Party Hardy With Paella

Paella is a classic Spanish rice, seafood, meat and veggies dish that you may have seen on menus, but never considered making at home.

Perhaps you should!

On The Early Show Thursday, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie pointed out that paella is relatively easy to prepare, even though it may look complicated.

At the flagship store in Manhattan of specialty home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma, Ritchie told co-anchor Hannah Storm paella is also great to serve at parties.

Paella is the national dish of Spain, and there are as many recipes as there are cooks. The most famous Paella comes from Valencia, where the rice that's the basis of this dish is grown.

In general, it's a saffron-flavored rice dish that contains various meats, shellfish and vegetables.

The dish was traditionally cooked over an open fire, which makes it a natural choice for the barbecue. It's practically a meal in itself, so it only requires a few simple accompaniments.

Paella is named after the paellera, the pan in which it's cooked, which is essential to the dish. It's a wide, shallow, slope-sided pan with two handles. The shape of the pan enables the rice to cook in one layer and develop a slightly crusty bottom. Paella truly does require special equipment; there's just no way around it if you want to prepare it correctly.

There are two ingredients that are essential for paella.

The first is rice. You can't use long-grain or converted rice, because it doesn't absorb the broth well. Medium-grain Spanish rice is the best. However, that can be difficult to find. Arborio rice (used for risottos) is a good substitute.

The second important ingredient is saffron. It's the world's most expensive spice and no wonder: It's actually the dried stamens of the crocus flower. But a little saffron goes a long way, so you don't wind up spending too much on the pungent spice. You can buy saffron in both powdered form and in threads. If you can find the threads, they have superior flavor.

For Ritchie's recipes, go to Page 2.RECIPES

Paella a la Valenciana

1 rounded cup dried large white beans, optional
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
1 chicken, about 3 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 to 5 cups chicken broth
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed, blanched for 3 to 5 minutes and drained
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, tough stems discarded, leaves chopped
2 1/2 cups Spanish Calasparra rice or Arborio rice
Lemon wedges for garnish

If using, place the white beans in a large bowl, cover with water and refrigerate overnight. Drain the beans and place in a saucepan with water to cover by about 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Remove the beans from the heat, drain and set aside.

In a paella pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1/2 cup olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot oil. Brown well on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, saffron and tomatoes to the hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan, add 4 cups of the broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green beans, (and white, if using), rosemary and rice and stir to mix. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, without stirring, until the rice is nearly tender, about 20 minutes.

Just before the rice is done, in a fry pan over high heat, warm 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup broth to the shrimp, then pour the shrimp and broth over the rice. Let stand, covered, 5 to 10 minutes, so the rice absorbs all the liquid. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Savoring Series, Savoring Spain & Portugal," by Joyce Goldstein (Time-Life Books, 2000).

For more recipes, go to Page 3.Grilled Green Onions with Romesco Sauce

On Saturdays and Sundays from February through April, the citizens of Barcelona jump into their cars and race down the motorways to restaurants specializing in calçotades.

Originally from Valls, this specialty has rapidly become popular throughout the region. The season's first new green onions, calçots, are roasted over coals until the outer skins are blackened and the interiors are sweet and tender. Diners peel off the burned outer skins and dunk the onions into romesco sauce before eating them. It's a messy business, requiring paper bibs.

Serve with a slightly chilled, young, light-bodied Rioja.

For the sauce:
1 head garlic
2 ripe tomatoes
3/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
4 small baguette slices
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 tsp. pimentón or sweet paprika
Salt, to taste

24 green onions, each about 1 inch wide at the base and with plenty of white flesh, crusty bread for serving

To make the sauce, prepare a fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on high.

Grill the garlic, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 13 to 15 minutes. Grill the tomatoes, turning once, until the skins are browned and wrinkled, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Peel the garlic cloves. Using a large mortar and pestle, grind together the garlic, almonds and hazelnuts. Peel the tomatoes and add to the mortar along with the baguette slices. Grind well until a thick paste forms. Alternatively, place the peeled garlic and tomatoes, almonds, hazelnuts and baguette slices in a food processor and pulse to combine. Mix in the 1⁄2 cup olive oil, 2 Tbs. vinegar, the pimentón and salt. The finished sauce should be thick but not dry; add more oil and vinegar if needed. Divide among individual dipping bowls and set aside. (The sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

While you are making the sauce, place the onions on the grill and grill, turning occasionally, until the outer skins have blackened and shriveled, about 8 minutes. Wrap the onions in newspaper and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the onions to a large serving platter or a wooden board. Diners peel the onions with their fingers and dip each one into the romesco sauce. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 4.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World Series, Barcelona," by Paul Richardson (Oxmoor House, 2004).

Spicy Marinated Olives with Pickled Vegetables and Garlic

This bar-top snack is commonly served in Barcelona with a midday aperitif. A memorable version is offered at the Bar Mendizábal in Carrer Hospital, a small kiosk decorated in bright 1970s colors, with a miniature terrace. In Spain, these spicy olives with pickled vegetables, known as variantes, are normally bought already mixed at market stalls specializing in olives and pickles, but they can easily be made at home. Briefly boiling the garlic cloves takes away some of their strong flavor, while giving them a sweet crunchiness. Any olive variety will do, although Spanish olives would be more authentic.

Serve with a strongly flavored aperitif, such as vermouth or Campari and soda.

12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 carrot, peeled and cut diagonally into slices
1/4 inch thick
24 mixed brine-cured green and black olives, drained
12 cocktail onions in vinegar, drained
12 baby gherkins in vinegar, drained
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch of hot chili powder
1/2 tsp. pimentón or sweet paprika
Generous pinch of fresh thyme leaves

Bring a small saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic, return to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrot, return to a boil and cook for 1 minute more. Drain, then plunge the garlic and carrot slices into cold water. Drain again and peel the garlic (the skins will come off easily).

Transfer the garlic and carrot slices to a glass bowl. Add the olives, onions and gherkins and mix well. Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, chili powder, pimentón and thyme and stir gently to coat all the ingredients evenly. Cover and refrigerate the olive and vegetable mixture until well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours, stirring once or twice. Serves 4.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World Series, Barcelona," by Paul Richardson (Oxmoor House, 2004).