Spanish Paella
Traditional Spanish paella made with chorizo, prawns and mussels in a a saffron flavored rice.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp. grapeseed or avocado oil
- chorizo ground or sliced, see note
- 1/4 cup sherry wine
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced see note
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or chopped
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups Valencia rice see note
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 pinch of saffron threads
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
- 1/2 lb. prawns, peeled, deveined, tail-off jumbo or extra large shrimp can be used as well.
- 12-14 mussels, cleaned and beard removed
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish
- lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. of oil over medium heat. Cook the chorizo until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and let rest on plate. Leave the drippings and oil in bottom of pan. Deglaze the pan with the sherry wine. Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, cayenne pepper, dried thyme and the bay leaf. Cooking, stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
- Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and saffron threads. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and cover, but do not stir. We want a crispy bottom. Cook for about 12-15 minutes until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Discard the bay leaf. Nestle in the peas, roma tomatoes and the cooked chorizo. Be sure to add any juices or drippings from the plate the chorizo was resting on. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add the prawns and mussels to pan. Cover and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, but keep covered for 10 minutes. Prawns should be pink and mussels should open. Garnish with parsley and lemon. Serve warm.
Notes
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- I know a lot of recipes for paella you find on the internet, calls for a paella pan. Using a paella pan is great, but it isn't necessary. A large skillet will work just fine. Just make sure it is 12-14 inches.
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- If you don't eat pork, you can leave it out all together. Chicken is a great substitution. If you decide to use chicken, cut the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. Season it with an all-purpose seasoning of your choice, then sear chicken pieces on each side for 3-5 minutes until fully cooked. Remove and let it rest, until ready to add back to the dish.
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- Sherry - The sherry wine is used to deglaze the pan. While, it will also add an nutty flavor to the dish, you can substitute the sherry wine for a dry white wine if you like.
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- Valencia - I'm against substituting the Valencia rice because is absorbs perfectly for this dish. In order to accomplish a perfect paella dish, you must use a rice that absorbs perfectly. However, if you are unable to find Valencia rice, you can substitute Arborio rice for Valencia rice. Arborio rice is frequently used in risotto dishes, and is also a good choice for paella, due its absorbing ability. Bomba is also a common rice for paella, but it is hard to find.
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- It is important to not stir the rice. That's the only way we will get that nice crispy bottom we want.
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- Prawns - Shrimp can be used as well. Prawns is more sweet, and less salty than shrimp.
- When it comes to the bell peppers, you can also use green, orange or yellow.
- Discard any mussels that are opened prior to cooking.
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