Paella

I made the bold claim that the paella I made was better than all the paella I had while on a recent trip to Spain. And while most everybody found this outrageous (ok I might just not have found the right places – with 4 being the sample size – to get paella there) I still stand by this claim today. While I haven’t had the opportunity to make my paella for most of you (Becky, this is for you!!), I’m pretty confident to say that I’ve never disappointed anyone that’ve had my paella.

With that said, I should have a disclaimer stating the fact that (the quality of) ingredients matter and you’re about to see a daunting list of (some very specific) ingredients. The odds are against you that you’ll find everything that I used for my paella, but fear not my friend, that’s where you step in the find a suitable substitute and take ownership of it!!

One final thing to address before the recipe – equipment. The advantage of using a paella pan is that the shallowness and the large circumference allows you create more of the “crust” of rice that forms at the bottom of the pan that gives the rice a little more texture (it truly is the best part). But before you run out to William Sonoma to spend an insane amount of money on a paella pan, trust me when I say that you don’t need it!! I’d just use a oven-safe stainless steel pan (read: don’t use non-stick) – your pan won’t be as shallow and as wide, so you’ll have less of the “crust”, but it’ll still taste good!!

Paella
- Serves 4 very generous portions -

4 chicken thighs, deboned, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 Tbsp smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish chorizo sausage, 1/4-in slices
4 garlic cloves, minceed
1 Spanish onion, peeled & diced
1 (16oz) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
1 cup Spanish rice, short to medium grain
1 teaspoon saffron threads
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled with heads and tails on (preferably New Caledonia)
8 littleneck clams, scrubbed
8 mussels, scrubbed
1/4 lb Calamari, tubes cut into rings (tentacles can be left whole)
3 C lobster broth (preferably homemade; chicken stock is a cheaper alternative)
1/4 C white wine
1/2 C sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fresh flat -leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving

1. In a small pot heat the stock with the saffron. Once stock is at a simmer, turn heat off.
2. While waiting for stock to come to a simmer, heat up paella pan on low heat for a few minutes, meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper. Crank heat up for the pan to a medium heat, add oil and sear chicken until golden, set aside.
3. Add chorizo and stir-fry for 5-10 minutes. The oil should now turn bright red.
4. Add chopped onions and saute until translucent.
5. Add shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes, until they turn color. Set aside the shrimp along with the chicken afterwards.
6. Add rice and coat with oil. Then add broth, peas, wine to the rice. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally for 5-8 minutes.
7. Bury chicken and shrimp to the bottom of the pan. Add the calamari, clams, mussels. Stir gently.
8. Place into 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.
9. Pull out of the oven and cover with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
10. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Last but not least, here’s a video of some of the steps that my roommate Enoch took of me making paella for my parents when they came into town:

PT Paella from Enoch Lai on Vimeo.

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