Paella? Help!!
I finally found -- and bought -- Spanish chorizo, so I made paella. For the first time ever. Used a recipe from Daisy Martinez. Mostly. Since fresh mussels are unheard-of around here, I skipped the mussels and clams and used sausage, chicken and shrimp. And I arborio rice.
It was okay. Just okay. Not great. After wanting to make paella for so long, and after having people tell me how great it was -- it was underwhelming. And I wasn't all that crazy about the sausage. But it's not like I could be choosy about brands. This was the first time I found chorizo that wasn't the mexican style.
Of course this is the kind of dish where there are billions of recipes, and believe me, I looked at a lot of them...and apparently didn't make a great choice.
So, does anyone have a paella recipe that they've tried, and that will knock my socks off? I'll buy the sausage again, if it's required for flavoring, but if you've got an easier to find substitution, I'm all for that.
As for seafood, like I said, fresh seafood is just about impossible. So if we can go with frozen shrimp and/or scallops (or no seafood) that's going to be a lot more doable that trying to find mussels and clams that scare me when I see them in the store.
Oh yeah. I don't have a paella pan. I used a Calphalon everyday pan, which is sort of close to the right shape. If I absolutely NEED a paella pan to make this work, I'll buy one.
Sigh. I love rice. I love shrimp. I love chicken. I didn't love this paella.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
27 Comments:
I made a rabbit and seafood paella once, quite a long time ago, and although it was delicious and I was able to get my hands on all the ingredients, it ended by being quite expensive, so I haven't made it since, and cannot remember which recipe I used, but (aside from that this uses chicken instead of rather a lot of assorted seafood) this looks fairly close: http://www.paellapans.com/recpaella.html
(Since you mentioned that you like chicken, I picked one that uses it).
I remember that the recipe I used also called for two whole (or a pinch of ground) cloves, which had a unique but not aggressive presence, and when I reheated it (there was a LOT) I added about two tablespoons of plain pureed squash (an organic baby food, actually).
Paella relies rather heavily on its ingredients (rice, saffron, olive oil, garlic, distinctively flavoured meat/seafood), so, although, you can substitute all the more traditional options with something else, and make something paella-ish, it won't blow your mind.
I noticed you didn't mention saffron, but you DID use it..? Along with rice and olive oil, saffron is one of THE key fundamental ingredients; without it, whatever you make will just be a rice and meat/seafood dish. Pass on any recipe that lists yellow food colouring. Saffron has a unique flavour, and is not just about colour.
The ingredient list for paella IS flexible, though, so if you can't get good seafood, skip it (or make it a less important element), and go with--or modify--a recipe that uses more assertively flavoured meats (e.g. including rabbit or duck, as well as chicken thighs).
If you understand enough Spanish to be able to use a recipe in that language, you may want to take a look at some Spanish recipes (just do a search with 'Spanish' selected as the only language choice).
A paella pan looks nice but is far from crucial! But make sure you DO use a heavy-bottomed pan, otherwise when you do the socarrat, it'll burn.
mongoose at 6:13AM on 03/10/08
Incidentally, no form of sausage is actually necessary, even for an authentic paella.
mongoose at 8:16AM on 03/10/08
My favorite Paella is by Penelope Casas. It was incredible. I've only made it once but I did it for a crowd and highly recommend it.
chiff0nade at 9:23AM on 03/10/08
I feel your pain. For me, paella has always resulted in a product that was less than the sum of its parts.
Kerosena at 10:02AM on 03/10/08
"Less that the sum of its parts" is a good description of what I ended up with.
Another problem I ran into (which I know better...but...) was that the rice took a lot longer to cook that it should have according to the recipe directions. Living at high altitude, I know that happens, but I didn't consider the consequences in this recipe. The the shrimp ended up a bit overcooked since they were nestled in the rice for the whole time. They weren't completely rubberized, but they weren't as wonderful as they could have been.
The chicken, which started out with a nice crispy skin, ended up with a flabby, unappetizing skin after it sat in the cooking rice forever.
The rice was probably the best part of the meal, and I like rice. But I think I would have been happier with a risotto, or just rice flavored simply with saffron.
Yes, I did put saffron in.
