FEEDS 40 TO 50
The secret to making paella is the opposite of making risotto: the idea is not to touch it. You want the rice to cook undisturbed, so that all the fats from the meats can drip down and saturate the rice and then, as the liquids evaporate, it gets crusty and crunchy. Do as much of your prep work ahead of time as possible. From there, just make sure you have a lot of sangria on hand and a fun crowd gathered and you can’t go wrong. The first paellas were made by shepherds in the foothills and used rabbit. Rabbit is one of the most delicious meats there is, but you could substitute chicken. When you cut up the rabbits (or have your butcher do it), reserve the bones for the fortified stock and the thigh and saddle meat for the meatballs. But you don’t have to french the racks as I do unless you like to play surgeon.
I used jarred beans that are imported from Spain. I also love using dried beans that I’ve soaked and cooked, but in this paella, with everything else going on, I’m not sure you’ll notice the difference (although canned beans have a tinny taste).
Notes: If you are cooking your paella over a fire, you will need to pay careful attention to the heat during the entire cooking process. If the heat seems to be too intense, use the poker to move large embers out from under the pan; if it doesn’t appear to be hot enough, stoke the fire by poking at the embers.
The preserved lemons take about 4 weeks, so start them well ahead or buy them.
Also, if you plan on using fortified stock, do your butchering and shellfish prep before anything else, as you’ll need the bones and shells for the stock.
BOMBA RICE
The rice I use to make paella is Bomba, a specific ancient strain of Valenciana rice, considered among paella aficionados to be the best. Bomba rice is very slow maturing, which means it is exceptionally dried out by the time it’s harvested and hits the market. Because of this, when it’s cooked the rice absorbs up to 30 percent more liquid than any other rice—which translates to more flavor—while also remaining firm. If you can’t find Bomba rice, any Valenciana rice will do. In Spain, paella rice is so essential to the dish that dishes made with another rice are not called “paella” at all, but are referred to as arroces, or rice dishes.