Paella

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish and comes form Valencia, Spain. There are several varieties, which include different types of meat and seafood. This recipe is for use with a heavy dutch oven with a lid, but a paella pan could also be used. The biggest difference between this and traditional paella is that the traditional sort would have a crunch bottom layer to it, called soccarat. An optional instruction at the end tales how to do that. This recipe was adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined (optional)
Salt and ground black pepper
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (2 generous tablespoons)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper (chicken thighs are more traditional, but they don’t fly in my house)

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut pole to pole into 1/2-inch-wide strips

8 ounces Mexican chorizo (again, not traditional, but preferred in my house)
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, minced, and drained again

2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled (expensive spice, but well worth the price)
1 dried bay leaf
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded (I exclude these, since I can’t get them fresh here)
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss the shrimp, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon of the garlic in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pepper strips and cook, stirring occasionally, until the skin begins to blister and turn spotty black, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pepper to a small plate and set aside.

3. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the Dutch oven. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer; cook, until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the pieces and brown on the second side; transfer the chicken to a medium bowl.

4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chorizo to the pot and cook, breaking it apart and crumbling it with a  wooden spoon. Transfer the chorizo to the bowl with the chicken and set aside.

5. Add enough oil to the fat in the Dutch oven to equal 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes; stir in the remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes; cook until the mixture begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the grains are well coated with the tomato mixture, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, saffron, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt. Return the chicken and chorizo to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven; cook until the rice absorbs almost all of the liquid, about 15 minutes.

6. Remove the paella from the oven (close the oven door to retain heat). Uncover the paella; scatter the shrimp over the rice, insert the mussels hinged-side down into the rice (so they stand upright), arrange the bell pepper strips in a pinwheel pattern, and scatter the peas over the top. Cover and return to the oven; cook until the shrimp are opaque and the mussels have opened, 10 to 12 minutes.

7. Optional: If soccarat (see headnote) is desired, set the Dutch oven, uncovered, over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, rotating the pot 180 degrees after about 2 minutes for even browning.

8. Let the paella stand, covered, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened and the bay leaf, if it can be easily removed. Sprinkle the paella with the parsley and serve, passing the lemon wedges separately.

I like to serve this with some bread.

In a paella pan with shrimp.

In cast iron, no seafood.