I'm half-tempted to dump in a bunch of cajun spices and call it faux-jambalaya.
dbcurrie at 1:59PM on 03/10/08
I've been tempted to try this a dozen times or more. I'd want to add tons of shrimp and other seafood, chicken and sausage. By the time you buy all the ingredients, including saffron, you've invested a considerable amount of money, and if the seasoning isn't right (I can't eat it if it's too hot), rice doesn't cook in time, all the seafood is perfect but the chicken is still pink...........I'm so afraid of ruining the dish and wasting the $$$. You could certainly cook items separately, but then they wouldn't add their flavor to the mix.
I remember one time, my mother couldn't find chorizo and used andouille sausage and it was wonderful, but her cooking instincts were always right on. I don't remember what kind of rice she used, but I'd think that would be crucial?
PerkyMac at 2:56PM on 03/10/08
dbcurrie, after reading your post, and looking at lots of paella recipes, I felt sort of inspired... so I made a sort of 'nod' towards paella for dinner. It was actually quite good, even if not the real thing; I improvised as I went along.
I prodded my boyfriend to get an idea of what direction to take: I wanted saffron-y rice, the scent of garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. He was in the mood for chicken. I then eyeballed the recipe that chiff0nade was good enough to post while putting together some sort of shopping list.
Prices here are off the wall, so chicken ended up being the best bet, after all. We picked up a half kilo (roughly a pound) of chicken breasts, some crushed tomatoes, a red bell pepper, and a bunch of 5 scallions.
I browned the chicken and garlic cloves over medium high heat while I diced the scallions and peppers. I noticed some parsley in the refrigerator, grabbed a handful, and minced that. Flipped the chicken to brown on the other side. I added just enough water to cover the chicken, and let that simmer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, transferred the chicken and broth to another container, and added a good big pinch of saffron threads (ground them first). I turned the temperature up to high, dashed a bit of olive oil into the pan, and sauteed the peppers and scallions just until their colour brightened, then pushe the vegetable to the periphery, and bloomed a teaspoon of paprika in the centre.
Mixed all the pan contents together, added 2 cups of rice (bomba? You must be kidding... it MAY be possible to find in Denmark, but I have no idea where), stirred again, and added the chicken and broth.
I added enough water to cover the rice, covered the pan, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, most of the water was absorbed. I had a taste, added half a small dried chili pepper, adjusted the seasonings (it needed a bit of salt) and added a bit more water, then spread a cup of crushed tomatoes over the top. The chopped parsley was spread over that.
I gave it another 10 minutes, then let it sit another 5 minutes or so, then stirred it all up.
Given the fact that the wrong rice was used, it could hardly be called paella, but it had a lot of the things I love about paella: clear, full, bright flavours and colours, the scent of saffron, each flavour distinct but blending with the others. and sooner or later, I'll splurge again on the real thing :)
mongoose at 3:35PM on 03/10/08
I forgot: I added a teaspoon of fresh thyme just before the final stir.
mongoose at 3:47PM on 03/10/08
If you're using someone else's recipe - go for a Spaniard chef... Daisy is good, but she's Newyorican, not the most authentic of paella chefs, IMHO.
I do not make traditional paellas anymore, but I will give you my familiy tips:
Buy the VIGO paella kit - they sell it here in Puerto Rico, next to all the rices. It's a box with the rice, the seasonings (including the saffron), a tin of seafood and instructions on how to make it.
PESCANOVA is a brand of frozen seafood, you can buy it in the frozen food section, next to the fish sticks. They have a packet of frozen shellfish and seafood, perfect for paella. They're frozen at sea, so they're as fresh as frozen can get. Buy 2 of these packets for 1 box of the VIGO paella kit. Can't remember how many people thus feeds.
Add your Spanish chorizo or any other additional seafood (shrimp, fresh codfish, not the salted kind, etc) you might desire. This will also impart that "homemade" taste. Add petit pois and roasted peppers right before the rice is about to finish. If you can find piquillo peppers, even better.
Use beer instead of water to make the rice. The rice will turn out moist and suculent. if you don;t want to fully use beer, add 2 bottles and complete the rest with water. This trick also works very well for Arroz con Pollo (Rice w/ Chicken).
You don't need a paellera, just make it in a dutch oven pot as if you would make any other composed rice. The larger the pot the better - the rice will grow and the seafood takes up space.
Garnish with limes - to me a paella was incomplete without squirting lime juice over the rice before eating. Eat with garlic bread.
Hope this helps...
