Paella
2014-01-28 07:48:45
Serves 6
Traditional Spanish Paella. A very adaptable dish where you can add or substitute many items to your liking. Serve it with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir from Paso Robles, CA and enjoy!
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr 10 min
Total Time
1 hr 40 min
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth; more as needed
- pinch saffron (8 to 10 threads)
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil; more if needed
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped in half and seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 small head garlic (remove excess papery skins, trim the top, and make a shallow cut around its equator to speed cooking), plus 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch wide strips
- 8-12 asparagus spears
- 1/2 cup fava beans, shelled
- 2 Spanish Chorizo sausage links sliced into medium thick slices
- 12 larges shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 small onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater
- 1 ripe tomato, halved horizontally and grated on the largest holes of a box grater (discard the skin)
- 1 1/2 cups Spanish bomba rice
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 lemons, cut in wedges for garnish
Instructions
- 1.In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Put the saffron on a 3-inch-wide strip of aluminum foil, fold up the foil to make a square packet, and set the foil directly on the lid of the simmering broth for about 15 minutes. Unfold the packet, transfer the saffron to a mortar (or a small bowl), add a pinch of salt, and use the pestle (or the back of spoon) to crush the saffron. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot broth to the saffron and let the saffron steep for about 15 minutes. Add the saffron-infused liquid back to the broth. Taste; the broth should be well seasoned, so add more salt if necessary. Remove from the heat until ready to add to the rice.
- 2.Set a 14-inch paella pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and the head of garlic; sautÈ until the chicken is golden, 10 to 15 minutes. The oil may splatter, and you may need to turn down the heat. Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a platter. The head of garlic stays in the pan. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10-15 minutes. Add to platter with chicken.
- 3.Reduce the heat to medium low. In the same pan, sautÈ the red pepper slices slowly until they''re tender, 15 minutes, adding more oil if necessary; they shouldn''t brown too much.
- 4.When the pepper is done, transfer the pieces to a plate, cover with foil, and set aside. Slowly sautÈ the asparagus spears until tender crisp. Transfer them to the platter with the red pepper strips.
- 5.If there''s more than 1 Tbs. of oil in the pan, pour out the excess. Increase the heat to medium and sautÈ the grated onion and sliced garlic until the onion is soft (it''s all right if it gets slightly brown), about 5 minutes. Add the grated tomato. Season well with salt and sautÈ until the water from the tomato has cooked out and the mixture, called a sofrito, has darkened to a burgundy color and is a very thick purÈe, 5 to 10 minutes. If you''re not cooking the rice immediately, remove the pan from the heat.
- 6.About half an hour before you''re ready to eat, bring the broth back to a simmer and set the pan with the sofrito over your largest burner (or over two burners) on medium heat, noticing if the pan sits level. (If not, choose another burner or try to create a level surface.) When the sofrito is hot, add the rice, stirring until it''s translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.
- 7.Spread out the rice (it should just blanket the bottom of the pan), distribute the asparagus and fava beans evenly, and arrange the chicken and sausage in the pan. Increase the heat to medium high and pour in 3 cups of the simmering broth (reserving 1/2 cup). As the broth comes to a boil, lay the peppers in the pan, starburst-like, and push the head of garlic to the center. Cook until the rice begins to appear above the liquid, 6 to 8 minutes, rotating the pan over one and two burners as necessary to distribute the heat to all areas. Add the sprig of rosemary and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the shrimp to the pan, evenly distributed. Continue to simmer, rotating the pan as necessary, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is al dente, another 8 to 10 minutes. To check for doneness, taste a grain just below the top layer of riceóthere should be a very tiny white dot in the center. If the liquid is absorbed but the rice is not done, add a bit more hot broth or water to the pan and cook a few minutes more. Cover the pan with foil and cook gently for another 2 minutes, which will help to ensure that the top layer of rice is evenly cooked. Keep adding small amounts of broth and cook covered until the rice is tender. With the foil still in place, increase the heat to medium high and, turning the pan, cook until the bottom layer of rice starts to caramelize, creating the socarrat, 1 to 2 minutes. You may hear the rice crackling, which is fine, but if it starts burning, remove the pan from the heat immediately. To check for socarrat, peel back the foil and use a spoon to feel for a slight crust on the bottom of the pan.
- 8.Remove the pan from the heat and let the paella rest, still covered, 5 to 10 minutes. Sit everyone down at a round or square table, if possible. Remove the foil, and invite people to eat directly from the pan, starting at the perimeter and working toward the center, squeezing lemon over their section if they like.
- 9.Variations
- 10.Seafood paella: SautÈ very briefly shrimp, scallops, and calamari (cut in rings), returning the seafood to the end of the cooking. Bury scrubbed clams or mussels in the broth while the rice cooks. Serve with alioli (the Spanish version of aÔoli): smash garlic and salt to a paste in a mortar and add olive oil and lemon juice to taste.
- 11.Vegetable paella: Saute green peppers, green beans, cauliflower, and artichokes; make a sofrito of tomato and parsley. Add shelled fava beans with the rice.
- 12.Sausage and chickpea paella: Try using chorizo sausage, red peppers, a whole head of garlic, and cooked chickpeas (use the cooking liquid for stock, or combine it with a meat stock). Make a sofrito of garlic, tomato, and paprika and add the chickpeas with the rice.
Notes
- Cooking Tip: If you don''t have a paella pan, use a 13-inch or larger skillet, or divide the ingredients between two medium skillets. Stainless-steel or anodized-aluminum skillets work best. Don''t use cast iron or nonstick.
Adapted from Paella: Rice at It's Best
Adapted from Paella: Rice at It's Best
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