Paella

Paella is one of Spain's most famous and cherished dishes named for the pan in which it is cooked. The Paella pan is wide and shallow and made of a thin, conductive metal, with sloping sides and a handle on each side. It is important to use a wide shallow pan so that all the liquid is evaporated at the time the rice is done. The Paella pan is also supposed to respond quickly to a change in heat as the Paella is cooked over high heat first and then at a lower temperature. When the pan is taken of the heat the rice at the bottom is supposed to stop cooking immediately.

As Paella is like an ever-changing combination of ingredients there is no right way to cook one but it seems like every region and major city has one, perhaps even every family. I'm not sure what to call this one so I'll just call it; PAELLA!

Ingredients;

2 Lb chicken tights with skin, bone-in

1 onion chopped

oliveoil

4 tomatoes

4 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1 cup white wine (dry)

1 tsp freshly squized lemon juice

Saffron (I use 2 packets)

salt and peper

3 cups short or medium grain rice 

7 cups chicken stock

12 mussels

18 shrimps (raw, shell on)

1/4 Lb chorizo (chopped)

1/4 Lb peas

3 tbsp chopped parsley

lemon wedges for garnish

First fry the chicken tights in the pan on each side until they get a nice color, transfer to an oven-safe dish and bake on 400F until cooked all the way through. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and fry on medium heat for some minutes, if needed add some olive oil (might not need it because of the liquid from the chickens) then add the chorizo and fry for another couple of minutes (if raw until cooked through). Chop the tomatoes and add to the pan with the bay leaf, wine, lemon juice, spice and chicken stock. Let simmer for about 5 minutes then add the rice. Turn up the heat and boil hard for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to low and add the mussels, peas and the shrimp and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the liquid is evaporated, the rice is cooked but has a bite to it, the mussels have opened and the shrimps have turned pink.

Remove from heat, add the chicken tights and cover with paper towels then let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Garnish with the lemon wedges and parsley, serve out of the Paella pan.

Mmmmmmm!

Mussels in Tomato Broth

Today they had Mussels on sale at my local Publix so I decided on a Mussel bowl for dinner.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a restaurant and my husband had Mussels as his main course and of course I had to taste. They were so good I have wanted to try and make something similar ever since.
So today is the day it seems.

The broth the Mussels came with had a rich smoky taste and small pieces of bacon and chorizo in as far as I could taste. I have put together a mix of ingredients that I hope will make my broth as good as the other one.....

Ingredients;


1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chile, chopped
6 oz bacon cut in small pieces
4 oz chorizo cut in small pieces
Olive oil
1 big can of tomatoes
3 pounds mussels
Salt, pepper and smoked paprika

First wash the mussels and discard the ones that are broken or don't close when handled. Set aside.
Heat a big pot and add some olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and chile and fry on medium heat until shiny, add the bacon and continue frying while stirring until the bacon is cooked. Add the chorizo and continue stirring for another minute then add the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

Simmer for another five to ten of minutes on low heat until it smells yummy. Taste and season some more if necessary but remember the mussels will make the dish more salty so go easy on the salt, you can always add that later.

Add the mussels.

Boil until all the shells have opened. Discard the ones that don't.

Eat with bread for dipping to get the most out of the broth.

Bon Appétit!