MadelynRodriguez at 6:51PM on 03/10/08
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13808735/
I found this link... it's a segment from the Today Show on Jose Andres making a Paella - Jose Andres, is one of the top TV chefs in Spain and has restaurants in DC I think. I believe this has a video as well...
Buen provecho!!!
MadelynRodriguez at 7:07PM on 03/10/08
http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/dinner-with-the-band/pela-1?autoplay=true
Check out this video of Sam Mason making paella with indie rock band Pela.
butterface at 7:39PM on 03/10/08
Love this recipe. It's from a Spaniard who did a beach cookout in the Carribean for some friends of mine.
Paella
2 chicken breasts - cut in 1" cubes
4 cups hot chicken broth
1 clove garlic
crushed salt and pepper to taste
4 T. butter
2 andouille or chorizo links, sliced
2 cups arborio rice
12 mussels (I often leave this out)
1/2 t. saffron 1 pound shrimp - cleaned and deveined
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. diced tomato
chopped parsley (optional)
Saute chicken and garlic in 2 T. butter in paella pan until browned adding sausage the last few minutes. Remove and add 2 T. butter to pan. Add rice and saute a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, soak saffron in water for 15 min. Strain liquid - keep liquid but toss saffron threads. Add saffron liquid and 3 1/2 c. broth to pan along with the chicken and sausage. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 min. Add remaining chicken broth if needed while baking. Place mussels and shrimp on top and bake 15 min. longer. Stir in tomato. Discard unopened mussels. Top with parsley.
Emsev333 at 10:25AM on 03/11/08
I've made Paella many times, love to fix and eat it. Recipes will inevitably be linked to the size of the pan, but here's some tips:
-- I usually use chicken thighs, chopped in half. You have the bone still for some "whole chicken" look, but nice sized portions. I soak the chicken for a short while in milk with a little saffron then lightly flour. Cook in olive oil in the pan you'll use for the paella. Cook almost all the way, but not quite. I like skin so I leave it on, if someone doesn't want to eat it they're welcome to skip it.
--Use the same pan to brown the chorizo, I try to get the cut ends of sliced of the sausage brown for nice flavor and a little substance when in the rice liquid.
--Adjust the oil/fat in the pan as necessary. After cooking the chicken and sausage in the pan you might want to drain some off, reserve in case you need more oil later since it's got better flavor than plain olive oil.
--Do the onions and such in the pan, then the rice and liquid per your recipe.
--When the rice is close to done, then you put in the chicken. Push them down with just the upper edge of the skin peeking out on top. This will cook the chicken the rest of the way in the saffron broth and leave a little bit of skin out where it's not going to get soggy. You could poke in the sausage bits at this time as well. Arrange with space between for the shellfish.
--When the rice is done add your peas and shellfish. Poke them in deep but with a bit peeking out for appearance. Shrimp, clams, mussels all cook quickly and will steam just fine. Not traditional, but I use snow peas in the pods. I poke them in with the tops peeking out and they cook quickly. One advantage there is leftovers. I can pull the faded ones out and put in new ones when re-heating and they look bright and green.
--Cover if you want while waiting for time to serve, but not too long.
An advantage to this approach is you can prep the chicken, sausage, even the stock ahead of time and only need to cook the rice when read to serve. The various parts cook enough in the rice to get the flavor of the stock, but not cooked too long.
IdeaRat at 4:16PM on 03/11/08
someone else posted a question about what to do with a ton of fish stock--what if you used stock/broth in place of some or all of the water?
wookie at 5:27PM on 03/11/08
Hey, DB -- I can empathize. This is how I have improvised, without a paella pan. Not super expensive, but a fair amount of prep (eg, roasting the red peppers, slicing/dicing, etc.). Let me know if this helps!
4 tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 lb.chicken tenders, seasoned liberally with salt & black pepper
3/4 large Spanish onion, diced
1/4 green pepper, diced
1/2 lb Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices (used Aidell's Smoky Spiced Sausage)
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 roasted red peppers, diced
1 healthy pinch saffron threads
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, reduced by half to make 2 1/2 cups
1/2 tbl. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tbl. kosher salt
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound shrimp, detailed and deveined
1 tbsp parsley, chopped fine
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until almost smoking, brown the seasoned chicken on both sides until golden brown, and then remove them to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, green pepper, and chorizo. Saute about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute more.
