Puffed Paella

By corlear

Ingredients

• For the saffron base:
• 11/4 cup water
• 1 tsp saffron strands
• Note: Minimum recommended amount to guarantee a good result.
• For the dry saffron rice:
• 4 oz rice
• 13/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup saffron base (see previous step)
• For the prawn powder:
• 4 oz red prawns
• For the puffed saffron and prawn rice:
• 11/4 cup 0.4º olive oil
• tomato powder
• 1 tsp roasted saffron powder (see previous step)
• prawn powder
• dry saffron rice (see previous step)

Details

Servings 10

Preparation

Step 1

For the saffron base:
1. Roast the saffron in foil in the oven at 325ºF for approximately 1 minute.
2. Keep 1 tsp roasted saffron on one side to be used as garnish.
3. Bring the water and saffron to the boil and leave to infuse in the fridge for 12 hours.
4. Strain.

For the dry saffron rice:
1. Wash the rice in a generous amount of cold water to remove the starch.
2. Place the rice in 1¾ cup of cold water and the saffron base in a saucepan.
3. Cook for 25 minutes until most of the water has been absorbed.
4. Rinse the rice under running water so it does not stick together. Leave to drain.
5. Spread the rice over baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper, so that the grains are separated as far as possible.
6. Leave to dry in the oven at 175ºF for between 5 and 6 hours or at room temperature for 12 hours. The grains should be completely dry and separate.

For the prawn powder:
1. Put the prawns in a blender and process until they are puréed .
2. Put the mixture on a sheet of baking paper. Cover with a sheet of clingfilm. Use a rolling pin to roll it out until it is thinly.
3. Remove the clingfilm and bake the prawn at 265ºF until it is totally dehydrated to avoid it fermenting.
4. Once dry, place in the blender and blend until you get a fine powder.

For the puffed saffron and prawn rice:
1. Fry the dehydrate rice (1/8 oz per person) in small batches in piping hot oil.
2. When the rice puffs up, drain the oil off into another pan. Repeat the operation.
3. Spread the rice on kitchen paper and season with salt. While the rice is still hot, sprinkle with the prawn powder, tomato powder and saffron powder. Mix together and you will have a tasty mixture that is as reminiscent as possible to traditional paella.

Final Steps & Preparation:
1. Once the rice is cold, place it in transparent cellophane bags (6½ x 1¼").

Note: We currently prepare a mixture to flavor the rice that is 1 oz tomato powder, 2¼ oz prawn powder, 1 tsp saffron powder and 1 tsp salt.