Paella

The reason you find paella
to be different depending where you get it is
that it's a "collect everything in the fridge
and throw it in the pot" dish.
The following is sort of an outline --
improvise to suit your own tastes.
Quantities, except for the rice and broth,
are extremely flexible.
The marvelous aroma of saffron
will fill your kitchen
when you make this bountiful,
Spanish casserole.

Phase I - Make the chicken & broth
Put 3lb or so of chicken parts (or a whole fryer)
in about 10 cups of water with salt and pepper.
Add a couple of bay leaves
and a few whole cloves.
You can also add things like
onion, garlic, celery, carrot, leeks, etc
as you would when making chicken soup.
Cook until the chicken is tender.
Strain & save the broth,
and discard all the solid bits
except the chicken meat and the bay leaves.
Tear the chicken into
manageable pieces and set aside.
(I've had paella where the chicken
was left on the bones,
and I find it rather difficult to eat.)

Phase II - Things to be sautéed
olive oil (for sautéing)
garlic, several cloves, sliced, crushed or minced
onion, 1 medium to large, chopped
1 large bell pepper, finely diced
(you could add a small hot pepper)
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped,
left sitting in some wine
chorizo, cut into 1/4" slices
shrimp, shelled and de-veined

Heat some olive oil over high heat
in a *large* pan
(they actually sell paella pans,
but you can use a large saute pan or even a wok).
Add the garlic and saute until light brown.
Add the onions, cook until translucent.
Add the pepper, cook a few minutes more.
Add the sausage and shrimp.
When the shrimp are done
(they've *just* turned kind of
red-pink -- don't overcook them),
add the tomatoes and their wine.
Turn the heat down a bit.

Phase III -- The Wet Part
You will need:
the chicken broth,
chicken & bay leaves from Phase I
a couple pounds of live mussels
and/or clams
3 cups rice
oregano, thyme, ground pepper (black or white)
a little cayenne if you like)
saffron

Prepare the shellfish
(remove their beards, wash the shells, etc. ).
Put roughly six cups of broth into the pan
with the cooked veggies, sausage and shrimp.
Add spices to taste
(don't forget the bay leaves).
The saffron should be maybe 2-3 threads --
it's the big flavor here.
Stir thoroughly,
then add the shellfish.
Cook for a few minutes,
and the shellfish should start to open.
When they are well on their way,
start sprinkling the rice over the mixture,
gently folding it in as you go.
Be careful from this point on
not to mangle the shellfish --
you don't want a lot
of empty shells when you're done.
When all the rice is in the dish,
let it cook for 10 minutes or so,
stirring occasionally.
Add the rest of the broth
and the cooked chicken pieces.
Continue cooking until the rice is "right" --
tender, not too dry, not too wet.
Take out the bay leaves.

I've had this with peas in it,
which was quite good.
You can use any kind of shellfish,
vary the veggies, change the spices,
substitute bite sized pieces of
boneless pork for the sausage, etc., etc.
Use your imagination and have fun!

Here are some more exacting
recipes for those of you
who are more comfortable
with cooking that way.

PAELLA

GARDEN PAELLA

 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 1/4 cups pearl rice 
(Valencia) or arborio rice 
(both can be found in the rice 
or gourmet section of most supermarkets)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 - 28-ounce can Italian whole peeled tomatoes, 
with juice, squeezed with your hands
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 1/2 cups water
Salt and pepper
1 medium-large zucchini, 
cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 medium-large carrot, 
peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 ribs celery with leaves, 
cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 medium white potatoes, 
peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 pound string beans, 
cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon capers, 
rinsed and squeezed dry in paper towels
1 large ripe tomato, chopped, include juices
1 cup cooked chic peas, drained
(canned organic are fine)
1/2 cup Spanish green olives, drained
1 cup frozen tiny green peas
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped 
(wash your hands immediately 
after handling hot peppers)
1 cup fresh corn kernels, 
cut from 2 ears, or frozen kernels
1 12-ounce package meatless, 
Italian-style sausage 


1. Heat the olive oil in a 
large heavy pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onions. 
Cover and cook for 5 minutes, 
stirring occasionally.
3. Add the rice; stir to coat.
4. Cook for 5 minutes, 
stirring frequently. 
(Lower the heat if it begins to stick.) 
5. Add the thyme, fennel seeds, bay leaves, 
ground red pepper, and the Old Bay Seasoning.
6. Add the canned tomatoes, saffron, wine, and water.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 
Stir well to mix.
8. Raise the heat to medium-high.
9. Stir in the zucchini, carrots, celery, 
parsley, potatoes, string beans, caper, 
and the fresh tomato. 
Stir well to mix.
10. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil, 
stirring frequently so that it doesn’t stick.
11. After it reaches a boil, 
lower the heat to medium and continue cooking 
at a low-medium boil, covered, for 25 minutes, 
stirring frequently, 
until the rice and carrots are crisp-tender.
12. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
13. Stir well to combine the chic peas, olives, 
green peas, jalapeño, corn, and sausage.
14. Spray a 4-quart casserole dish with cooking oil spray. 
Carefully turn the rice mixture 
into the prepared casserole dish.
15. Cover tightly with foil. 
Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until 
the rice is tender and the vegetables are tender-soft. 
Taste for seasonings.

NOT EXACTLY PAELLA

1-1/2 cups long grain rice
1/2 lb medium prawns in the shell
1/2 - 1 lb of nice sausages, your favorite kind
6-10 clams
EITHER 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 tsp Spanish saffron
OR 1 medium tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-1/2 tblsp salt
1 bay leaf
water
white wine
olive oil
A large frying pan or sauteuse, with a good cover.

Instructions:

Peel the prawns.
Put the shells into a small saucepan,
cover well with water,
add the salt, bay leaf and garlic,
bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover.
Use either saffron or tomato to add color.
If you use saffron,
heat the milk to bit less than boiling,
and add the saffron to it.
If you use tomato,
add it to the broth now.
Pierce the sausages and fry them
gently in some olive oil
in the frying pan for 10 minutes.
Then add 1/2 cup of wine,
bring to a boil, reduce
to a low simmer, and cover. 
When the sausages have steamed
for 15 minutes or so,
take them out of the pan
and set them aside.
If there is still water in the pan,
cook it off.
Then if there is a lot of grease in the pan,
pour it off but DON'T clean the pan!
Slice the sausages into 1/2-inch slices,
unless they are quite small.
Strain the broth into a measuring cup.
You want 2-1/2 cups if
you're using saffron and milk,
3 cups otherwise.
If you have less than that,
add water, and if you have more,
cook it down some more with the cover off.
When your broth is ready,
put a few tablespoons of
olive oil in the frying pan,
and heat over high heat.
Add the rice and stir continuously
until the grains turn from
translucent to a bright, opaque white.
  Immediately add the broth
(careful, it may spatter as it hits the hot pan).
Add the milk and saffron, if used.
Stir once, and as soon as the broth boils again,
reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.
After the rice has simmered about 10 minutes,
add the sausages and cover again.
After another 10 minutes, add the clams.
After 10 minutes, peek and
see if the clams have opened.
If they haven't,
give them a little more time.
When the clams have opened,
add the prawns.
Cover and cook
for maybe 2 minutes.
As soon as the prawns have turned pink,
put the pan on the table and call in the troops.
By the time they sit down
the prawns will be perfect.

Note:
Chicken can be added if desired.
Highly observant gourmands will notice a
cousinship with "Spanish rice."