Then, add the white wine and bring to a simmer, deglazing the pan and letting the wine almost cook away completely. Add the rice and simmer until pearly and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, saffron, cayenne and oregano, and cook for 8 minutes more, stirring often.
Add the stock, boost the heat to high, and arrange the chicken pieces around the pan, submerging. Bring to a boil on the stovetop then place skillet in the preheated oven, uncovered, for about 18-20 minutes. When the rice is still a bit firm, remove the pan from the oven, gently stir in peas without disturbing the bottom of the paella, and layer shrimp on top, barely submerging. Return to oven for 7 minutes.
Remove skillet from oven. Gently lift a small portion of the paella and check to see if the bottom portion (immediately against the pan bottom) is dark, but not burnt (a la soccorat) . If it isn't, place the skillet on a burner, on high, uncovered, for a few minutes, until the bottom is dark but not burnt. Be careful and watch closely. Once it is dark, remove the skillet from the heat, cover with aluminum foil and let stand for about 10 minutes to finish cooking. Then, uncover, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve immediately.
Serves 3-4.
tmj529 at 11:57PM on 03/11/08
One comment on the above recipe -- when I couldn't find a good chorizo, I used the Aidell's as indicated above. Neither superb nor "authentic," but good nonetheless.
tmj529 at 12:05AM on 03/12/08
@IdeaRat, I liked your tips, and if I had gone with my instincts, that's pretty close to what I would have done. It made no sense to me that the shrimp should be in the rice for the entire time the rice was cooking. But I kept seeing the same type of instructions. One even said that the shrimp would be done in 8 minutes, then continue cooking for 20 minutes, or longer, until the rice is done, then add the clams and mussels and cook more.
Since all the recipes had that same theme -- leaving the shrimp in -- I figured they had a reason. A hatred of shrimp comes to mind.
Next time around, I'll probably cook the shrimp a bit first, so it flavors the oil. then pull them out and put them back in when everything is almost done. Or I'll cook some shrimp shells and make a little stock to add along with the chicken stock.
I'll probably try this again one of these days, but whatever recipe it is, I'm going to have to scale it back a bit. A little leftover rice is fine, leftover chicken is fine, but the seafood is going to have to disappear on the first day.
dbcurrie at 1:47AM on 03/12/08
Paella is best eaten when cooked by your grandmother at a family get together; barring that, use your chorizo, chicken & yes even seafood if you like & make a black bean stew with it.
It's easy, satisfying & unctuous.
You start with the black beans until they're fully cooked (get high quality canned beans if you can't find the dried,) then in a separate pan, saute your aromatics (onions, garlic, peppers, etc.) in a generous amount of olive oil; then add your chorizo, add a little cumin, oregano.
Brown your additional proteins in the same pan as the aromatics adding more olive oil as you need it, season, deglaze with some jerez sherry vinegar, when the vinegar evaporates; add the cooked black beans, mashing some of them for a more stew-like texture; taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.
If it seems dry add a little stock, stir in & cook down a bit. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, lime & minced sweet red onions or green onions. Since you like rice, make a side of perfectly fluffy white basmati or jasmine rice and some sliced avocado.
It doesn't solve your paella problem but it makes the most of the ingredients you have on hand and, frankly, tastes better. This is coming from a Newyorican (transplanted to the west coast) whose grandmother was born in Spain & cooked paella (as well as everything else) beautifully. Paella is like French bouillabaise & cassoulet (many people will vociferously disagree with me)....... i.e. it sounds romantic and delicious, but the fantasy is better than the reality! Buena suerte in all your cooking endeavors!!!
lgvw1963 at 2:37AM on 03/12/08
just rember it can have whatever you can fin in it. it seems to be the kind of food that adapts to anyones taste. any pan will work if it is big enough and has a study bottom.
http://organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com/
love2cook at 7:22PM on 03/12/08
There was a thread on chowhound a few months ago about favorite paella recipes. I am re-posting below what I wrote there.
_________
...I've been sort of obsessed with learning how to make paella over the last year. It's been quite fun learning about regional differences and approaches. I had reached a point where I was very comfortable with risottos. I was curious to learn about similarities and differences in the cooking processes of risotto versus paella. Current favorite books: La Paella by Jeff Koehler, My Kitchen in Spain by Janet Mendel, and The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen.
