Planning for GOLD

Learn how to make paella from the world’s bbest, writes Dan Stock

Think famous Spanish dishes and there’s one that immediately springs to mind: paella.

But when Leno Lattarulo first opened Simply Spanish at South Melbourne market 11 years ago he didn’t offer Spain’s national dish on the menu, for Australians didn’t understand it — or want to eat it.

“I can’t believe how much has changed. Spanish food wasn’t recognised back then. But then we started cooking paella outside at South Melbourne Market and people were fascinated,” he says. “I think they like the sense of theatre of cooking a large paella.”

A sense of theatre — or more importantly, drama — also drove the team to great success earlier this year at the 58th Concurs International de Paella Valenciana, a competition honouring the traditional Valenciana paella.

Representing Australia in September, Leno, helped by his son Jake, beat 42 finalist teams from around the world in cooking the ultimate paella and was crowned the World’s Best Paella Maker Outside Spain — a title he also won in 2016.

“We had a really good idea what we had to do to win. And when it was done, I knew we were on a winner, because what we cooked was just perfect. The best paella outside of Spain, it’s a great achievement for us.”

Unlike the seafood paella many will be familiar with, the traditional Valenciana version features rabbit, chicken and snails that impart flavour to the saffron and paprika-spiked rice.

“It is a farmer’s dish, started by the peasants on the farm, made from things that are readily available,” Leno explains. “The vegetables, the beans, the rabbits, chickens on the farm. They were the ingredients in the original recipe. This competition is based around the integrity of that dish.”

And while that worldbeating paella is now a mainstay on the menu at the three Simply Spanish restaurants in Melbourne, Leno says you don’t need to be a master to master this dish that’s perfect for parties and summer gatherings of friends and family.

THE BOMBA

“With paella, you’re looking to get as much flavour as possible into the rice,” Leno says.

There are three main types of paella rice used that all come from in and around Valencia: bomba, calasparra and marisma, all of which are available here in Spanish delis such as Casa Iberica.

“It’s a bit like trying to make sushi with the wrong rice, you end up with a disaster on your hands,” Leno says. “It’s the same with paella. It really is all about the rice, and how the flavours are incorporated into each grain.”

Leno says that a well-cooked paella is almost like a stir-fry. “The rice is full of flavour and the grains don’t stick together. The process goes from boiling the rice (in stock) to frying it.”

STICKY BUSINESS

It’s this process that will deliver you the key element to a great paella — the sticky crust on the bottom of the pan known as “socarrat”.

“This is the main thing the judges are looking for when we cook in the competition. It should be a lovely golden crust on the bottom. The rice needs to stick to the bottom of the pan but it shouldn’t be burnt. It’s a fine line.”

OIL MINE

And the way to get a successful socarrat is to use good olive oil, and lots of it.

“That’s the secret to great paella. You have to be very generous with the olive oil. If you don’t have enough oil in your pan you’ll never get a good crust, just burnt rice,” Leno says.

For this demonstration, Leno fills the small two-serve paella pan at least 2cm deep with oil. Not only will this oil deliver a glorious, golden crust but is the means to extract maximum flavour from each of the ingredients that will finally be imparted into the rice.

Firstly, that means browning off your chopped chicken and rabbit pieces. “You want these on the bone for flavour. In the competition, the judges aren’t looking for tender succulent meat, but rather looking for the chicken and rabbit flavour to be found throughout the paella,” he says.

LAYER UPON LAYER

To the pan you then progressively add the other ingredients to your Valenciana paella: chopped green beans, pre-soaked lima (white) beans, garlic, smoked paprika, saffron, chopped tomatoes and snails.

“The snails traditionally would be found on the rosemary bushes and when they were used in the paella would impart a subtle rosemary flavour to the dish,” Leno says. “Today lots of people are interested in this traditional paella, but many still prefer it without the snails.” They make it both ways at the restaurant, and if you opt for the adventurous version at home, you’ll find jars of brined snails at Casa Iberica.

DON’T STIR THE POT

Unlike risotto, bomba rice doesn’t like to be stirred, Leno says. “The idea is that you add the rice, and then let it be. Quick stir to make sure it’s even in the pan and the rice is coated in stock then you leave it be. Don’t stir it any more.”

And for a dish that’s all about the rice, there’s not a huge amount used. “It’s just a thin layer of rice in the pan. That’s a mistake people make, they put in too much rice, which then dilutes the flavour of the dish,” Leno says.

Then, once the rice is added, it’s all about leaving it be so the crust can form on the bottom.

“You go from boiling the rice to frying it. You’ll hear the change in how the rice sounds.”

SEAFOOD, EAT IT

While a Valenciana paella is the original dish, for many people paella means seafood and here in Australia it’s a style of dish that makes perfect sense.

While many of the rules for making the two are the same, Leno says a seafood paella is a more delicate dish. Cook off some vegetables, some onion, garlic, capsicums. Lightly sear the seafood, add the shellfish, the fish stock, simmer. Then add the rest of the fish, then followed by the rice.

“It’s the last thing to add and sets with the seafood in place,” Leno says.

“The rice needs to stick to the bottom of the pan but it shouldn’t be burnt”

LENO LATTARULO