Seafood stars in showstopping, authentic paella

Paella, often called Spain’s national dish, is made there as frequently as teriyaki chicken is prepared in Hawaii.

It’s common for Spanish families to cook the dish at home or order it from restaurants, to serve as a picnic lunch or as a meal while sailing. It’s as perfect eaten at room temperature as it is hot off the stove or grill.

Carmen Velayos of Waialae Iki is a reluctant paella maker.

“I am forced to cook it because I cannot find anywhere to buy it,” she says. “My father in Madrid, Alfonso Velayos, taught me how to make it, but my mother cooked everything else. Like how men here in the U.S. barbecue, many men in Spain are the paella masters.

“Many people have paella several times a week, made from whatever leftovers they have – chicken, sausage, pork, artichokes and any vegetables.”

There are regional versions as well as favorite family combinations. Some Spaniards insist the best paella should be grilled over a fire at the beach.

All types will use Spanish short-grain rice such as the bomba or Valencia varieties, two times the amount of broth as rice, and garlic, onions and red bell pepper. Besides those five ingredients, there are hundreds of combinations.

Velayos’ version of paella negra, or black paella, is colored with cuttlefish ink and always features seafood. It’s a one-pan dish that you can make in less than an hour, once ingredients are prepped. It is also a showstopper.

Velayos has lived in Hawaii since 2007, so procuring ingredients for her authentic dish could have been a challenge. But she found solutions at various stores.

For fish stock, she buys mahimahi bones at Tamashiro Market. That’s also where she gets Manila clams and sweet Kauai shrimp. Her recipe also calls for squid, but for this seafood she turns to Whole Foods Market, where they sell tender squid. At R. Field in Foodland, she finds bomba rice, paella seasoning and cuttlefish ink.

Velayos selects the smallest Manila clams and cleans them with four soaks in salty water.

“The clams think they are in the ocean and get rid of their grit,” she said.

Velayos starts the cooking process with hot oil in a traditional paella pan, a shallow, round metal dish. To it she adds garlic and onions, stirring constantly so they do not burn. She also sautes the peppers and green onions before adding the seafood.

No gas? Don’t worry. Velayos has made this just as successfully on an electric range. She has tried cooking in a Le Creuset Dutch oven but says the paella pan works better.

To flavor the dish, the fresh Kauai shrimp — with heads on — are partially seared, then removed from the high heat to be added back in later. Velayos also incorporates the paella seasoning packet from Spain that includes saffron, plus one or two packets of cuttlefish ink. She also adds a generous amount of calamari rings and tentacles along with the succulent shrimp.

To shorten her cooking time, she pre-makes the fish stock and freezes it so it’s readily available.

Once the bomba rice is sprinkled into the pan of seafood and fish broth, the food cannot be stirred, says Velayos. The pan simply continues to cook on high heat until the delicious broth is absorbed and the rice is tender.

For socarrat, the crisp, crusty rice at the bottom of the pan, the pan should stay on high heat an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

In Spain, paella is considered a heavy meal, so it is traditionally served for lunch.

“But when I have company over for dinner, I often serve paella negra since people in Hawaii love rice, so they seem to enjoy this dish,” Velayos said.

So does her family, which includes husband Francisco Gutierrez, daughter Carlota, 8, and son Guillermo, 5.

“I’m so lucky that I married a woman from Spain, so I can eat all the foods I grew up with,” Gutierrez said.

Delicioso!

PAELLA NEGRA (SEAFOOD AND CUTTLEFISH INK PAELLA)

Carmen Velayos

• 1 pound Manila clams
• 8 tablespoons salt, divided
• Water to cover the clams
• 1-1/4 pounds frozen calamari, defrosted and cleaned
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions, cut in 1-1/2-inch lengths
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 packet paella seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 14 head-on, shell-on Kauai shrimp or prawns, deveined
• 1 to 2 packets cuttlefish ink
• 1-1/2 cups Spanish bomba rice
• 3 cups fish broth, plus more as needed (recipe follows)

Place clams in bowl with water and 2 tablespoons salt. Let sit 10 minutes, then drain, discarding any grit. Repeat three more times. Set aside.

Clean and cut calamari into 1/4-inch rings and tentacles. Drain and set aside.

Heat 16-inch paella pan on high. Add olive oil. When hot, add garlic and onions and stir constantly about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium, add red bell peppers and cook 3 minutes. Add green onions and cook another 3 minutes. Add tomato paste, paella seasoning and sea salt; continue stirring.

Add shrimp and cook about 5 minutes. When shrimp bodies are half pink, remove from pan and set aside. Add calamari and cuttlefish ink. Stir in drained clams. Sprinkle rice evenly over mixture. Add 3 cups hot fish broth and shrimp. Do not stir. Turn heat to high and cook 10-20 minutes. Test rice for doneness. If not tender, add more hot broth and continue cooking a few more minutes.

Let sit 5 minutes, or if you like socarrat, the crunchy rice at the bottom of the pan, cook on high 3 to 5 minutes more.

Good hot or at room temperature. Serve with alioli on the side. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including cuttlefish ink or alioli on the side): 400 calories, 10 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 250 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 28 g protein

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FISH BROTH

• 2 to 3 pounds white fish head and bones (such as mahimahi)
• 1 large sweet onion, cut in half
• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut in half
• 1 bunch leeks, cut in 3-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 cups water

In large pot, place all ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. After 20 minutes, shut off heat. Cool at least 1 hour; strain. Refrigerate or freeze. Makes 4 cups.

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ALIOLI (GARLIC MAYONNAISE)

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced

Mix egg, lemon juice and salt with a hand immersion blender. Slowly pour in olive oil while blending. Add garlic. Chill at least 4 hours.

Easy variation: Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 2 large cloves garlic, minced. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.