Small Batch Paella Recipes

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.

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.

SMALL BATCH PAELLA

Steps:

• Boil together the broth, saffron and the broth it steeped in, tomato, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Heat oil in the paella pan or cast iron 12 inch frying pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until soft, then remove.
• Brown chicken, adding oil as needed, until about 75% done, then remove.Scrape bottom of pan, add more oil, add rice, and cook until translucent. Add boiling broth, cook at medium for 5 minutes. DO NOT STIR.
• Reduce heat, arrange chicken, red pepper, mussels, chorizo, and any optional ingredients, and cook 15 minutes. Cover, continue cooking on very low, about 5 more minutes. You may need to move the pan around so heat is even; you want the water to be absorbed and the bottom to begin to get crusty.
• Let stand about 5 minutes, discard shellfish that do not open.

EASY LOBSTER PAELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell peppers and cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice, chicken stock, saffron, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. After 15 minutes, stir the rice gently with a wooden spoon, and return it to the over to bake uncovered for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.
• Transfer the paella back to the stove top and add the licorice-flavored liqueur. Cook the paella over medium heat for 1 minute, until the liqueur is absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat and add the lobster, kielbasa, and peas and stir gently. Cover the paella, and allow it to steam for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve hot.

MINI PAELLA

Steps:

• Pour a little clarified butter into a heat-proof casserole over moderate heat. Add the onions into the hot butter and fry until opaque. Add the rice. Wrap the 6 mussels in aluminum foil and place on top of the rice. Cover and let cook for 60 seconds. Pour the white wine over the rice and stir. The mussels will be opening up after 2 minutes. Remove the foil wrapped mussels and set aside. To the rice, add the chicken, ham and the shrimps. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the casserole in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and moisten with 1/8 cup dry white wine and decorate with mussels. Sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with chopped parsley.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the onion and soften for 5 mins.
• Add the smoked paprika, thyme and paella rice, stir for 1 min, then splash in the sherry, if using. Once evaporated, stir in the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock.
• Season and cook, uncovered, for about 15 mins, stirring now and again until the rice is almost tender and still surrounded with some liquid.
• Stir in the seafood mix and cover with a lid. Simmer for 5 mins, or until the seafood is cooked through and the rice is tender. Squeeze over the lemon juice, scatter over the parsley and serve with the lemon wedges.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large shallow pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages and sauté until cooked through, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down, to pot. Cover and cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and cook until brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to bowl with sausages. Add onions and 10 chopped garlic cloves to pot; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves; stir 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini and bell peppers. Transfer to another large bowl.
• Toss shrimp with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 minced garlic clove and generous pinch of saffron in medium bowl. (Chicken-sausage mixture, vegetable mixture and shrimp mixture can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush one 18 x 12 x 2 1/4-inch roasting pan with olive oil. Mix rice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into vegetable mixture. Spread rice mixture evenly in prepared pan. Cut sausages diagonally into 1-inch slices. Using wooden spoon, push sausage and chicken pieces into rice mixture; pour any juices from bowl over. Bring 5 cups chicken broth, paprika and remaining 1/4 teaspoon saffron to boil in medium saucepan. Pour evenly over rice mixture. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Bake until rice is almost tender, about 40 minutes.
• Sprinkle shrimp mixture with salt and pepper. Arrange atop rice mixture. Cover pan with foil; bake until shrimp are opaque in center, rice is tender and most of liquid in pan is absorbed, about 20 minutes longer. Sprinkle with parsley. Spoon paella onto plates and serve.

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.