Cooking: Cook+Prep Time: 1-1.5 hours
Detailed Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-large onion diced
- 1 medium-large red pepper diced
- 2 tablespoon of minced garlic depending on preference
- 1-1.5 lb of spicy sausage (italian, chorizo, chicken habanero, etc.)
- 1-1.5 lb chicken (thighs preferably)
- 1 lb seafood (variety or whatever you like)
- 3 cups of short/medium grain rice
- 1 quart of chicken stock (low sodium)
- handful of peas
- can of diced or crushed tomatoes
- red pepper flakes
- seasonings - kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, cayenne or paprika, saffron
You can substitute almost anything in, but i think classic is with chicken, sausage and seafood.
Choose your favorite sausage - preferably a spicier one, or chorizo or even uncured bacon - and cook in a pan/skillet large enough that will accommodate all of the paella (12-14" shallow pan). After sautéing, take out and put it aside. It'll be reheated at the end. Slice it at an angle later before placing it back in.
Season chicken (thighs of drumsticks) with salt, pepper, and some cayenne or paprika. Cook in the same pan - you want to leave most of the drippings since that really flavors the paella, but if you can't bear it take a little out. You don't need to cook it to death since it'll also be reheated at the end, so don't overcook. Make sure to brown it though.
Take the chicken out and put it aside - add diced onions and red pepper, minced garlic (tablespoon or more or about 5-6 cloves minced), olive oil, and I put in some red pepper flakes, salt pepper. Saute until everything is pretty transparent - 6-8 mins or so at medium heat.
Add in rice - medium to short grain. I've tried both and it doesn't really make much of a difference. I put in about 2 cups of rice since that will fit in my 12" pan (the small cups that come in a rice cooker so I'm not sure if they're full sized cups or not). Just remember that you will be putting in about 1.5 times of stock so make sure you can accommodate it in the pan. Saute the rice and onions enough to make sure the rice is thoroughly coated.
Add a can of diced tomatoes with or without juice, a pinch or more of saffron (TJoe's has some inexpensive ones) mainly for color and a little flavor, and in this case 3 cups of chicken stock. Mix, cover and now be patient for about 20-25 mins. DON'T PEEK! Start at high heat to get the stock boiling, then lower it to medium low.
After about 20 mins, take a peek to see if you need more stock - you might need a half cup or so of stock or water if the liquid is not bubbling through. The seafood and peas will add a bit more liquid so don't add too much liquid. Take a taste and season with salt. If the rice is al dente, add all the chicken and sausage back in to warm.
After about 5 minutes, add in the peas and seafood (defrosted or fresh if possible). Seafood can be whatever you like - shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, lobster, octopus, squid, etc. About a 1lb or so. Put in last and at the top of your paella pile and cover - the steam will cook most of the seafood. Mussels may take longer so put them in a bit earlier with the peas to make sure they open up.
Take a taste after 5 minutes. At the very end, turn up the heat to crisp the bottom of the paella for a minute or 2. Then it's pretty much done. Add some lemon wedges, basil, parmesan, and parsley to make it fancy.
Other tips:
- Make sure not to overcook the rice! or the seafood for that matter.
- Seafood should be washed and cleaned during prep in a bowl of water. Fresh mussels need to be "de-bearded" and put in water that should be changed a few times before cooking. Frozen works pretty well - just defrost in a bowl of water for 15-20 minutes.
This dish serves about 6-8 people. Cooking times may vary. Epicurious site also helped for more paella recipes.