Spanish Noodle Paella Recipes

NOODLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven. Add the sausages and stir, breaking up the sausages into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken and sausage to a medium bowl, using a slotted spoon.
• Add the garlic, fennel, onion, bell pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to the pan. Cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add the clam juice, tomatoes with juices, paprika, saffron, cayenne and bay leaves. Add the spaghetti and cook, uncovered, until almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Return the chicken and sausage to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the halibut, clams and shrimp. Cover and cook until the clams open, 4 to 5 minutes. Discard any unopened clams. Remove the cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until fish, shrimp and chicken are just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the parsley and serve.

SPANISH NOODLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Place 1 tablespoon water in cup; mix in saffron. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, 3 tablespoons parsley, and garlic. Sauté until onion is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Mix in tomatoes. Simmer until almost all tomato juices have evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, paprika, and saffron mixture. (Sauce base can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Bring clam juice to boil in large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add lobster. Cover; boil until lobster is red, about 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Using tongs, transfer lobster to rimmed baking sheet; reserve lobster broth in pot. Cool lobster 15 minutes. Twist tail off body. Cut tail in half lengthwise; remove meat. Twist off claws. Split claw shells with cleaver and remove meat. Cut meat into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces. Strain juices from sheet into 4-cup measuring cup. Strain in broth from pot. If necessary, add enough water to measure 3 cups broth mixture.
• Heat sauce base in paella pan or very large skillet over medium heat. Add noodle pieces; stir 1 minute. Add 3 cups broth mixture; bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are almost tender, about 12 minutes. Mix in mussels and 1 cup water. Cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes; discard any that do not open. Mix in shrimp, scallops, and lobster. Cover; simmer until seafood is just cooked through, adding water by 1/4 cupfuls if paella is dry, about 6 minutes. Uncover; simmer until noodles are tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley.

CATALAN FIDEUà

Steps:

• Make the broth: Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add small shrimp, garlic, hot pepper, fennel, coriander, bay leaf and thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper, stir to coat and cook 2 minutes more.
• Stir in tomato paste and cook 5 minutes, until mixture begins to look dry. Add fish bones, clams, 1 pound mussels and 8 cups water; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
• Strain through a sturdy mesh sieve into another pot, pushing on solids with a wooden spoon. Discard solids and keep strained broth hot. Taste for salt. Broth should be well seasoned. (Can be made ahead, though eat it within 24 hours, or you can freeze it.)
• Make the fideuà: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put fideus noodles in a large roasting pan or baking sheet. (If using Italian pasta, break it into 2-inch lengths first.) Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over noodles and toss with hands to coat. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, turning with tongs if necessary, until noodles are golden brown. (May be done in advance.)
• Place a cazuela or wide heavy pot on the stove. Add toasted noodles, pressing down a bit. Ladle 3 cups hot broth over noodles and bring to a boil. Push down on the noodles with a wooden spoon as they soften into the broth. Add saffron-infused water and cook for a minute, then stir to mix. Add enough hot broth to cover pasta by 1 inch. Lower heat and cook at a simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more broth (and adjust heat) if mixture dries out.
• Scatter remaining 1 pound mussels over the top, then push them down until barely submerged. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until shells open. Turn off heat. The noodles should be cooked but firm, and the mixture a little soupy.
• If using the large shell-on shrimp, season them and sauté in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes per side.
• Ladle into individual soup plates. Mix the parsley with the orange zest. Garnish fideus with shrimp, if using, the parsley mixture and a spoonful of allioli.

AUTHENTIC SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• It's best to have all of your ingredients prepared before you start cooking.
• Prepare the rabbit by separating the legs, cutting remaining meat into small slices and lightly salting. (In my area rabbit is seasonal. During the summer and fall I substitute with chicken legs).
• I peel my shrimp, leaving only the tail and then salt them. In Spain they tend to leave the shrimp unshelled.
• I always try to make my chicken stock from scratch (time permitting), adding a bit of rosemary, a tiny pinch of saffron and a bit of thyme. If you're going to use bouillon, I'd recommend at least heating it up with these herbs and then straining before you start.
• Keep your stock hot but not boiling as you cook.
• Coat the bottom of your pallera/pan with olive oil.
• Brown your chorizo over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Do not fully cook, just get the outside well browned. Set aside. This should add a nice red color and a hell of a flavor to your oil.
• Brown the Rabbit for 2-3 minutes. It should not be fully cooked. Set aside.
• Brown garlic, onion and bell pepper until they're softened, adding plum tomatoes shortly before the mixture is finished.
• Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and on the other add the half can of tomato paste. Caramelize it, flipping it and spreading it until it begins to loosen (1-2 min over hight heat).
• Mix all of the vegetables and meats together with the caramelized tomato paste also adding the paprika, parsley and thyme.
• Add rice, mixing together and stirring as the rice browns (1-1 1/2) minutes. As the rice browns mix in the saffron. Make sure to break it between your fingers and stir it in to release all those tasty oils.
• When the rice is slightly translucent add enough chicken stock to cover the whole mixture. If it's been kept warm, it will begin to boil almost immediately. Lower to a medium heat but keep it at a steady boil.
• This is where paella is made and broken. I stir a few times in the first 5-10 minutes, adding broth as necessary to keep the rice fully covered. After this you must let the paella SIT! Let it cook another 10-20 minutes (I find that this step takes longer on a stovetop), adding broth bit by bit to keep the rice submerged until the rice on the top is al dente. Don't worry about rice burning to the bottom, this part (which actually has a name which escapes me at the moment, it's something like socarrat) is a tasty delicacy.
• Once you've stirred the paella for the last time and are letting cook, when you have about 8 minutes left to cook lay shrimp on top, turning over after 2-4 minutes to cook other side.
• When the rice on top is still quite al dente, take paella off of heat and cover. You must let it sit for 15-20 minutes. I've taken the lid off prematurely and ended up with a crunchy mess. Patience is the key.
• Once you're sure it's ready uncover, garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy!

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.

ULTIMATE SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• In a paella pan or a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat; add chicken and sausage.
• Cook, stirring until browned, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer chicken and sausage to a paper towel-lined plate; cover with foil to keep warm.
• Drain off fat from paella pan.
• Wipe pan clean.
• In the same skillet, heat remaining oil.
• Add garlic and yellow onion.
• Cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice and turmeric.
• Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer.
• Add broth to pan.
• Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Return chicken and sausage to pan.
• Add bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and red pepper flakes.
• Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes.
• Add shrimp and peas; cook until shrimp are opague, about 5 minutes longer.