Paella is Spain's best-loved dish, popular the world over and perfect to cook for friends. The definitive home-cooking manual on paella from the renowned expert, Alberto Herraiz. Explains everything you need to know in order to cook authentic paella at home, showing the basics step by step and covering all the techniques and ingredients. Contains 116 recipes for numerous varieties of paella, from the most simple to lesser-known regional variations.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
'there's plenty in this attractive tome to encourage you to bring a bit of that Spanish sunshine into your kitchen' Wharf, 9 June 2011
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.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By Walter Mitty
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Think of this book as more technique based instruction and less of a recipe driven cookbook. There are many Paella cookbooks that have recipes, but fall short on showing you how to make the perfect socarret (the perfectly crunchy rice layer on the bottom)and how to layer in the flavors. You see, paella is all about the rice and less about all the other stuff thrown on top.
That said, the book (I like to call it a manual) is divided into five main sections:
1. The history of paella, the different kinds of paella pans Paderno World Cuisine 18.5 Inch Polished Carbon Steel Paella Pan and which is the best to buy. I disagree with the author. The enameled, dimple bottom pan La Paella Enameled Steel Paella Pan, 18-Inch is better than the carbon steel because rust and cleanup are issues to deal with. Read the book yourself, and decide on your preference.
There are different kinds of paella (5 types in the book)
a. a thorough section on making the sofrito, frying the rice, making the socarret, proportions and textures.
b. the types of rice and substitutions, spices and other ingredients. Revealing pictures accompany the text.
c. there is a very thorough basic recipes section which covers step by step techniques, using various types of stocks, flavored oils and various types of sofritos.
2. Cooking Paellas on the stove, then oven (relevant since most people don't own a tripod paella burner? Large Paella Burner with Tripod and Regulator.
a. Again, the author gives the entire technique step by step w/ detailed pictures with at least 40 recipes. Until now, I had never heard of a black rice paella.
b. Shellfish and other protein ingredients can easily be substituted. Other ingredients like pimenton, bomba rice, saffron can be ordered online. Since bomba rice Bomba Paella Rice by La Tienda is expensive, try using short grain arborio rice until you feel confident with your technique. Feel imaginative and subsitute spanish chorizo with some other hard sausage. The point is that it's all about the rice and the absorption of flavors. When you're a beginner, you want to nail the technique first.
3.Cooking Paellas on the barbecue. This is a little harder, since the author only covers wood fires. I suspect more people (like me) want to cook theirs on a Weber kettle grill Weber 751001 22.5-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Black. That's how I do it, with chimney Weber 87886 Chimney Starter full of good quality charcoal briquetsKingsford Charcoal - 6 Pack]. If you want to use hardwood charcoal [[ASIN:B000UH7A56 Cowboy Charcoal Llc 20Lb Cowboy Charcoal 13020 Charcoal, that's fine. I just like the steady heat from compressed briquets. The author includes twelve recipes, including the very delicious Valencian, Seafood paella recipes. TIP: I find it easier to make the sofrito on the stove in advance rather than cooking it down in the paella pan.
4. Paellas made without rice. What? Yes, they're made with a vermicelli-like noodles. 9 intriguing recipes are included.
5. Sweet dessert paellas. 8 recipes are included. The sweet tapioca paella with cherries was awesome.
An extensive glossary and index section follows. This is a true manual on making paella. No other book or magazine article comes close, and is well suited for the beginner. Buy it, you won't regret!
That said, the book (I like to call it a manual) is divided into five main sections:
1. The history of paella, the different kinds of paella pans Paderno World Cuisine 18.5 Inch Polished Carbon Steel Paella Pan and which is the best to buy. I disagree with the author. The enameled, dimple bottom pan La Paella Enameled Steel Paella Pan, 18-Inch is better than the carbon steel because rust and cleanup are issues to deal with. Read the book yourself, and decide on your preference.
There are different kinds of paella (5 types in the book)
a. a thorough section on making the sofrito, frying the rice, making the socarret, proportions and textures.
b. the types of rice and substitutions, spices and other ingredients. Revealing pictures accompany the text.
c. there is a very thorough basic recipes section which covers step by step techniques, using various types of stocks, flavored oils and various types of sofritos.
2. Cooking Paellas on the stove, then oven (relevant since most people don't own a tripod paella burner? Large Paella Burner with Tripod and Regulator.
a. Again, the author gives the entire technique step by step w/ detailed pictures with at least 40 recipes. Until now, I had never heard of a black rice paella.
b. Shellfish and other protein ingredients can easily be substituted. Other ingredients like pimenton, bomba rice, saffron can be ordered online. Since bomba rice Bomba Paella Rice by La Tienda is expensive, try using short grain arborio rice until you feel confident with your technique. Feel imaginative and subsitute spanish chorizo with some other hard sausage. The point is that it's all about the rice and the absorption of flavors. When you're a beginner, you want to nail the technique first.
3.Cooking Paellas on the barbecue. This is a little harder, since the author only covers wood fires. I suspect more people (like me) want to cook theirs on a Weber kettle grill Weber 751001 22.5-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Black. That's how I do it, with chimney Weber 87886 Chimney Starter full of good quality charcoal briquetsKingsford Charcoal - 6 Pack]. If you want to use hardwood charcoal [[ASIN:B000UH7A56 Cowboy Charcoal Llc 20Lb Cowboy Charcoal 13020 Charcoal, that's fine. I just like the steady heat from compressed briquets. The author includes twelve recipes, including the very delicious Valencian, Seafood paella recipes. TIP: I find it easier to make the sofrito on the stove in advance rather than cooking it down in the paella pan.
4. Paellas made without rice. What? Yes, they're made with a vermicelli-like noodles. 9 intriguing recipes are included.
5. Sweet dessert paellas. 8 recipes are included. The sweet tapioca paella with cherries was awesome.
An extensive glossary and index section follows. This is a true manual on making paella. No other book or magazine article comes close, and is well suited for the beginner. Buy it, you won't regret!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
First seeing it at the public library it was the most comprehensive Paella book I've found. The most valuable part was the separate sections on the preparation indoors, on the grill, and on the open fire. I understand the comments on ingredients being difficult to find but the author's restaurant is in Paris. One must realize that Paella is a native dish and each family has their own traditions and techniques. I'll be buying additional copies as gifts.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A. Hurlbut
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This cookbook is not for the everyday cook. I liked it because there varied and interesting paella recipes albeit some more exotic than others, many requiring ingredients not always found in your pantry. The opening chapters offering an overview of paella are super.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
All you need to know about paella
This is a beautiful book to read and it is the definitive guide on how to cook and prepare paella. The recipes are easy to follow and they turn out just perfect.
Published 14 months ago by John From Sydney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential manual to Paella
This book is definitely a manual first and a recipe book second. A great reference to keep on my shelf forever. Arrived as listed.
Published 16 months ago by Jose R. G. Sarmiento
4.0 out of 5 stars
Paella
A superb technical manual for advanced cooks who want to perfect their paella making technique. The downside is that many of the recipes are too challenging and complicated,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Roberto
3.0 out of 5 stars
informative but hard to find ingredients
I decided this summer to try to master paella. This book had just come out and seemed like the best way to learn. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jane Epstein
3.0 out of 5 stars
a few typos??
I love paella and want to learn more about cooking it. The first recipe I tried from this book was the Indian Paella- it called for 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Cardboard & Scotch Tape
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
