(thing) by momomom Sat Mar 10 2001 at 7:38:16

Carla’s PAELLA recipe - Serves 6 – 10

Serve with French bread, blush wine, salad (Italian or vinaigrette dressing). Desert should be flan.

INGREDIENTS

  • Chicken can use wings (little drummets) 4 – 6 , or just breasts ¼ large meaty breast per person
  • Chorizo 6 chubby links – take out of skin and break
    into bite size pieces - Can do this the night before and store in refrigerator
  • Pork –1 tenderloin cut into ¾" pieces or pork chops – 1 per person – can do the night before
  • Shrimp – 2 – 3 lbs (with shells on) deveined and cleaned – save shells – can do ahead of time and freeze
  • Lobster tails – large frozen ones are fine – figure 1 tail per 2 people who like lobster – shell stays on
  • White wine – Sutton House is fine – 1 bottle
  • Chicken broth – 3 cups Campbell’s
  • Saffron – 1 small package - about 1 tsp.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 – 2 cups
  • Pimento – ½ smallest jar
  • Red pepper – 1 sliced – large – (can slice night before and store in zip lock bag in refrigerator)
  • Green pepper – 1 sliced – large – (can slice night before
    and store in zip lock bag in refrigerator)
  • Red onion – 1 sliced – medium size – (can slice night
    before and store in zip lock bag in refrigerator)
  • Garlic – 1 whole head minced – (can mince night before and store in zip lock bag in refrigerator)
  • Tomatoes canned – 2 cans already chopped type 14.5 ounces size
  • Artichoke hearts 1 can (not marinated) be sure to clean the choke off (OK to clean the night before)
  • Peas – 1 small can
  • Rice – 3 cups
  • Butter – ½ stick

PREPARATION

  • Clean shrimp, prepare veggies , chorizo, chicken and pork
  • Fry chicken, pork until seared and golden to brown then put to the side.
  • Fry peppers, onions until limp, add garlic until just golden (don’t burn garlic, it gets bitter) and put to the side.
  • Fry chorizo until fat is rendered and add meat and veggies back to pan. Frying chorizo loosens up the brown, sticky bits in the pan.
  • Don’t clean pan in between unless something has been burnt.
  • Mix everything and add tomatoes to the frying pan.
  • Bring to boil then simmer until meat is cooked through.
  • Use as little olive oil as you can to be able to fry everything.
  • Can do up to here ahead of time and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
  • Meanwhile boil clean shrimp shells, strain the water well and soak saffron in the shrimp water. Want about 1 – 2 cups shrimp water left after straining. If you don’t have shrimp shells then heat up chicken broth and soak the saffron in it.
  • Heat chicken broth and wine (I like about 50/50 ratio) – will need 6 – 9 cups of liquid total – rewarm saffron water if needed
  • Fry rice in butter until golden. Add to saffron water first then add veggies/meat mixture and 50/50 broth/wine mixture all right into paella dish. Cover with tin foil.
  • Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes
  • Add lobster tails with tails pointing outward and bury the tails under rice and cook for 15 minutes more – covered
  • Add shrimp and artichoke hearts. Push slightly down into rice but don’t quite bury. Lift lobsters tails so they show a little bit. Try to arrange things artistically at this point.
  • Cook for 15 minutes more - covered
  • Remove from oven, let sit about 10 minutes. Garnish with heated peas and pimentos if desired.
  • Serve from the paella dish at the table – before serving but after presentation remove lobster tails, let cool briefly on own platter and then cut in half lengthwise with kitchen shears and remove the meat, pass the lobster platter separately.

I like it!