For Christmas of 2020 I asked for a Paella pan so that in 2021 I could master it. My family took my request to heart! I got not one, but two different pans, different sizes! I am proud to say....Mission accomplished! I tried on the grill, on the stovetop, on a camp burner....I would recommend a grill. I didn't really want to get the specific paella burner and stand...don't think I will make it enough to store yet another thing around here.
If you need to borrow one of my pans, let me know...you have to have the correct pan in my humble estimation. Here is the basic recipe, you can add all sorts of things as you desire. Enjoy!
Paella:
4 C chicken broth (I use 3 C of my homemade bone broth and substitute at least 1 or two bottles of clam juice)
½ tsp saffron threads
Olive or avocado oil
½ pound andouille sausage sliced into ½ inch pieces (or chorizo, but not Mexican, has to be Spanish which is harder to find around here)
Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
Salt
½ yellow onion, small diced (not a sweet one)
4 cloves garlic (hahahaha…I at least double)
1 green pepper, small diced
1 red pepper, small diced
2 C Bomba rice (MUST be Bomba rice! I order from Spain. I have tried other rices some recipes say you can substitute. No.)
1 15 OZ can crushed tomatoes (make sure not seasoned)
½ C dry white wine
Frozen peas
Clams (live or frozen)
Shrimp (I tend to use raw frozen Argentina Pink Shrimp)
Parsley roughly chopped
Lemon
Heat up your broth. Put Saffron in small bowl to side and pour about ¼ C hot broth over it and let it steep. Let your Paella pan get hot over medium heat…this is why I like the grill best…the entire bottom of the pan was on the heat and about same temp. On my stovetop my burners produce different temps. Time to cook the separate ingredients. Sausage until browned, remove. Chicken (sprinkle with salt) until seared. Don’t overcook chicken as it will cook more when making the dish. Remove from pan. Add more oil as you go if needed. Onions next, leave in pan. Next garlic, cook for a few (not too long, garlic gets bitter), peppers next until soft, keep moving veggies around in pan. Add rice, stir to toast it a little (like Spanish rice), then add saffron broth, stir. Add tomatoes, and wine, stir for a minute then increase heat and let it start to boil. Add remaining hot broth (reserve a little to add as needed) get it boiling and then reduce heat to low and cook rice…about 20 minutes. Stir in peas, chicken and sausage, nestle shrimp and clams into the hot rice and cover with foil or close grill lid. NO MORE STIRRING. You want crusty socarrat bottom.. (that’s why the pan is dimpled and thin, to create a hot crusty bottom) Flip shrimp over after about 5 minutes to make sure they cook through. Once shrimp looks good and clams have all opened take off heat and sprinkle parsley on. Most recipes call for lemon wedges on top so you can squeeze on, but I don’t know a lot who do that, so thin lemon slices work nice too. I am going to consider grilling them next time to add on top. 😊
The authentic Spanish recipes encourage that everyone eat from the pan, not sure how that will go over after a pandemic…lol. They also discourage serving anything or too much with paella as your whole meal should be there, but I like a salad and crusty bread to go along with.
Enjoy!
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