ULTIMATE PAELLA RECIPE WITH SEAFOOD, CHICKEN & CHORIZO
This is what you will need:
½ teaspoon sweet paprika (preferably Spanish smoked paprika)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 chicken thighs cut in half
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small Spanish chorizo sausage, thickly sliced (about ½ cup)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers
¼ cup Spanish onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
2 ripe medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
3 cups short grain Spanish rice, preferably “Calasparra” rice
5 ½ cups strong chicken broth, warmed
Generous pinch saffron threads (about ½ tsp.)
½ dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
½ dozen mussels, scrubbed
½ pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 lobster tail, cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
Lemon wedges
14-17” paella pan or wide shallow skillet
Preparation:
-Combine paprika, oregano and salt. Rub this spice mixture all over the chicken and marinate, covered, for 1 hour in refrigerator.
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
-Step 1: Heat the oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the chorizo until lightly browned, remove from pan and set aside.
-Step 2: Add chicken skin-side down and well brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Remove from pan and set aside.
-Step 3: Sauté the onions in the same pan used for browning the meat.
-Step 4 and Step 5: When the onions are starting to brown, add the red peppers, garlic and the majority of the parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes over medium heat.
-Step 6: Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld.
-Step 7 and Step 8: Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains with the onion mixture.
-Step 9: Pour in the warmed chicken broth and the saffron. The broth will almost fill the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes stirring the mixture once or twice.
Step 10 & 11: Have your shellfish, chicken and chorizo ready to add to your rice mixture
-Step 12: Press the clams into the rice.Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes more, occasionally moving the pan on top of your flame so the rice cooks evenly and starts to absorb the liquid. You should still have a lot of liquid in the pan.
-Step 13: Press the chicken (with any juices that have accumulated on the plate), chorizo, mussels, shrimp and lobster into the rice.
-Step 14: Place pan in oven and bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
-Step 15: Remove paella pan from oven. Sprinkle on peas and remaining parsley. Place on stove top, cover with tin foil and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
