Hearty Paella Recipes

PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Fry hot and mild Italian sausage pieces in the wok until brown on all sides. Remove sausage, and fry the chicken strips in the sausage drippings until browned. Remove chicken and saute onions, green pepper, celery, and garlic for 5 minutes, or until tender.
• Stir in the uncooked rice, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, oregano and turmeric. Cook and stir for 1 minute, then mix in the reserved tomato juice and chicken broth. Add chicken pieces, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Add sausage to the mixture, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, then stir in the shrimp; cover and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes, or until shrimp is cooked through.

HEARTY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. Add rice and onion to the pan; cook until rice is lightly browned and onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the broth, tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, saffron and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 10 minutes., Add the shrimp, peas and olives. Cover and cook until rice is tender, shrimp turn pink and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes longer. Add chicken; heat through. Serve with lemon wedges.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.
• Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

THE ULTIMATE PAELLA

Steps:

• Combine the paprika and oregano in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.
• In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.
• Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.

HEARTY SPANISH PAELLA WITH SHERRY, CHORIZO AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook until browned all over, adding more oil to the pan if necessary. Add the chorizo and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and add half the sherry, if using. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil. Cook until the sherry has almost evaporated. Add the rice, saffron, butter and stock. Add a bit more stock if you did not use the sherry. Turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been soaked up by the rice. Do not mix the rice, as it will be a lovely crunchy layer on the bottom. 15 minutes into this cooking time, cover the pan with a lid, baking sheet or aluminum foil. When done, remove the pan from the heat.
• While the rice is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet. Add the scallions and cook just until they start to color, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the peas and cook until they are warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining sherry, if using. Return to the heat and cook until most of the sherry has evaporated. Pour the shrimp and peas over the cooked rice mixture.
• Serve while hot, garnished with parsley and lime wedges.

MARIA'S PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Place chicken thighs skin-side down into oil and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes; set aside.
• Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 1 minute. Add green and red bell peppers, calamari, and small shrimp; cook for 2 minutes more.
• Stir in salt, saffron, tomatoes, peas, rice, and water until well combined. Add chicken thighs, and simmer for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to make sure rice does not stick.
• Decoratively nestle clams and jumbo shrimp into the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Place the scallops into the paella, recover, and continue simmering until the rice is tender and the scallops firm and opaque, about 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges to serve.

QUICK AND EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• Cook and stir reserved shrimp shells and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until shells are pink and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir saffron into shells; add chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until broth is a rusty brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
• Strain saffron broth through a fine-mesh sieve; measure out 2 cups of broth, pour into a small saucepan, and place over low heat to keep broth hot.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Cook chorizo slices in hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add onion to sausage; cook and stir until soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Stir garlic into chorizo mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice to skillet and stir to coat rice completely in oil; stir in peas.
• Pat rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over the top of the rice. Lay pepper strips around and in between shrimp; season with salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
• Increase heat to high. When rice begins to sizzle in the skillet, pour reserved 2 cups hot saffron broth over the shrimp; gently shake the skillet to distribute liquid.
• Bake rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is almost tender and still a bit wet, about 20 minutes.
• Place skillet over medium-high and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and rice caramelizes and crusts slightly on the bottom of the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes.

AUTHENTIC PAELLA

Steps:

• Rinse the rice with cold water; drain; set aside. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover, and keep warm. Work the garlic, parsley, curry powder, saffron threads, salt, black pepper, and 1/2 cup of the hot chicken stock together with a mortar and pestle until a smooth liquid forms; set the seasoning liquid aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat; cook and stir the onion until lightly browned. Stir in the chicken, shrimp, lobster, and clams; cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Pour in the seasoning liquid.
• Stir in the rice, pour in the hot chicken stock, and simmer until the rice is nearly tender, about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms, peas, and mussels; stir two times, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand until rice is soft and flaky, about 7 minutes.

PAELLA

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the broth, rice, onion, half of the garlic, salt, turmeric, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onions, parsley, thyme, hot pepper sauce and remaining garlic in oil for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Cook until green pepper is crisp-tender. Add tomato and peas; heat through. , Discard bay leaf; add rice mixture to vegetable mixture and keep warm. In a nonstick skillet, cook and stir shrimp in lemon juice for 2 minutes. Add chicken; cook until chicken is no longer pink and shrimp has turned pink, about 3-5 minutes. Add to rice mixture; toss.