Paella de Fetge de Bou

Paella de fetge de bou is Meliana's, from L'Horta Nord in Valencia: a dry rice cooked wide in a paellera with fresh beef liver, chickpeas, tomato, pimenton, saffron, and the dark crust underneath. It isn't paella Valenciana with the chicken traded out. The liver names the dish, and it gives the rice its deep, mineral backbone.

The method that decides it is simple and unforgiving in the usual rice way. Brown the liver quickly, then let the tomato sofrito cook down until the oil shines through and no raw water is left. Add the water, reduce it to the right level, spread the rice, and leave it alone. Stir after the rice goes in and you've made another thing, not this one.

If you're far from Meliana, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use fresh calf liver if beef liver is hard to find; it is milder, less iron-dark, but it behaves well in the pan. For the rice, bomba or Calasparra will forgive you most. Arborio works at a pinch, but it finishes softer and won't give quite the same dry, separate grain. My Margin for this one is short: fresh liver, wide pan, no stirring.