Perfect Paella

I have to tell you about my newest favorite dish. I was graciously invited over for dinner the other night at a friend’s house, and she introduced me to Rachel Ray’s Paella recipe. Let me tell you that I’ve had withdrawal ever since. I actually made a mock version of this tonight for dinner for just me and my two children… and despite the fact that we had quite a few ingredients missing; it was still good enough to be eaten by an 8 and 6 year old! I’m going to cook it again Saturday night! I leave out the mussels and add cilantro instead of parsley… and my friend also used cilantro, and left off the mussels for us! The shrimp don’t give this a fishy taste, and were excellent – even though we aren’t big shrimp people. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

In a very wide pan or paella pan, preheated over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, add rice and saute 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with lid or foil and reduce heat to simmer.

In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.

After about 13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood, then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil from the paella and discard any unopened mussel shells. Stir rice and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of their leaves. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo around the pan. Top with parsley and scallions. Serve with wedges of lemon and warm bread.

Also, on her 30 min. cooking show, she suggests serving this with Spanish cheeses (cheese spreads work fine) and nutty bread crackers/sticks and Greek olives. She also suggests serving Sangria as a drink. My friend made a non-alcoholic Sangria that was excellent.

PLEASE READ THIS POST FOR UPDATES ON THIS RECIPE:

http://gatheringmanna.blogspot.com/2005/08/i-made-that-paella-again.html

Episode#: TM1B74
Courtesy of Rachel Ray
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved