Paella

Paella is Spain's best-loved dish, as delicious as it is popular. A winning but simple combination of Spanish rice with saffron, paprika, vegetables, meat and fish, it can be cooked easily at home for any number of guests, either on a conventional oven or outdoors on a barbecue, which makes it perfect for summer entertaining. Behind the paella we all know and love, however, is a rich and complex dish which has many little-known and traditional variations in Spain, each with different cooking techniques, flavours and textures.

Paella explains the simple step-by-step techniques and ingredients to make the perfect basic paella – from choosing the right variety of rice and identifying the right paella pan to selecting the appropriate cooking method – as well as the regional variations with their different techniques, flavours and textures. There are over 70 traditional paella recipes, including seasonal varieties such as duck and turnip, lobster and spring vegetables, as well as some more unusual contemporary varieties (such as bonito with jamón ibérico), including sweet paellas. More than this, though, the book shows that paella can be seen as a technique as well as a dish, and explains how to build on this basic technique to create your own paella. In terms of simplicity, versatility and value for money, paella rivals risotto and deserves to be better understood. Paella is first cookbook in English from Alberto Herráiz, renowned expert on Spanish cuisine and head chef of Fogón restaurant in Paris, which is revered for its authentic and delicious paella. The book reveals the great culinary experience that good paella can be.

About The Author

Alberto Herraiz was born in Castilla la Mancha, Spain, into a family of four generations of restaurateurs. After running several restaurants in Spain, he moved to Paris in 1997 to open Fogon, where he has perfected the art of paella, gaining a Michelin star in 2009.