It’s an annual tradition at our house and we love having a big crowd over for paella every fall. Paella is prepared differently across the many regions of Spain, utilizing the veggies and proteins readily available. We do a mixed protein paella with both meat and seafood, but the fun part about paella is you can customize it with what you love. This recipe is HUGE but you can certainly reduce it using less of everything. As with most of my cooking I don’t follow a strict recipe or measure, BUT with this one you do need to measure the rice to liquid ratio. For every two cups of rice you need three cups of liquid. I also plan between 1/2 to 3/4 rice per person along with 1/4-1/2 lb of protein per person. I start by cooking my shrimp separately in garlic butter and setting aside in the fridge for later. That way they don’t turn to mush as you cook the rice. Then put you paella pan on either your full stove or a special gas burner outside. You’ll need to be able to turn it if it’s on your stovetop so you get even heat distribution. Ours is flat across the whole thing which allows us to turn the pan easily as it cooks. Start with diced yellow onions and peppers, one onion and pepper per every 8 people or so. While that is sautéing put your saffron into half a cup of warm water along with a tablespoon or two of turmeric. For a big crowd (30-40 people) I use a full jar of saffron). Use this water as a part of your chicken stock/liquid total. Once the veggies are starting to soften a bit add the cubes chicken. I like thighs for this recipe. Once the chicken has started cooking and becoming opaque, add the sliced sausage. Again, one large kielbasa per every 6-8 people. Once all the meat is cooked and starting to brown a bit, add in tomato paste and a palmful of smoked paprika to carmelize on the pan. I use one small can per every 15-20 people. Spread it out in a thin layer and then scrape it up after a few seconds so it carmelizes adding flavor. Do this for a couple of minutes. Then deglaze with a dry white wine (I use Chardonnay)... I used about 1/2-2/3 of a bottle. Keep moving and stirring while the alcohol cooks off. Then add your chicken stock/liquid (including the bloomed saffron). For 22c of rice I used about 33c of liquid, or two gallons. I use water and then add chicken base paste but you could use bouillon cubes or canned broth too. Once your liquid is in, let it come up to a high temp and begin to bubble. Then evenly distribute the meat and veggies in the broth because once you add the rice in you DO NOT STIR it. If you do, it will become gummy. So using a scoop shake in all of your rice evenly throughout the pan. Then cover with foil so the rice can cook. Let it do it’s thing on mendium heat for about 30-45 minutes or until the rice is nearly done. It will still have a small bite to it. Remove the foil. And add back in your cooked shrimp, peas, and the raw mussels. You could do clams here too. Cover it back up one more time for another 5-10 minutes. Keep moving it on your heat source. When the mussels open, you’re ready! Garnish with lemon wedges and let everyone take what they like and enjoy!
6 Comments
11/16/2017 06:53:11 am
This is outstanding! You are incredible! Where did you find the pan?
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Kelly
11/16/2017 08:40:33 am
Hi Audrey! Thanks! I got the pan as a gift but my dad bought it online.
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Peggi
11/16/2017 01:46:26 pm
Thank you so much for sharing! It looks delish and you look like you are having fun making it! Great idea for a party.
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Scarlett
5/9/2019 09:04:25 am
Hi what step do you add the saffron?
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Kelly
6/11/2019 10:47:23 am
I bloom the saffron into the broth
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Dionela
10/6/2019 08:13:30 pm
Thank you Kelly, and I'm going to follow you on your pinterest...😘
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