Serves 6 or more
I love paella. It can be as extravagant with meats and seafood as you want it to be or a more simple version. Either way, this dish is so flavorful and so very worth the trouble. Although, the list of ingredients may seem a bit long. Don’t be intimidated, as it will move a long fast and you will have an amazing meal everyone will be talking about in no time. If you’re like me, a paella pan is still on my wish list, so a big frying pan works perfectly.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 red chili peppers (optional)
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1 sweet Spanish or yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Paprika
½ teaspoon saffron threads
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup white wine
2 cups short-grain white rice, Arborio
4 cups chicken broth/stock or fish stock, plus extra if needed*
1 nice handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup green Spanish olives stuffed with pimento, rough chopped
1 ½ pounds large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined only with tails left on
12 littleneck clams, cleaned and rinsed in a bowl of water several times
8 to 10 mussels, beards removed, cleaned and rinsed several times
1 pound pork or chicken sausage links, cut diagonally
½ cup frozen baby peas, thawed
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Directions:
Timing is everything! And the order of which you do things is important. Add 4 tablespoons oil to skillet on medium high heat. Add garlic and red chili to the hot oil and cook until fragrant. Add bay leaf, thyme, peppers and onion and cook until tender. About 8 minutes. Add paprika, saffron, chili powder, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add white wine, rice and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir well, turn down heat to medium and simmer rice for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro, olives and peas. Add clams, mussels and sausage. *At this point you may need to add additional broth or water if there is not enough liquid to cook the seafood. But only a small amout at a time. Stir the seafood gingerly and push down using a spatula, so that the mussels and clams have enough broth to cook in. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Toss in the shrimp and cook another 3 minutes, Taste and season with salt and pepper. Give one last stir, turning all ingredients with a spatula. Serve hot. Enjoy!