Most of the recipes I've been happy with begin with a sofrito of olive oil, red peppers, tomatoes and garlic, and later pimenton and toasted saffron with wine. I haven't yet tried a recipe with onion in it. Some say that onion can make the rice mushy.
I start off making the sofrito on the stovetop, but when I add the rice, I move the process over to a grill. I've tried both gas and charcoal grills, as well as using a friend's standalone paella burner for my largest effort.
So far I've been working on various seafood combinations, and using some form of fish or shellfish stock. I veer away from recipe instructions by grilling a lot of the seafood elements first separately and then adding them on top of the paella in the last ten minutes or so of cooking.
For vegetables, I've tried green beans, though I haven't found flat italian beans around here, and I've used various sizes of lima beans (like the small ones best) and peas. One time, earlier in the year when it was in, I added grilled asparagus and look forward to doing this again in a few months.
________
After reading your post, I had a couple of thoughts about why perhaps your paella didn't turn out to wow you. First off, the combo of flavors and spices is really important. The saffron and pimenton you choose make a big difference. As I wrote earlier, so far, I haven't been using onion because of concerns about making the rice mushy.
I think your everyday pan, rather than a paella pan is probably fine, but what could be a problem is if your ratio of rice to the size of the pan is too great. It really needs to be a pretty thin layer or rice in the pan. For me, a great paella is one that has the bottom layer of crunchy, almost burnt rice (called soccarat). The only way I achieve this layer is when I finish the paella on the grill. I've been able to do it on both a charcoal as well as a gas grill. In both cases I used soaked wood chips to get wood smoke flavor into in the cooking process.
America's Test Kitchen has a recipe for paella that I've heard good things about that is started on the cooktop and finished in the oven. My take is that it would be a tasty rice dish, but not really paella without soccarat.
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/login.asp?name=&did=2269&LoginForm=recipe&iseason=6
(login required)
The Spanish Table has some good info on paella, paella pans and you can order online from them if you decide you do want a paella pan. They also have a paella recipe that is pretty good.
http://spanishtable.com/recipe.html
I currently use a recipe that is sort of a cross between The Spanish Table's and one from My Kitchen in Spain by Janet Mendel. The recipe is modified depending on what kinds of seafood and vegetables I decide to use.
Hope this is helpful!
souvenir at 8:40PM on 03/12/08
@dbcurrie - Was the texture of the rice an issue for you? From my few experiences with the dish, I found that the use of a short grain paella rice such as bomba absorbs 2-3- times more liquid while maintaining it's integrity. It can be difficult to find, however it is worth the effort and expense. Since the rice is the base of the paella, it's probably one of the most crucial components to have right If you can't get it locally, you can order it online.
frederika at 11:04PM on 03/12/08
@frederika, the rice was fine, texture-wise. One problem was that I really didn't like the spanish chorizo. Whether that means I don't like any spanish choizo, or just this brand, I don't know. This was the first time I saw it anywhere, so it's not like I had a choice.
The rice was fine, the chicken was fine, the shrimp were overcooked but not entirely inedible, and the sausage was easy enough to set on the side. Overall, it was okay, but I'll never make that same recipe again. If I'm going to make chicken stock and buy Italian rice and hunt down strange sausages, I'm looking for results that are better than okay.
The flavor was just "off" somehow. It was like, if you were eating the rice, it seemed okay, and then you move to the shrimp, and it's okay, but it doesn't seem to go with the rice, then you have some chicken, and it's chicken, but it doesn't seem to pair well with the shrimp or the rice, either...it was all just odd.
I can think of a dozen ways it could have been better. I'll try it again one of these days. Now that I know what didn't work, I know what I can change. It's kind of like that with a lot of recipes...this is what it is as written, and then I can fiddle with it to make it better. In this case, we're just starting from a much lower point.
@lgvw, if the only way I'll ever get good paella is by having my grandmother cook it, I guess I'm doomed, since both of mine were gone long before I was born. On the other hand, if they were alive today, I doubt either would know what paella was if they were sinking in a vat of it. So I guess I'll just muddle along and try to make it on my own. I'm kind of like that...if I want to make something, I actually try to master that dish, even if it's a little complicated, obsure, foreign, or impractical.
The black bean recipe is probably good, but not really close to what I'm looking for. Thanks for trying, though.
dbcurrie at 2:14AM on 03/13/08
I've been mulling over your comments about the flavors tasting okay separately but not together, and your not loving the flavor of the sausage.
