Paella: The Socarrat Fallout

The best paella I have ever had was on the Costa Brava, about 20km north of Barcelona when I was ambling around Europe in my motorhome during a former life. Anyway, an ex-girlfriend, Louise, came to stay with me for 2 weeks… we did a lot of toddling around, but she wanted the beach, so she got El Masnou, and on their beach we got a fabulous paella in a little hut (a chiringuito) that took a long time to cook, about a bottle of good red wine's worth, which wasn’t so bad as we had another with the paella. It was fabulous and cheap too…

Apparently, La Pepica has been serving paella in Valencia (the home of paella) since 1898. I’ve never been, but I bet the chiringuito at El Masnou can give them a run for their money.

The socarrat. Worth falling out with Janie of Arc over. — The Flexible Chef

This Andalucían paella recipe uses rabbit and pork — typical of the region, and a world away from the tourist versions you find on the coast.

This is my paella recipe:

Andalucían Paella Recipe — Rabbit & Pork with Artichokes

This serves a good 4 portions so your paella pan needs to be at least 34cm

Ingredients

• 1 small rabbit or half a large one, skinned, jointed and cut into small pieces
• ¼ kg tender pork, cut into irregular shaped chunks
• Several cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 300g paella rice
• 2 litres hot good chicken stock
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
• Good pinch of saffron, added to a little hot water to extract the colour
• 1 tablespoon hot sweet paprika
• 3 medium sized artichokes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Thyme and rosemary, fresh or dried
• 1 dessertspoon tomato purée
• 1 glass white wine
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Sprinkle the rabbit and pork with a little salt. Add crushed garlic, lemon juice, seasoning, and herbs. Cover and place in the fridge overnight to marinate.
2. Pour a good glug of extra virgin olive oil into a paella pan and brown the meat. Move browned meat to the side of the pan.
3. Prepare the artichokes by peeling off the exterior leaves and cutting the hearts into quarters. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discolouring.
4. Gently cook the peppers and onion over a medium heat until soft.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly reduced. Add the artichokes and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add all the herbs, saffron, paprika, tomato purée, and white wine. Stir well.
6. Add the paella rice. For every one cup of rice you need three to four cups of stock.
7. Mix well and cook for a few minutes until the rice becomes translucent. Add the stock gradually, filling the paella pan with stock up to the middle of the rivets on the handles.
8. Stir once, firmly. Lower the heat and cook gently for 20 minutes or until the stock is absorbed. Keep an eye on the bottom — you want the socarrat, not a burn.
9. Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

This recipe was very kindly supplied by my Madrilenian friend, Janie of Arc. She says the art is not to burn it. And that’s where we differ because if the bottom layer of rice yields a golden caramelised crust, called 'socarrat', then you know you've reached the pinnacle of paella godliness when this has happened. Janie of Arc is an ex-friend these days, as she fell out with me over socorrat.

And by the way, paella comes from the name of the pan it is made in – the Latin patella, a flat plate on which offerings were made to the gods. This Andalucían paella recipe — rabbit, pork, artichokes, socarrat — is, I think, what the gods had in mind. So now you know.

This Andalucían paella recipe recipe is part of my Rice Recipes collection — a global collection of rice dishes from paella to pilau.
It also features in my Game Recipes collection — wild and seasonal recipes from Casa Adora and the road.
And it's part of my Spanish Recipes collection — regional classics, tapas, seafood, rice dishes and food cooked from Andalucía and the road.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef