By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin Chef Fred DeAngelo finishes preparing an order of seafood paella. Saffron is the pistil of the purple crocus, and it takes 2,000 strands to make a single ounce, DeAngelo says. I keep it locked up in my office.
Paella is a signature dish at Palomino and among the restaurant's most popular.
DeAngelo offers the recipe, requested by a couple of patrons who rank it among the world's great foods. This dish has an impressive list of ingredients, from chorizo to king crab. You can get saffron at kitchen specialty shops and at some supermarkets. The cooking of this classic Spanish dish has been simplified somewhat, DeAngelo said. Traditionally, you'd prepare it completely in the oven, cooking the rice three-quarters done, then adding the seafood in parts, depending on how long each type needs to cook, returning the dish to the oven each time.