In my research on paellas, one of the key points that stuck with me (if my sources were accurate), is that this dish was a peasant dish, originally done for lunch out in the fields or groves. Workers brought along the shallow lightweight pan, rice and spices, and then used whatever game or animals and vegetables were available that day. They gathered wood and/or vines from the field and built a fire to cook it, and used water not stock.
So the idea of the mixed seafood, sausage and other meats going into one paella pan at one time really wasn't the way it worked. I think many recipes out there just have too many flavors in them and don't come together well. It sounds like that may explain part of your reaction to your paella.
Using stock, like onion, is somewhat controversial. Some think that water only, not stock is what to use.
I'd suggest for your next try, if you find a sausage that you like, try sausage and chicken and chicken stock, and one or two green veg.
Or going the seafood direction- if frozen fish is what you have available, try mahi mahi or halibut, scallops and/or shrimp, and either a seafood stock, or a stock made from the shrimp shells.
I hope you update us as you experiment!
souvenir at 1:38PM on 03/14/08
dbcurrie, if you look at the more traditional recipes, you'll notice that sausage isn't a 'must' for paella, anyway; if you don't care for it, skip it until you find one you really love, or just leave it out altogether.
mongoose at 2:22PM on 03/14/08
Has anyone tried the Bobby Flay paella on the grill? Hubby and I have promised each other for years we would make it. Summer "08 could be the year!
Emsev333 - Why do you leave the mussels out? Do you just not particularly care for them or do you feel they impart a " too fishy" taste to the dish as a whole?
frederika at 11:34PM on 03/17/08
I'm with souvenir here: I don't like surf and turf paellas, and from what I've read, they are not at all traditional.
I made one this weekend based heavily on the seafood paella in Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table. It turned out pretty well, though I made a few changes (omitted monkfish, subbed mussels for clams, used more shrimp, added frozen peas and roasted peppers).
The recipe was a little different than I expected, but I went along to see what I could learn. I started with searing my calamari in olive oil, then added minced garlic, grated tomatoes, and sweet (not smoked) paprika. Once the tomatoes thickened, the rice went in and then shrimp stock infused with a hearty pinch of saffron. I would have expected to fry the rice a bit, but that wasn't called for and I didn't do it. Meanwhile, I preheated the oven to 375. The rice and stock mixture simmered on the stove until it was reduced but still soupy, then the mussels were stuck in the pan, parsley sprinkled over, and then into the oven.
It baked in the oven about 20 minutes, checking on the liquid (adding more if it seemed dry) and the rice. Once the rice was done, it came out of the stove, I added 1/3 cups of peas and some diced roasted peppers, and covered with foil to sit for 5 minutes.
While it sat, the shrimp was tossed with olive oil and garlic and broiled just until done (the book called for sauteeing on the stove, but I used the broiling method for simplicity). Then it was layered on top of the paella and sat another 5 minutes uncovered.
Then I served it, and it was really good. I was surprised by the separate cooking of shrimp, concerned that the mussels would be woefully overcooked, and worried about adding the peas and peppers at the end (I would have expected them at the beginning to infuse their flavor) but it turned out really well, and everything was cooked just right.
I'd do it the same way in the future, and the only change I'd make is to use more saffron and more calamari, and slightly less liquid I didn't have a paella pan (I looked, but wasn't eager to make the outlay and couldn't find it anyway), so I used 2 skillets to keep the rice layer thin. I didn't get the soccarat, but I think it's from having slightly too much liquid (I never used this kind of rice before and wasn't certain how much to add).
Personally, I'd never add oregano or green pepper, as I don't think those flavors would complement saffron at all.
renzata at 12:26AM on 03/18/08
I think Jose Andres' paella recipes are fantastic Here's one without seafood, although I added about a 1 lb of shrimp to it. I also took it off the stovetop once it came to a boil, and finished it in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes (I had to take a call, but have been doing it that way since), then gave it a quick 3-5 minute stovetop 'high heat whirl' to make sure I got some nice socarrat. You can play around with this recipe and add whatever seafood, proteins or veg you want, since it's so simple. :)
http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/htce/TakeOnTheRecipes/detail/recipeId-72.html
Sorry, I couldn't remember the code for click on links.
Lisa2k at 5:32PM on 03/22/08