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Paella

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Chicken – 4-6 boneless thighs cut into bite sized pieces or leftover chicken shredded into bite sized pieces.
  • 1 # Pork - I like using Pork Shoulder cut into bite sized pieces.
  • 1 # Shrimp traditional, optional
  • 3 Roma Tomatoes or 1 can Rotel
  • 1 diced yellow onion
  • 1 diced bell pepper red or green (or half of both!)
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 cup Green Beans in season if beans aren’t in season, use 1 cup frozen green peas for your green, adding them later.
  • 1 cup other fresh beans or 1 can of beans (drained) such as capellini or butter beans
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp Saffron powder or 2 pinch Saffron threads
  • 2 quarts chicken Stock
  • 1-2 Sprigs of Rosemary
  • 2 cups Rice – Bosco or Calasperra is authentic Spanish rice Arborio is easier to find and makes a great risotto too, you can also use long grain rice but it will likely not cook as evenly.
  • Parsley and lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Season the meat with salt and pepper
  • Add the oil to a large skillet (or two) and allow to warm up
  • Add the salt – this will not only season the meat but it will also help prevent the oil from splattering.
  • Add the meat and cook slowly to golden brown, keep stirring so that it cooks evenly.
  • Add the onions and red pepper to cook until very soft.
  • Add the tomatoes & garlic to the oil and stir through
  • When done, push the meat to the outside edges and add the fresh green beans to cook through in the savory oil.
  • Add the other beans and veggies along with the paprika and bay leaf and cook until just soft
  • Add the Saffron to a cup of warm water or broth to help it distribute better, then add it to the pan and stir through
  • Add the broth - increase the heat and bring the broth to a hard boil and then down to a steady low boil
  • Add the rosemary and stir it around a bit.
  • Taste the broth and adjust for salt and pepper.
  • Let the broth boil for a while to develop the flavor, you would like to reduce the broth nearly by half.
  • Add the peas, if using, and bring it back to a boil
  • Add the rice, sprinkling it evenly across the pan. Jiggle the pan to distribute the rice evenly, or to loosen it up a little, but never stir the rice.
  • Boil on high 8 minutes, and then on low for 8 minutes.
  • If using shrimp, place them into the top for the last 5 minutes.
  • Increase the heat again, to form the socarrat – the dry crispy bottom – but don’t over do it and burn it, 1 minute will probably do it.
  • Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Serve by placing the whole pan in the center of the table, garnished with parsley and with lemon wedges around the edges.