Spain – Seafood Paella with Chicken & Chorizo

Spain has arguably been responsible for one of the biggest food diasporas across the globe. This southwestern European country has influenced food traditions across Europe, the Mediterranean, South America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Asia Pacific regions. Paella is possibly the most famous Spanish dish and possibly the one that has been adapted the most across continents. So of course we cooked Paella. 

MIXED PAELLA

 Serves: 6-8

Recommended pan size 38cm

Difficulty: Intermediate

Preparation Time: Approximately 90min

Ingredients

•    3 tbs olive oil
• 12 mussels
• 12 uncooked prawn – shell on
• 1 medium piece of fresh fish e.g. trevally fillet - The fish has to be the kind of fish that doesn’t break easily when cooked – cut into pieces
• 1 medium sized calamari (a frozen tube defrosted is ok),
•  3 chorizo sausages, cut into chunks
• 800 gm (30 oz), skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
•  3 cloves garlic -  minced
• 2 Spanish onions, chopped fine
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 cup fresh beans - sliced
• 2 lemons cut into 6 pieces each
• 3 tsp Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary - diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme - diced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 cups Arborio rice
• 7  cups chicken broth
• 4 tablespoon capers

Method:

1.     Scrub and de-beard the mussels

2.     Lightly score the skin of the calamari in cross hatch then turn over & slice

3.     Heat 1/4 cup (2fl. oz) of the olive oil in a skillet. Add the chorizo & cook to crisp on edges. Mix in the garlic, onions, tomato, and bell peppers, stirring constantly until cooked. Set aside.

4.     heat a further 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) olive oil in the pan and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, thyme, and cumin. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

5.     In the same skillet, cook the calarami & fish overt high heat for several minutes until calamari skin curls & fish turns from transparent to milky in colour. Set the aside.

6.     Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet, and sauté the rice until it's translucent. make sure you don’t stir too much, otherwise it becomes become a sticky paste. Fry the rice on a medium heat. You will now need to add the stock quickly before the 'sofrito', the mix in the pan, burns

4. Add all the stock and turn the gas to low.

5. Add salt & pepper. Make sure you use a generous amount of salt. When you taste

    the stock make sure it tastes a bit salty. The ingredients will absorb the saltiness to

     produce a perfect paella, otherwise it would be tasteless.

7.     Add the chorizo mixture, stirring constantly. Sprinkle in the saffron/paprika and continue to stir until well mixed.

8.     Add in chicken mix,  calamari mix, beans, and capers, combining well.

9.     Arrange the mussels, prawns & lemon wedges on top

10.  Turn the gas to very low & cook for around 25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

11.  Turn the prawns over half way through & check that the mussels are opening & faced up so they do not over cook

12.  When the rice is done, take it off the heat, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

13.  Uncover and discard any mussels that have failed to open.
 14.  serve the paella straight onto  the table in the pan

NOTE: this is hands-on eating, so be practical – we used red tea towels instead of serviettes, placed a finger bowl of salty water with lemon slices on the table to wash our hands in after shelling the prawns & had an empty bowl on the table for discarded shells.

Recipe adapted from two found at:

http://www.spanishhomecooking.com.au/recipes/paella.html

http://www.spain-recipes.com/mixed-paella.htmlMixed Paella