cook the vegetables, stirring, until they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the artichokes and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chard and stir just until it wilts. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables and pork to a large bowl.
5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic to the paella pan and stir for a few seconds. Add the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons paprika and stir for another few seconds. Add the tomatoes and the pureed ñora peppers, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and reduced, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the vegetables and pork to the pan and stir to mix.
6. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
7. Add the rice to the paella pan and stir it gently to coat with the pan mixture. Pour in 4 cups of the simmering stock, keeping the remaining stock simmering in case it is needed later. Set the paella pan over two burners and shake it gently to distribute the rice evenly. Cook over medium heat until the cooking liquid is almost level with the rice but the rice is still rather soupy, about 7 minutes. Periodically move and rotate the pan so that the liquid boils evenly. If the liquid is absorbed too fast and the rice still seems too raw, sprinkle on some more stock.
8. Transfer the paella pan to the oven and bake until the rice is tender but still a little al dente, about 15 minutes. Check the paella pan a few times and sprinkle more stock over the rice if it seems too al dente. Remove the paella from the oven, cover it with aluminum foil, and let stand for another 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and let it stand for another 5 minutes (the rice gets better as it stands). Serve the paella straight from the pan.
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