Patty’s Paella
Such a beautiful dish to make when you’re feeling dramatic.
Serves 8
Ingredients
• 2 cups chicken, breast or thighs, cut into 1″ pieces
• 4 cups chicken stock, warm
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups brown rice
• 2 teaspoons saffron (or less, if desired), soaked in chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium red peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 link chorizo, about 10 slices
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled
• 12 clams, well scrubbed
• 1/2 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1 1/2 cups peas
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, stems removed, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soak saffron in 2 tablespoons of the warm chicken broth. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a paellera, a large lidded skillet, or a casserole that can go on the stove and in the oven. Brown chicken well on all sides. Remove from pan. Lightly brown the sausage in the same pan and set aside.
3. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat; add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the rice, saffron, and 1 teaspoon sea salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
5. Uncover, but do not stir the rice. Arrange the chicken, chorizo, and peppers on top. Sprinkle with paprika and oregano. Cover and place in oven for 10 minutes.
6. Place the shrimp, clams, mussels and peas on top. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until the clams and mussels open. Discard any that don’t open. Sprinkle with parsley and cracked pepper and serve!
Notes
Many students (at a public school cooking class, mostly young teenagers) told me they wanted to learn to make something ‘fancy.’ This is fancy and dramatic!
You may also add artichoke hearts and sliced black olives the last 10 minutes—such a dramatic dish to open at the table.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 397
Protein: 32 g
Total fat: 9.9 g
Saturated fat: 2.2 g
Total carbohydrate: 46 g
Net carbohydrate: 42 g
Fiber: 4.0 g
Total sugars: 3.6 g
Added sugars: 0 g
Sodium: 684 mg
Calories from protein 32%, fat 22%, carbohydrate 46%. Saffron counted as written (2 teaspoons). Chorizo counted as 2 ounces. Clams counted as 12 small clams (180 g meat); 1/2 pound mussels in the shell counted as about 80 g meat. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central.
