Venetian Style Paella Recipes

CUBAN-STYLE PAELLA: PAELLA CUBANA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil in a large pan. Saute the ham and chorizo sausage. Remove from pan and reserve.*
• Add onions, red pepper, and garlic to pan and saute until wilted but not overcooked.
• Add chicken pieces and saute for about 15 minutes until brown, but not fully cooked. Remove and reserve.
• In a large pot combine the rice, broth, wine, and mussels. Add salt for flavor and Bijol for color. Stir. Turn up heat, bring to boil and cover. Add chicken, ham and chorizo. Cover and simmer on the stove for 20 to 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked and fluffy. (You may have to add a little more chicken broth if the mixture gets too dry).
• Saute shrimp, clams, and lobster tails separately in the oil. Remove and keep covered and warm.**
• At the last minute, fold the seafood into the rice mixture. Transfer to a flat paella pan suitable for serving. Top with peas and red peppers. Place in oven for about 5 minutes to heat through. Take care not to overcook! Serve garnished with mussels, parsley and lobster shells.

VENETIAN-STYLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Put the sausages in a small skillet with 3/4 inches of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and par-cook the sausages for 7 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, warm the stock and saffron in a medium pot over low heat.
• Heat a large heavy pot or deep skillet, over medium-high heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil. When the oil smokes, add the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper, to taste. Brown the chicken for a couple minutes on each side, then remove it to a plate. Add the par-boiled sausage and crisp up the casings, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the sausages and cut them into large chunks. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt.
• Add the pasta to the melted butter and let it toast for a couple minutes, then add the onions and garlic. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste, then add the bay leaf and stir for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the rice and stir to combine, then deglaze the pot with the white wine, stirring for 30 seconds. Put the chicken and sausages back into the pot, pour in the saffron stock and stir.
• Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the seafood and tomatoes and cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes more. If using mussels, cook until the mussels are open. Discard any that do not open. Remove the bay and discard. Transfer the paella to a large serving platter, top with basil, and serve.

PERFECT PAELLA

Steps:

• In a very wide pan or paella pan, preheated over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, add rice and saute 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with lid or foil and reduce heat to simmer.
• In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
• After about 13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood, then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil from the paella and discard any unopened mussel shells. Stir rice and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of their leaves. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo around the pan. Top with parsley and scallions. Serve with wedges of lemon and warm bread.

VALENCIAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a paella dish or large shallow frying pan.
• Salt the chicken and rabbit and brown in pan for 5 mins.
• Add beans and brown for another 5 mins.
• Add the garlic, paprika and tomato. Add water and the snails. Boil for 10 mins.
• Add the saffron and rice, distributing it evenly over the surface of the pan. Boil on a high heat for 8 mins.
• Add rosemary and salt to taste.
• Turn heat on low and cook for a further 8 mins. so the bottom layers of rice are crispy ("socarrat")
• Garnish with lemon and serve immediately.

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.