Paella is some one of the best dishes around, add a little hot sauce to give it some flare of keep it simple. Here is a basic paella recipe that will delight many time and time again.
Paella is cooked in stages and is often a family affair. It is part of the party and is usually done outside over an open fire. You must use a wide short pan, similar to a wok, with sides that are 4” to 5” tall. Many paella pans are up to 2’ across.
This recipe is made to serve 4 very generously, it can be added to or taken away from. There is no right or wrong way to cook paella. Many will notice the similarities to Creole cooking, they both originated from similar parts of the world but have developed in tandem along similar courses.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp saffron
Olive oil or or another non stick, I like coconut oil as well
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup long grain rice or yellow rice with zaffron (Mahatma is one brand)
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
3 cups beef or chicken stock
6 oz chicken breast, skinless
1/2 lbs large fresh shrimp
1 lbs large mussels
2, 3 oz lobster tails, optional
1/2 lbs of sausage, cut into slices. I like spicy
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup peas
1/2 cup diced tomato
Pre-cooking, getting the ingredients ready for quick addition is a big part of putting paella together:
Peel the shrimp, or get pre peeled shrimp
Cut the chicken in small cubes
Scrub the mussels, discarding any that are open (dead).
Chop all of the vegetables
Cooking:
Preheat the frying pan for one minute at med-high heat and add the oil, to avoid sticking
Sauté the onion for 2-3 mins until caramelized.
Add the rice, stir frequently to avoid burning
Add the wine and saffron and stir until all the wine is absorbed, keep stirring, this is a big part of the proper cooking process.
Mix in the peppers
Add 2 cups of chicken or beef stock, 1/4 cup at a time stirring until the rice absorbs the stock, this will take some time but is essential for the rice to cook.
Add the last cup of stock
Add the chicken and sausage
Add the shrimp, lobster and mussels, tuck them under the rice
Cover the whole Pan with foil if you do not have a lid big enough for the pan.
When the muscles open and the shrimp and lobster are pink the cooking is complete.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring continually. At this point it is easy to burn.
Tips:
Saffron is really hard to find, and expensive, but is one of the most important ingredients. It gives the dish its distinctive yellow coloring and adds to the flavor. The lack of saffron is one of the main differences between old and new world cooking. If you don’t want to break the bank look for rice with saffron already in it.
Like I said, paella is great for parties and always fun during the summer or at the beach. Add some hot sauce to really liven things up and make you sweat.